The Art Museum as a Game PlatformAlternate Realities1

Smithsonian American Art Museum2

Luce Foundation Center3

What is an ARG?An ARG is “an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform to tell a story that may be affected by participants’ ideas or actions.” WikipediaAn ARG is “an adventure you have in real life.” Jane McGonigalAn ARG is “an interactive, trans-media narrative that evolves in response to what its players do.” World Without OilAn ARG is “a game that allows players (like you) to interact with a fictitious world using real world elements.” The Lost Ring“ARGs are “engaging narrative entertainment delivered across multiple platforms – web, phone, video, audio, even the street where you live.” No Mimes MediaAn ARG should “inspire and encourage people to step outside of their everyday lives and look at the world from a different perspective” Star Spider4

What is an ARG?An ARG is “an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform to tell a story that may be affected by participants’ ideas or actions.” WikipediaAn ARG is “an adventure you have in real life.” Jane McGonigalAn ARG is “an interactive, trans-media narrative that evolves in response to what its players do.” World Without OilAn ARG is “a game that allows players (like you) to interact with a fictitious world using real world elements.” The Lost Ring“ARGs are “engaging narrative entertainment delivered across multiple platforms – web, phone, video, audio, even the street where you live.” No Mimes MediaAn ARG should “inspire and encourage people to step outside of their everyday lives and look at the world from a different perspective” Star Spider5

Why?6

Core Narrative19th Century…McDoggerel (McD), Blanche, The Reverend, & WhatFor21st Century…Daisy FortunisDaniel Libbe7

Telling the Story8

Telling the Story“You know, in thinking about it, this doesn't make any sense... Why would the Smithsoniansend a stripper to a place like ARGFest to get this going? I mean, think about it, a borderline government agency sending a stripper to a convention in a hotel? That would be front page news on The Drudge Report!”--- Nighthawk9

Telling the Story10

The ArtifactsNecklace of the Subaltern BetrayerPredictor of Imminent DoomCon Artists’ ReplicaDiorama of a TravestyMemory VesselEscape Quilt11

On-line Collections12

Player-Created NarrativesIncomplete Set of Prediction Disks (Predictor of Imminent Doom)by Lydia Burris"Last Call" (Memory Vessel)by Michelle and Eve Senderhauf13

Supporting the Fiction14

Supporting the Fiction - NMNHNational Museum of Natural History15

Supporting the Fiction - CemeteryCongressional Cemetery16

The Final Event17

The Final EventContemplating Faces by Morris LouisUsing a sculpture to solve encrypted text18

The End“They rest. They really do. All of them. McD has vanished, his fame secured by the artifacts that players of Ghosts Of A Chance made in his honor. Blanche escaped the traps of life; she is free to discover whatever there is to discover, and this time in peace and comfort. WhatFor is free for all time. The Reverend is beyond temptation; he languishes in a goodly repose.”19