This study introduces a comprehensive taxonomy for categorizing participants in Alternate Reality Games (ARGs). The taxonomy emerges from a meticulous analysis of player motivations and behaviors within a self-designed ARG project. By scrutinizing game website logs, chat group interactions, and employing a player motivation questionnaire, this mixed-method exploration sheds light on player behaviors and motivations, based on dimensions of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Through this inquiry, distinct player typologies within ARGs are unveiled, unveiling behavioral intricacies and motivational drivers. This research contributes to a nuanced comprehension of the unique realm of ARGs, offering insights valuable to both designers and scholars. By enhancing our understanding of ARG dynamics, this study provides a foundational resource for future design endeavors and scholarly pursuits in the realm of alternate reality gaming.

This thesis project aims to explore the relationship between the players and the fictional worlds of alternate reality games (ARGs), concentrating on the aspects of immersion, player involvement and narrative. It investigates the connection between immersion and narrative, as well as to what extent the applying of narrative to physical environments contribute to the overall immersive experience of the players. The theoretical frame incorporates different aspects of game interaction, concerning game boundaries, game mastering and player experience, and includes an analytical presentation of a number of ARGs, challenging the traditional norms of game design. The theoretical framework is accompanied by a design process exploring game mechanics and player involvement through game testing. The assumptions drawn from the research, in combination with the outcome of the design process, suggest that because narrative utilized within ARGs is interactive it differs massively from traditional narration and the fact that it intersects the physical environment gives it properties that urges its users to dynamically collaborate to unfold its discourse.

An alternate reality game, often abbreviated as ARG, is a mix between a game and a crossmedia interactive story using mainly the Internet as a platform. The game is built around the idea of teamwork among its participants. The players cooperate to solve puzzles allowing them to go forward in the story of the game. The marketing element is in different ways included in the story. A few Alternate Reality Games such as The Beast, The Art of the H3ist and The Lost Ring have previously been launched as marketing campaigns. This bachelor thesis aims to examine the possibilities of Alternate Reality Games as an alternative marketing tool for profit-driven companies. The method includes interviewswith Swedish advertising agencies as well as individuals in the ARG business. The prototype used in the thesis is an earlier ARG named Den Dolda Sanningen, which was produced in the fall semester of 2008 as an assignment for a course at Växjö University.

Massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) present fantastic, persistent worlds and narratives for a community of players to experience through pre-defined rules, roles, and environments. To be able to offer the opportunity for every player to try the same experiences, many game developers have opted to create elaborate virtual theme parks: scripted experiences within static worlds that cannot be affected or changed through player actions. Within these games, some players have turned to role-playing to establish meaningful connections to these worlds by expanding upon and subverting the game's expectations to assume a limited sense of agency within the world. The interaction between role-players and the locations they occupy within these worlds is a notable marker of this narrative layering; specific locations inform social codes of conduct, designed by developers, and then repurposed by players for their characters and stories. Through a qualitative case study in World of Warcraft on public role-playing events, this thesis considers how the design of in-game locations inform their use for role-playing, and how locations are altered through storytelling as a result.

<p>An alternate reality game, often abbreviated as ARG, is a mix between a game and a crossmedia interactive story using mainly the Internet as a platform. The game is built around the idea of teamwork among its participants. The players cooperate to solve puzzles allowing them to go forward in the story of the game. The marketing element is in different ways included in the story.</p><p>A few Alternate Reality Games such as <em>The Beast, The Art of the H3ist</em> and <em>The Lost Ring </em>have previously been launched as marketing campaigns. This bachelor thesis aims to examine the possibilities of Alternate Reality Games as an alternative marketing tool for profit-driven companies. The method includes interviewswith Swedish advertising agencies as well as individuals in the ARG business. The prototype used in the thesis is an earlier ARG named <em>Den Dolda Sanningen</em>, which was produced in the fall semester of 2008 as an assignment for a course at Växjö University.</p>

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:23:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 4647.pdf: 2401550 bytes, checksum: ef35080b2b92ea2d482d12fca84fed6d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-02-03 / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais / Among the current media forms, the alternate reality games (ARG) is in the spotlights due its capability of giving a ludic experience with strong immersive qualities. Setting its fictional world in sync with everyday reality, the ARG seeks to smear the border between fiction and non-fiction, in order to intensify the experience of the audience. This research analyzes the immersion strategies of alternate reality games based on the study of The Lost Experience (LTE), with the purpose of understanding how the immersion process on the fictional world created by ARGS occurs. Therefore, the main characteristics of alternate reality games are studied, from its main principles established in order to make accessible the fictional world connected to the everyday life of the players, trough the interface of the media. In this process, the concept of immersion is problematized, in order to understand the extension this term receives in front of some perspectives that denote its nature. Visions that lead to a common denominator that connects the notion of immersion with the pleasure of being involved in a sensorial, cognitive and emotional degree towards external stimuli, that as an answer leads an action over the experienced environment. The analysis of the immersion strategies in The Lost Experience helps in the comprehension of how it sets up its fictional world in touch with everyday life, with the goal of creating immersive zones that allows the interaction of players with the elements of its universe. / Dentre as atuais formas midiáticas, o alternate reality games (ARG), ou jogo de realidade alternada, se destaca por proporcionar uma experiência lúdica com fortes qualidades imersivas. Configurando seu mundo ficcional em sintonia com a realidade cotidiana, o ARG busca borrar as fronteiras entre a ficção e a não-ficção, a fim de intensificar a experiência vivenciada pelo público. Nesta pesquisa são analisadas as estratégias de imersão dos jogos de realidade alternada a partir de um estudo de The Lost Experience (LTE), com o objetivo de compreender como ocorre o processo de imersão no mundo ficcional criado pelo ARG. Assim, são pesquisadas as principais características que constituem os jogos de realidade alternada, partindo de seus principais preceitos estabelecidos de modo a tornar acessível um mundo ficcional conectado o cotidiano de seus jogadores através da interface dos meios de comunicação. Neste processo, o conceito de imersão é problematizado, a fim de compreender a extensão que esse termo adquire diante de algumas perspectivas que denotem sua natureza. Visões que conduzem a um denominador comum que liga a noção de imersão ao prazer de estar envolvido sensorialmente, cognitivamente e emocionalmente com estímulos externos, que como resposta conduzem a ações sobre o ambiente vivenciado. As análises das estratégias de imersão em The Lost Experience auxiliam na compreensão de como ele configura seu mundo ficcional em contato com a realidade cotidiana, a fim de criar zonas imersivas que possibilitam a interação dos jogadores com os elementos de seu universo.

Playable cases are a new type of mixed-reality serious game (SG), combining elements of alternative reality games (ARGs) and education simulations to offer an immersive, transmedia story. Participants advance the plot through interactive gameplay and characters with the goal of creating products and experiencing real-world business situations. This study investigates the effectiveness of the playable case Microcore as a tool specifically for online writing instruction (OWI). Fifty students in online sections of a technical communication course participated in Microcore, in which they responded to pre- and post-survey questions and prompts directed at their perceptions about writing, understanding of workplace communication, and levels of engagement. Responses to the survey were collected, coded for thematic trends, and analyzed. Results from this survey study suggest that playable cases like Microcore may be effective at countering primary OWI difficulties, including disengagement, lack of social presence and humanity, faltering self-efficacy, and unclear, unproductive perceptions about writing assignments. Students responded positively to the playable case and appeared to develop more nuanced views about workplace communication and writing through this immersive narrative and interface.

The non-fiction introduction to The Wyvern’s Tale: A Thought Experiment in Bakhtinian Dual Chronotope Occupation documents the evolution of the novel, The Wyvern’s Tale, from the ideas that inspired it to its current incarnation as a full-length novel intended for an adult audience. It comprises an explanation of the novel’s main concept, Bakhtinian dual chronotope occupation, as well as an idea-focused account of the creative-writing process. Detailed in the introduction’s theoretical premise is the relationship between Mikhail Bakhtin’s theories of chronotope and the carnivalesque and the ideal of the divided union in Chalcedonian Christology. This relationship revolves around the state of existing in two time-spaces at once. The novel, The Wyvern’s Tale, explores this dual existence imaginatively using the setting of parallel worlds – the every-day world and a fictional world called Wyvern – as well as a protagonist, who functions in the fictional world as a Christ-figure. Particular thematic emphasis is placed on differing perceptions of truth and reality, and on the transformative power of costumes. The novel’s outcome, dependent on the reader’s decision as to whether dual chronotope occupation is possible or impossible, is respectively either hopeful or tragic. It attempts to reflect the outcome of the life and death of Christ depending on whether his co-existence as God and man was real or imagined.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:23:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 5832.pdf: 2261692 bytes, checksum: ede99af3ddeae2cf732575bcfea3aea3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-12-18 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / The main goal of this dissertation is to introduce the alternate reality game as a new narrative for multiplatform. By new narratives are understood the forms of storytelling arising from the current development of digital technology; and for multiplatform the variety of means by which the contents of these stories can travel. For this main objective is reached, two main hypotheses are formulated: 1) ARGs are stories for multiple platforms using code-breaking with playful and narrative functions; and 2) they are developed from an intense transtextuality guided by pop mythology that flourished during the twentieth century. Based on this starting point, this thesis will examine two ARGs, Uncertain Zone and Why So Serious?, in a way that it contributes to the hypothesis that Alternate Reality Games are a native narrative form of convergence culture founded on an extensive base of pop culture references. In the chapter dedicated to Uncertain Zone will be listed the various media used during the performance of the ARG, that together with interviews with the developers and testimonials from participants will weave a more descriptive overview of how alternate reality games are composed as multiplatform narratives. In addition, a brief discussion on the playful and narrative functions of the code-breaking in ARGs will be outlined. With Why So Serious? the analysis will focus on the intense transtextuality that alternate reality games establish to what will be called pop mythology in this dissertation and in the relationship between ARGs and market. Incidentally issues related to participatory culture will be raised throughout the text, but without further reflection, since, worth reiterating, the main goal of this thesis is the demonstration of a contemporary narrative form from some elements previously submitted, this form is the alternate reality game. / O principal objetivo da presente dissertação é apresentar o ARG (Alternate Reality Game) como uma nova narrativa para multiplataformas. Por nova narrativa, entendemse as formas de contar histórias decorrentes do desenvolvimento atual da tecnologia digital; e por multiplataforma os variados meios através dos quais os conteúdos dessas histórias podem trafegar. Para que esse objetivo principal seja atingido, duas hipóteses principais serão formuladas: 1) os ARGs são narrativas para múltiplas plataformas que utilizam a quebra de código com função lúdica e narrativa; e 2) são desenvolvidos a partir de uma intensa transtextualidade pautada pela mitologia pop que floresceu durante o século XX. Partindo desse ponto de partida, esta dissertação analisará dois ARGs, Zona Incerta e Why So Serious?, de modo a apresentar as características que corroboram a hipótese de que os Jogos de Realidade Alternada são uma forma narrativa nativa da cultura de convergência fundamentada sobre uma extensa base de referências à cultura pop. No capítulo dedicado ao Zona Incerta serão elencadas as diversas mídias utilizadas durante a realização do ARG, que em conjunto com entrevistas com os realizadores e depoimentos de participantes tecerão um panorama mais descritivo de como os Jogos de Realidade Alternada se compõem enquanto narrativas multiplataformas. Além disso, uma breve discussão sobre o caráter lúdico e narrativo da quebra de código nos ARGs será esboçada. Já com Why So Serious? as análises irão se focar na intensa transtextualidade que os Jogos de Realidade Alternada estabelecem com aquilo que nesta dissertação será chamada de mitologia pop e nas relações que os objetos mantêm com o mercado. Incidentalmente questões relacionadas à cultura participativa serão levantadas por todo o texto, porém sem um maior aprofundamento, uma vez que, vale reiterar, o objetivo principal desta dissertação será a demonstração de uma forma narrativa contemporânea a partir de alguns elementos previamente apresentados, essa forma são os Jogos de Realidade Alternada.

Alternate realities have fascinated mankind since early prehistory and with the advent of the computer and the smartphone we have seen the rise of many different categories of alternate reality that seek to augment, diminish, mix with or ultimately replace our familiar real world in order to expand our capabilities and our understanding. This thesis presents parallel reality as a new category of alternate reality which further addresses the vacancy problem that manifests in many previous alternate reality experiences. Parallel reality describes systems comprising two environments that the user may freely switch between, one real and the other virtual, both complete unto themselves. Parallel reality is framed within the larger ecosystem of previously explored alternate realities through a thorough review of existing categorisation techniques and taxonomies, leading to the introduction of the combined Milgram/Waterworth model and an extended definition of the vacancy problem for better visualising experience in alternate reality systems. Investigation into whether an existing state of the art alternate reality modality (Situated Simulations) could allow for parallel reality investigation via the Virtual Time Windows project was followed by the development of a bespoke parallel reality platform called Mirrorshades, which combined the modern virtual reality hardware of the Oculus Rift with the novel indoor positioning system of IndoorAtlas. Users were thereby granted the ability to walk through their real environment and to at any point switch their view to the equivalent vantage point within an immersive virtual environment. The benefits that such a system provides by granting users the ability to mitigate the effects of the extended vacancy problem and explore parallel real and virtual environments in tandem was experimentally shown through application to a use case within the realm of cultural heritage at a 15th century chapel. Evaluation of these user studies lead to the establishment of a number of best practice recommendations for future parallel reality endeavours.