Alternate Reality Games ARGs
So what exactly is the new craze for alternate reality games all about? And what are they anyhow?
This is the description given in the article posted in Salon Online Magazine.
“In ARGs, thousands of players hunker down at their computers and delve into games that are impossible for any one person to play on his or her own. There’s no software to buy and players don’t have a clear set of rules or an objective. Instead, gamers happen across something strange on the Internet, “fall down the rabbit hole” into a fantasy world, and figure out together what to do next.”
ARGs seem to have powerful effects on their participants. So much so that game players change the way they interact and live in the real world. For example, there were players in the ARG “World Without Oil,” who planted apple trees in their backyards, and converted their cars to run on used cooking oil. And I mean their real backyards and real cars, not the ones in the game.
This ability to influence people’s behavior has some experts worries. What if a game was developed by the wrong sort of people? Those who would use the behavior modifying possibilities for some evil purpose? The fact that the military is keenly interested in being able to use ARGs to manipulate large numbers of people should be a cause of concern.
Perhaps a game could be developed that convinces young men and women that the only solution to a threat developed in the game is to enlist in the military and right away volunteer for combat duty. Or an unethical politician has a game developed that makes people absolutely hate his opponent in an important election?
Sound impossible?
Consider this. One game in 2004 had over 600,000 participants from over 40 countries around the globe. The games controllers had people spending their own money to frantically travel all over each of the 50 states in the US looking for clues.
Marketers have been quick to express their interest in these alternate reality games. Just imagine a game that was so convincing that a few hundred thousand, perhaps even a few million people, had to go out and buy a specific product right now. What a way to boost sales.
There is power in these games. On the one hand the ability to bring large numbers of people together in one network is exciting. The collective mental power of the group could be used in very constructive ways to help solve some of the problems of the world.
On the other hand there could be the opportunity for a “Big Brother” spy ring to collect information about whatever or whomever the controllers wanted them to look into.
Another rather frightening thought is that for some people the distinction between what is real and what is in the virtual world would be lost. These poor souls could end up spending their entire lives playing a series of ARG’s and not even realize that it is all make believe.
Read the full article...
