ARGs, Soul sucking demons or problem solvers?

Alternate Realty Games are becoming a new phenomenon. In the reading Jane McConigal argues that these games can be taken to serious by some people, but used in real life setting, it can cause group think, increase problem solving and increase teamwork. The question that arises is this, do players get so immersed into the game that they lose their own self into part of the game, or are they consciously aware of their surroundings, knowing they are part of a bigger online, “pseudo world?”

The argument towards readers getting carried away games from Richard Schechner, he describes two types of play. These two types are “make believe, and make belief. [40, p.35] He states that the first protects the boundaries between what is real and what is pretend, while the latter intentionally blurs them.” This can happen to those who get wrapped up in gaming and believe that they play an actual role in the game, and take form of the character they play. It can lead to addiction or delusions or those who lose all track of time and social life consumed in these fake worlds. However, the lesson that came be learned from the ARG games seem to outweigh the cons. McGonagall argues that , “when(addiction) perceived negatively, immersion in games nevertheless has been seen as a conscious, if ill advised, choice to surrender the pleasures or narrative, role-lay or well-defined goals and limit. ( 8) Even lessons game be learned from these games. For example, a Norwegian boy saved his own sisters life, using skills he learned in World Of Warcraft. Now this may seem to be an outlandish type story, however, conventions such as the following, “Dr. Strangelearn and his army of Mad Scientist friends are all characters in Tandem Learning’s latest alternate reality game designed to enhance the upcoming DevLearn 2010 conference in San Francisco from November 3rd to 5th. The conference, sponsored by The eLearning Guild, will focus on technology-enhanced organizational learning and knowledge-sharing strategies. The Mad Scientists are being played by learning industry experts whose true identities will be unveiled at the conference and on Twitter. At DevLearn10, there will be sessions at the Dr. Strangelearn Information Stations where participants will have a chance to meet the experts. This year, attendees of DevLearn10 will be exposed to many new learning strategies, and Dr. Strangelearn’s Learning Laboratory will help DevLearn10 participants handle organizational objections to implementing those strategies when they get back to the office. Through the game, research, case studies, and academic papers are being shared with players to arm them with what they need to convince their organizations of the feasibility and value of new learning strategies,” are using ARG games to education, create information and even arm them with more knowledge.
So the question remains, are ARG games bad or the future of learning and knowledge. I would have to aim on the side of good. Users are self conscious of what they log into and what they are viewing. It takes time and effort to search out these games, become part of these worlds, and work together for the common good. Just as McGonagall mentions viewers searching out the Blair Witch Project webisodes, it takes effort to become part of these online realities. Without the proper time, knowledge, skill or interest the gamers and participants or ARG games enthusiasts must search out these well known treasures. Who knows, the next Einstein may develop because of skills he learned in an ARG.