Launching ARGs

In this article, we’re going to talk about launching your ARG. This is a very difficult process to wrap into a single article, so we will have a few sub-articles after everything’s said and done. But we’ll cover Trailheads, respectful advertising, and the like.

Now, one of the primary factors you’ll want to learn about your ARG’s launch is who your target audience is, and… generally, what their level of experience is with ARGs. You’ll want to make sure you can answer some questions beforehand.

Preparing for Launch

Who is your Audience?

Your audience is singlehandedly the MOST IMPORTANT piece of your launch’s puzzle. What setting is the game going to be taking place in? Online, in person, at work?

Online Communities (AKA: Anyone/Everyone): This group is probably the most common audience target. They’re the people watching youtube, reading through Reddit, and scrolling Twitter. This group is the easiest to target, but one of the hardest to gain traction with. You have to remember that you’re competing with an entire world of distraction, and nowadays… The internet is used to shrugging off “a little weird” posts and videos.

In-Person Communities: These are some of the harder audiences to reach, usually, as access to people in the physical world is often times limited to interactions you would have with them on a daily basis.

Workspace Communities: Workspace communities are, for the most part, pretty easy to reach out to. A company email for a team-building activity isn’t reaching too terribly in most cases.

These are fairly general community targets but serve as a decent enough High-Level categorization of who you can potentially expect to play your game. Knowing who your audience is will give you an outstanding edge as far as knowing how you’ll go about the launch.

What Experience Level Should You Plan for?

If you’ve been doing extensive play-testing within your community, and tweaking your game to fit within your projected difficulty… This should be pretty easy to answer.

One thing I’ve learned personally is to always assume the internet is smarter than you are (They are), and always prepare for that. Within reason, of course. Difficult puzzles don’t usually mean unsolvable, but there IS a line where too obscure is enough to kill interest.

When making games for “IRL” people, though. It’s best to assume the experience level is minimal (Remember… ARGs are something WE enjoy, and are familiar with. That’s not always the case for your friends and coworkers.), and to insure that your game is tailored to that level of experience, and difficulty. Now, this isn’t ALWAYS the case. There are certain circles where your peers are all very clever, and can likely solve the puzzles faster than you can make them. This, again, comes to playtesting with some of those peers. Get a good idea of what they’re capable of, and work within that area.

I will say, though, that some of the most rewarding games are difficult, but manageable, for most levels to dig into together. Understand that there is a line between too hard, and too easy. Try to give the best experience you can within those lines. Don’t be afraid to give them some of the easier puzzles first, and let them “work up to” the more difficult ones.

Trailheads

Trailheads are the start of your ARG. They’re the hook—the bait. Trailheads are what lure unsuspecting players into the tangles of your web, and down the paths, you’ve prepared for them. So… What is a trailhead?

Trailheads can, for the most part… Be anything. A weird video on Youtube, a strange tweet on Twitter. Odd photo on Facebook. They can be found anywhere in the wild, as anything.

What makes a good Trailhead?

A good trailhead is something that convinces the viewer that something is “not right,” and encourages a closer look.

How to get your trailhead noticed?

In the days of TiNaG(This is Not a Game), getting a trailhead out to the public was a much more involved process. The reason for this was because TiNaG was meant to create mystery and wonder, without announcing itself as a work of Unfiction, or an ARG. Many tactics used for TiNaG are still completely applicable, and rewarding, but they’re much harder to get a bite with.

So… How do you get noticed, then?

• Online Communities: Some communities (r/ARG, and r/AboardTheVehemence on Reddit, are both awesome starts that come to mind) are excellent places to try your luck at a few different tactics. “I found this weird twitter: [Insert weird Twitter link here]” for example. Now… it might not be the most enticing thing… but it does, at the very least, get your foot in the door. I do honestly recommend being very direct, though, when approaching these communities. They’re ARG communities for a reason, so there’s likely not much you can do to pull the wool over their eyes, so to speak.

• Physical Media: People have used physical media, such as fliers around college neighborhoods, with strange messages and links attached. Or, maybe a QR code (I’ll be honest… I have -never- seen a QR code in the wild and thought “Let me go out of my way to scan this…”). The problem with physical media is we don’t really know if it worked unless it starts getting noticeable traction.

• Strange websites: Websites are actually really nifty ways to start embedding your game, as you can view statistics on people coming in, where they navigate, etc. We’ll have a LOT more coverage about website-based ARGs, soon.

• Online Indexes: Online ARG promotional tools (NightMind Index, Vehemence Vanguard, and of course… us at ARGC) offer some really nifty tools for getting your trailhead to people who are looking for ARGs directly.

• TiNaG: My personal favorite… TiNaG (This is Not a Game) is basically infiltrating established communities with similar content or using familiar methods, as bait and lure. It’s the most intrusive and invasive we have in our arsenal while being as vague and secretive as possible. It’s also exceptionally difficult because you’re competing with the internet’s attention, on -their- terms.

Now…Like everything else on this site… This list isn’t exhaustive. Your imagination is far more potent than my checklist, to be sure. But it does give some idea as far as direction goes.

What -not- to do.

“Hey guys! Guys! Hey! HEY! GUYS! HEY GUYS! TRAILHEAD HERE! HEY GUYS TRAILHEAD! LOOK AT MY TRAILHEAD! TRAILHEAD HERE!”

I don’t think there needs to be any further explanation.

Additional Considerations when Launching ARGs:

Is advertising bad for ARGs?

Sometimes. But not usually. Advertising is a much more “Game First” approach to ARG creation. This almost always breaks TiNaG mystery but is much more directly effective in getting your game in front of people. It’s often met with resistance, but competing for attention in such a fast-paced internet landscape… It could very well be the only way to even get noticed.

Where do I advertise?

Reddit, NightMind Index, ARGC, etc. There are a bunch of resources available that serve as excellent platforms to get your game out to the public, and launching ARGs.

ARGC Launch Tool:

We’ve eluded to ARGC being a platform to launch with, and this will be releasing soon. So be sure to check back soon!

Writing this article has been difficult, because there are so many different things to incorporate, and everything is a rabbit hole worth of content in itself. I have SO MUCH MORE to add to this article, but it’s already way past schedule, so it’s just getting put out now and will see some editing later, so we can at least provide some sort of value presently. 😛