Why Alternate Reality Games Aren't For Everyone

The idea of alternate reality gaming is somewhat of a new frontier in the world of media.  The alternate reality game is a relatively ambiguous concept that involves taking elements from a fictional world or fictional set of circumstances and implanting them into the real world for users to interact with as if they were a part of their reality.  These alternate reality games can be implemented in a variety of ways, usually taking advantage of the the ubiquitous technology we've all become so entrenched in.  Also, they can be implemented for a variety of purposes such as advertising (The Art of the Heist), storytelling (The Lost Experience), and even social action (Evoke).

Alternate reality games provide a unique, pervasive form of "play" that is becoming increasingly popular, and amassing small groups of hardcore fans and followers.  But, a few of the factors that make these games so intriguing to some, make them nearly or completely inaccessible to others.  Alternate reality games are definitely not for everyone.

First, for someone to get involved in such a game, one must have a committed and deep interest in the content.  Second, even if that interest is present, one must have a certain knowledge base to attain or understand most of the content from the game.  Because of this, the number of actual participants in these games is quite small compared to the number of passive observers, or people who are completely oblivious to the game.

To examine these limitations more closely, let's look at The Lost Experience.  In a nutshell, the Lost Experience was an alternate reality game that provided an unfolding narrative parallel to the narrative of the ABC television program Lost.  Most of the content from this ARG was web-based, however there was also a tie-in novel that was published, and at least one live event that was considered part of the game.

However, for a user to even become aware of this game, he/she must have enough of an interest in Lost and enough media literacy to discover the allusions made to the ARG.

In addition to this, once one became aware of the game or "fell down the rabbit hole," an entirely different and unique set of skills were required to actually play it.  According to the Lostpedia wiki-entry on the game, to find all of the clues and fully comprehend all the information from the game, users must have some knowledge of web-browsing and source code, Adobe Photoshop, cryptology, mathematical coding, classical mythology, foreign languages, and more!

Undoubtedly, the game was designed to be a cryptic and difficult "scavenger hunt" and to require a great amount of collaboration among users.  However, this isolates the vast majority of the Lost audience and leaves The Lost Experience to only the most hardcore of fans.  And in the case of this particular ARG this was more than likely the intended outcome by the creators of the game.

There is definitely an exclusivity factor underlying all of these alternate reality games.  Sometimes it can enhance the game, as in the case of the mysterious narratives of The Lost Experience.  But this same exclusivity factor could easily be detrimental in the case of ARG's that are designed solely for the purpose of promotion and advertising.  While alternate reality games are very interesting and becoming more prevalent, they aren't reaching mass audiences in the same way other forms of media are.

-Dustin