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Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) are a form of entertainment that weave together storytelling, puzzle solving and role playing elements.  According to the Educause Learning initiative, "ARG players follow a narrative through clues, puzzles, and events orchestrated by the 'puppetmaster' or game designer(s)."

ARGs have been steadily evolving since they were first introduced in the late 1990s.  A range of organizations in the entertainment, government and non-profit arenas have developed highly successful ARGs. Some of these include: 

• Entertainment (video games): Bungie produced an ARG and viral marketing campaign in 2004 called I Love Bees for the launch of its video game Halo 2.
• Education: The makers of the ARG World Without Oil asked participants to imagine what life would be like if oil was scarce and expensive.

Problems with ARG Development, Implementation and Measurement

When done properly, ARGs can be a highly successful communications and marketing medium.  However, while many ARGs are launched each year, very few are successful.  This is partly due to a number of factors, including:

• Audience Composition:  There are several ARG enthusiast communities online. One of the most popular is unfiction.com.  While Unfiction and communities like it can be excellent sources for dedicated players, ARG developers sometimes find that the majority of people engaged in their games are outside of their target audience
• Time Commitment: Due to their heavy reliance on complex puzzles and intricate storylines, ARG developers must dedicate significant time to games that sometimes only attract very small audiences.  In addition, many ARGs rely on a core group of dedicated players with the time and inclination to participate fully in the game.  

What Exactly is an ARG?

According to Wikipedia: "There is a great deal of debate about how to define the term "alternate reality game" and what should be included or excluded by the definition. Sean Stacey, founder of the Website Unfiction, has suggested that the best way to define the genre was not to define it, and instead locate each game on three axes (ruleset, authorship and coherence) in a sphere of "chaotic fiction" that would include works such as the Uncyclopedia and street games like SF0 as well."

See the presentation below and the additional resources section for more information about ARGs.

Alternate Reality Games: Full Media Storytelling