Congratulations to all the attendees of the 2009 argfestocon in Portland Oregon.  After much debating and sharing, the writers, web designers, artists, academics, film producers, directors, puppet-masters, and players have created a 26 bullet point list that clearly defines the ARG genre as a whole.

Beginning Monday, July 20th, 2009, all ARG designers must adhere to the aforementioned bullet-point list before "going live" with their work.  All present ARGs are excluded from the bulleted list adherence requirement, except unless "beginning a new chapter".  In such case, the new work will be required to comply. 

An elected board of seven "moderators" will be silently monitoring all ARG work over their two-year term, after which seven new members will be elected - (See Section 32 - Sub-part A - Paragraphs 3-5).

Any ARG creator, or ARG player for that matter, found to be not in compliance with aforementioned bulleted list, will be immediately detained and interrogated by no less than five violent mimes, subjected to heavy fines, and ex-communicated from the community.

You have been warned.

Resistance is....

well, you know the rest.

Silly isn't it?

Many of us come from different backgrounds and expertise; we did indeed have much debate at the conference.

There were writers and academic researchers who see plot and character as top priority, strongly pushing the need for traditional story elements in new media.  Film producers and directors who emphasized players being an "audience", seeing players' roles as more limited in order to preserve the original creators' intent. Conversely other film directors and producers who see audiences the exact opposite.  There were vocal ARG players who emphasized the need for puzzles; that the personal fulfillment gained from solving a puzzle creates the ultimate experience.  ARG designers who spoke of unshackling our minds from traditional story-telling and emphasized the transient experience of live events and physical exploration.

So did we come to any agreement as to what an ARG should be?

Well, yes and no.

The common thread from the panel discussions throughout the day seemed to reflect one basic theme. The different topics and panelists that were presented all seemed to emphasize, at one time or another,  one ARG attribute more than anything else.

An ARG is about the Experience

Regardless of how the ARG unfolds, an ARG is about the experience.  Because ARGs ultimately imitate life, this results unfortunately in a lack of preservation or persistance.  For instance, one can re-read a book, or watch a favorite film ad-nauseum.  But how does one re-create the joy of initially solving a puzzle, or capture the magic of a "live event"?  It's because the ARG experience is so fleeting that makes the fun so rewarding and fulfilling - and so precious.

So whether the ARG is traditional story-telling, or a physical exploration of a city, or a series of puzzle-quests that unlock future chapters of an ongoing film, the emphasis in on the PLAYER'S EXPERIENCE. That, more than anything else, seems to be the common driving force behind ARGs that were discussed on Saturday.

One panelist brought up Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics, referring to Scott's emphasis that the story between the frames of a comic book or strip takes place in the reader's mind - and that's what we're after in creating ARGs. 

Yes, it could be said that all art and media is about the experience.  A film must be viewed; a book must be read, etc.

But that's not the point.

We're not arguing that an ARG is an experience, what we seem to be saying to one another at the conference is the player's experience is TOP PRIORITY.

This examination of the player's experience was reflected in each and every panel discussion.  There were those that cared deeply for the experience of the players, and there were those who detached themselves from the priority of the players' experience.  And those that did detach, faced scrutiny of fellow panelists and the audience. 

It's the shared connection, the collaborative effort, not just among players working together but of the coveted unofficial agreement between the puppet-masters and players, that separates the ARG from other media.

A book is written, than read later.  A film is shot, edited, than viewed later.

Probably the art-form related most closely t o ARGs are stageplays. Because while the play is written earlier, it's shared and experienced through real-time  - and like a puppetmaster may redirect mid-game how the story or experience unfolds, so too can stage actors react to a live audience, and redirect the experience (albeit - somewhat limited).

And it's because an ARG is told in real-time, the shared connection between the players and those that work behind the curtain becomes a stronger bond than in any other media.  And because that bond is based on so many unknowns - the only way to forge that bond, is to base it on trust.

Let me repeat that.

An ARG, more than any other art form - is based on trust.

Think of the underlying trust you have when you attend a play, or view a film.  You can look at the running-time beforehand (ah yes - I can put aside 2 hours of my life to watch this).  You can read reviews (Wow - Roger Ebert gives this a thumbs up).  You can hear about the experience from friends and co-workers before deciding to actually read that book, or see that film.  After all - it can't be that bad - they're still alive!  They survived!

But because ARGs are so transient, because the experience can't easily be preserved, we as players have absolutely no basis in deciding whether or not to go down the next rabbit-hole. 

Should I trust these puppet-masters?  Should I invest my time in this?

Throughout yesterday's conference, old and new issues of trust surfaced.  Topics such as: what to do on forums that are "outside the game", how often does a puppetmaster directly get involved in the unfolding of the experience, where lies the "safe word" for players. How to appeal to different players' levels of comfort.

And while some issues are still being debated, at least we came together to discuss those issues.  Trust, and the violation of that trust became the underlying theme of yesterday,  from the first panel in the morning to the keynote speech from Jordan Weisman.

Waita minute!

Does that mean we finally have a definition for an ARG?

An ARG is a shared transient experience, unfolding in real-time.

Wait that's not an ARG.  That's life.  ARGh!

How about this?

An ARG is an ARTIFICIAL shared transient experience, unfolding in real-time.

Because an ARG is about blurring the lines between what is real and what isn't, to clearly define what an ARG is and what it isn't, is not only impossible, but by nature rejects its own definition.

Maybe we should forget trying to define our genre that we work and play in.  Let the history book writers many years from now struggle with that issue.

Instead let's discuss more, create more, trust more, and experience more.

And if you send me a 26-bullet point list on what I'm supposed to adhere to, I'll send a mime after you.