ARG Creator's Toolbox
Twine is, in my opinion, one of the absolute greatest freely available tools we have, currently. I use it for all my storyboarding, plot maps, and the like. I’m actually really excited about this particular tutorial. I think everyone should be aware that this tool exists. So… What is Twine? Per their site(https://twinery.org/):Twine is an…
Today’s article will cover injecting single frame video bits into a video, that we can use on platforms like Youtube, Tiktok, Instagram, and more! Single frames are a common practice, and a very useful tool in any video based ARG’s arsenal. What is a Single Frame Video Clip? Single frame video clips have been embedded…
In this article, we cover the use of a cipher Puzzle, and how to incorporate it into your game in creative ways. Ciphers have been used traced back all the way to Ancient Greece, as a way to trade military information while reducing the risk of exposing message contents should the messages be intercepted by…
Steganography is an ancient technique of hiding secret messages in plain sight. Ranging from invisible ink, to microdots, to bits in a picture… Steganography has been widely used for thousands of years. In this article, we will cover various types of modern-day steganography, primarily focusing on images. We will also talk about free tools available…
In this quick tutorial, we will once again use a free audio tool called Audacity (https://www.audacityteam.org/download/), to create a stereo panned audio isolation puzzle. When we isolate audio across stereo channels, we create layered audio that can be taken into software and treated as multiple tracks. This is an excellent technique to hide content in…
In this quick tutorial, we’re going to use Audacity(https://www.audacityteam.org/download/), a free tool, to change the metadata of an audio file, and create a Metadata Puzzle! What is Metadata? Put simply… Metadata is data, relating to other data. In the case of this tutorial, for example… We are going to use an audio file as the…
In this article, we’re going to go over how to create a Spectrogram puzzle, viewable in audio spectrograms. All while using free tools! What is a spectrogram? Spectrograms are graphical representations of audio signals that depict the intensity of different frequencies as colors or shades of gray. They have been used by audio engineers and…
The types of puzzles you’ll find in ARGs vary wildly and is often times only truly limited by the imagination, and/or implementation. But what do I mean by that? Well, you can make a puzzle out of nearly anything! Ciphers, encryptions, hidden audio, secret messages in text… The possibilities are nearly endless. In this guide,…
In this article, we will talk about some ARG platforms, that you can utilize to launch your game. Some ARGs will use one or two, some will span across a large variety of platforms. We’ll pull some examples, and talk about some other options. Be advised: This article is not complete. There’s plenty more information…
In this article, you will learn how to start making your ARG! We will cover this at a high level, as most ARGs tend to have their own flavor, twist, and methods. You’ll also find links to other articles, tools, and resources that may help along the way. I’m excited, and I hope you are…