Alternate reality games (ARG) are a relatively new type of game that distributes game content across several media without explicitly identifying that content as part of a game. While players benefit from this aesthetically immersive experience the type of game has the potential to cause confusion over the status of its dispersed content as real or as part of a game. This thesis offers a case study of the 2012 game. The case is contextualized within the disciplines of media studies and games studies, in a wider digital culture where the ubiquity of technology converges to user experience design. A theoretical framework based on Charles S. Peirce’s semiotic, supplemented by Erving Goffman’s frame analysis and James J. Liszka’s transvaluation theory is used to explain the ARG’s problematic relation to the experience of reality.

Alternate reality games (ARG) are a relatively new type of game that distributes game content across several media without explicitly identifying that content as part of a game. While players benefit from this aesthetically immersive experience the type of game has the potential to cause confusion over the status of its dispersed content as real or as part of a game. This thesis offers a case study of the 2012 game. The case is contextualized within the disciplines of media studies and games studies, in a wider digital culture where the ubiquity of technology converges to user experience design. A theoretical framework based on Charles S. Peirce’s semiotic, supplemented by Erving Goffman’s frame analysis and James J. Liszka’s transvaluation theory is used to explain the ARG’s problematic relation to the experience of reality.

Alternate reality games (ARG) are a relatively new type of game that distributes game content across several media without explicitly identifying that content as part of a game. While players benefit from this aesthetically immersive experience the type of game has the potential to cause confusion over the status of its dispersed content as real or as part of a game. This thesis offers a case study of the 2012 game. The case is contextualized within the disciplines of media studies and games studies, in a wider digital culture where the ubiquity of technology converges to user experience design. A theoretical framework based on Charles S. Peirce’s semiotic, supplemented by Erving Goffman’s frame analysis and James J. Liszka’s transvaluation theory is used to explain the ARG’s problematic relation to the experience of reality.

Alternate reality games (ARG) are a relatively new type of game that distributes game content across several media without explicitly identifying that content as part of a game. While players benefit from this aesthetically immersive experience the type of game has the potential to cause confusion over the status of its dispersed content as real or as part of a game. This thesis offers a case study of the 2012 game. The case is contextualized within the disciplines of media studies and games studies, in a wider digital culture where the ubiquity of technology converges to user experience design. A theoretical framework based on Charles S. Peirce’s semiotic, supplemented by Erving Goffman’s frame analysis and James J. Liszka’s transvaluation theory is used to explain the ARG’s problematic relation to the experience of reality.

This thesis explores how heritage museums can engage more visitors to take part of cultural heritage in context to digital culture, and going deeper in on what implementation of gamification and alternate reality games can contribute with. Through the establishment of how the heritage museum space has changed since the implementation of technology, gives a response concerning new perspective in the experience economy. Connecting Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s characteristics of flow together with Jane McGonigal’s theory of alternate gaming can serve the visitor to invest in their own learning outcomes, thus invest more in cultural heritage. Nevertheless also how visitors can experience cultural heritage as one but at the same time as a community, participating through a common ‘goal’.

What makes some marketing campaigns so immensely big and well known when they are marketed through social media or with a viral approach? How can a company reach out to customers through viral marketing and how can they make use of today’s social media to achieve it? In this article we will try to understand and further explore what a campaign have to accomplish in order to achieve a viral spread, using a descriptive model which uses a number of factors and terms necessary in order to properly analyze viral marketing campaigns. This model as it stands today is at its first steps towards being a tool for producers to incorporate in their analytic research and design process when creating viral campaigns.

The main drawback of Alternate Reality Gaming, compared to other genres, is that it lacks reusability; typically it cannot be played freely by anyone, anytime, anywhere. However, with the help of modern technology, especially in the mobile devices section, this can be overcome, at least to a certain extent. Therefore, we propose a conceptual framework built upon these challenges raised by other ARGs, a framework meant for game designers and developers that wish to create reusable ARGs, to add reusability to their own ARGs or even turn their digital games into a mixed experience. We designed it by reviewing relevant literature of past ARGs that had a reusable or a digital component, from which we have drawn conclusions and mixed them with our own ideas. Then we tested it iteratively by developing two prototypes and evaluating them through user feedback.

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.

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.

The Global Village Playground (GVP) was a capstone learning experience designed to address institutional assessment needs while providing an integrated, contextualized, and authentic learning experience for students. In the GVP, students work on simulated and real-world problems as a design team tasked with developing an alternate reality game that makes an impact on the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the design of the GVP as a capstone experience. The research design follows a qualitative case study approach to gather and analyze data collected from the instructors and students participating in the pilot implementation of the GVP. Results of the study show predominantly favorable reactions to various aspects of the course and its design. Students reported to have learned the most through interactions with peers and through applying and integrating knowledge in developing the alternate reality game that was the central problem scenario for the course. What students demonstrated to have learned included knowledge construction, social responsibility, open-mindedness, big picture thinking, and an understanding of their relationship to the larger society and world in which they live. Challenges that resulted from the design included the amount of necessary to build consensus and then develop an overarching game concept, the tension between guided and directed instruction, and the need to foster greater interdependence among students while encouraging them to become more self-directed.