Alternate Reality Games A New Mechanism of The Virtual (original) (raw)

Visual Contagions through the Lens of New Media, 2021

Abstract

Alternate Reality Games, or ARGs, typically refer to practices where audiovisual mediums and life-size role-playing games are intertwined – such as Cicada or historical reenactments. They are limited in time, and will often present players with cryptic problems that require a collective effort to be solved. More recent contributions to the genre have relied heavily on discussion boards and social networks to create a new brand of ARG, one in which the individual viewing experience is absorbed into a collective exegesis. These can be internet videos, fictional video games, music albums, etc. The one commonality between them is the fact they are presented neither as a game nor as a problem awaiting resolution; their creators, in fact, try hard to hide the fact they are ARGs at all. However, the viewer will notice audiovisual or narrative inconsistencies that create a divergence between the actual viewing and the “ideal”, unsuspecting viewing. The “game” for the viewer consists therefore of understanding there is a game. The viewer will then be led to other mediums (video games, websites, geographical locations, mp3 files, etc.) relevant to the ARG – indeed a cross-platform experience. Because the spectator will gain access to these other mediums through hints within the ARG, their interpretative power is inexhaustible, as any element could be another clue to the problem. Every aspect of the work thus becomes a sign or symbol in a virtually endless set of meanings. In this intervention, we will present, analyze and try to situate ARGs within the mediums they invoke. Furthermore, we will discuss the psychological aspect of playing an ARG, that is, how this new kind of narration posits the virtual as an aesthetic of its own.

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