Up for Review

A Different Kind of Game

Posted on April 11th, 2008 by reviewer.
Categories: Social Media.

I’ll be honest with you and confess that I have never really liked video games. They always seemed like such a waste of time to me. Usually, the players do the same thing over and over and over again and there really isn’t that much skill or brain power required to press a couple of buttons at the right time.

But then, thanks to game producer Matt Wolf, I found out about alternate reality games. ARG’s are different from video games because they are managed by actual human beings. These people, also known as puppetmasters, help run or design the ARG’s. The puppetmasters keep things interesting by creating challenges for players and by giving occasional aid.

Instead of just doing the same thing over and over, players need to be able to adapt and think because their actions actually affect the plot in ARG’s . Instead of being a one-man activity, ARG’s allow players to team up with each other to solve challenges and puzzles, analyze the plot and organize activities. Although the Internet is the primary tool for participating in ARG’s, they also make use of telephones, email and mail. Alternate reality games are so different from their predecessors that they aim for a this is not a game, or TINAG, effect.

Many alternate reality games are based off of T.V. series. One of the most famous of these is The Fallen, which was created by Matt Wolf. As a man of many talents, Matt Wolf is a good embodiment of the diversity combined in alternate reality games. He is a new media producer and director as well as an artist and his goal is to make gaming experiences as real as possible by combining several different types of media.

Due to the increased effort, creativity and interaction that alternate reality games require, they sound like a game that I might be willing to play – and that is a pretty impressive feat considering I am not a fan of many games.