An alternate reality game (ARG) is an interactive narrative
that uses the real world as a platform and uses transmedia storytelling to
deliver a story that may be altered by participants' ideas or actions.
The form is defined by intense player involvement with a
story that takes place in real-time and evolves according to participants'
responses. Subsequently, it is shaped by characters that are actively
controlled by the game's designers, as opposed to being controlled by artificial
intelligence as in a computer or console video game. Players interact directly
with characters in the game, solve plot-based challenges and puzzles, and
collaborate as a community to analyze the story and coordinate real-life and
online activities. ARGs generally use multimedia, such as telephones, email and
mail but rely on the Internet as the central binding medium.
ARGs are growing in popularity, with new games appearing
regularly and an increasing amount of experimentation with new models and
subgenres. They tend to be free to play, with costs absorbed either through
supporting products or through promotional relationships with existing
products.
