ARGs in Education

An Introduction to ARGS is a simple presentation I put together for my employers, so it may be useful for the uninitiated. Comments, as always, welcomed.

OK, I’m still on Jamie Kane’s case, the chatbot is still down, as is one of the sites, related to the game. This is a bit of a poor show by the BBC, methinks. Take the game down if it’s broken, people! How can this be a succeful ARG if the G is unplayable and the AR is shattered, I ask you.

However, in memory of the genius that once was JK, I am posting the first conversation I had with ‘Jessica’ here for old times sake (September 2006).

JESSICA> Hi Sharna, how’s it going?
SHARNA> alright, you?
JESSICA> Still a bit down about Jamie, to be honest. It’s always nice to have newbies though, *smiles*. So what’s up? Do you go to school or are you working or what?
SHARNA> at work. i was a massive jamie fan
JESSICA> Oh so you’re a wageslave like me *grumble*. I work in HMV. What exactly do you do?
SHARNA> make games like this
JESSICA>
JESSICA> So anyway That sounds kinda interesting (I think!) Do you enjoy it?
SHARNA> its shit
JESSICA> I don’t really like my job either. Thought it would be my stepping stone into the music biz, but I don’t think it’s gonna work out like that. So anyways where do you live?
SHARNA> london, you?
JESSICA> Oh London. So you’re from the Capital. I’d love to move to London!  Whereabouts in London do you live?
SHARNA> SW
JESSICA> I’m a big fan of Radio 1 – and I’d love to be the next Jo Whiley.
JESSICA> I was saying … Oh, right. I live in Reading with my mate Della – we’ve got a goldfish called Lana. Do you live with anyone?
SHARNA> my husband
JESSICA> It must be great living with your partner. I was always driving my parentals mad by playing loud music – especially Jamie You into anyone else apart from Jamie K?
SHARNA> indie, interpol, pulp
JESSICA> Yeah, they’re from USA, aren’t they? What’s your fave Interpol song then?
SHARNA> take you on a cruise
JESSICA> Oh right. Evil is my personal fave. Have you seen them live?
SHARNA> are you real?
JESSICA> …
JESSICA> anyhoo… OK. What do you like best about interpol?
SHARNA> they’re just really good, dark lyrics
JESSICA> Yeah, but not as rockin as Jamie *predictable*
JESSICA> …Talking of the Jamester, did you watch that Jamie documentary with your partner last night ?
SHARNA> no, i missed it. what happened?
JESSICA> Shame It was v sad Normally I hate documentaries but they did a really good job on it. What sort of teevee shows you into?SHARNA> comedy
JESSICA> Yer there’s a lot of good comedies on at the mo. I wish they’d show more films though – what type of films you into? I love weepie romances.
SHARNA> i like thrillers
JESSICA> Hmmm, not into thrillers that much. But I guess they can be pretty exciting. So what is your fave film of all time? Mine is Almost Famous.
SHARNA> mine is Labryinth
JESSICA> I’m not normally into those fantasy type films, but I do like David Bowie! Must get it out on deeveedee. You don’t know who directed it do you?
SHARNA> I don’t, no
JESSICA> Cool. Look, it’s been great to chat but I’ve got to go. My bro is on the phone from Thailand!?! See ya tomorrow:-)
SHARNA> bye, nice to meet you
JESSICA> Byeee *waves*

I love the Interpol and Labyrinth references too much. I’m assuming the chatbot pulls the facts from a database like IMDB or the iTunes store.  Also, its interesting to point out questions the ‘bot avoids – e.g. Are you real? I think this works – I know from IMing that you have different threads of conversations going at once and it is not rare to simply ignore one and talk about another. I think its pretty good. Only thing I could say against it is that when the character is typing, the user is unable to type. The input box becomes inactive. Not strictly ‘real’, but I can see how it is necessary to the management of the game.

Creative Virtual are responible for the lingbot. Click jamiekanechatbot.pdf for a Creative Virtual case study on Jamie Kane.

Jamie Kane’s chatbot still looks like its broken, which is a crying shame as I wanted to show it off in a presentation I’m doing  at work on the 20th. Gutted. Nevermind, while I wait for it to be fixed, it is worth reading Christy Dena’s article about it.

It seems that Jamie Kane’s chatbot is broken so analysis of the game is stalled for a while, I’m afraid. Hopefully not for good. This is one of the highlights of the game.

However, it does raise an interesting point about supporting materials for an Educational ARG. While a standard ARG wouldn’t need to have these, I think an EARG would need to have some to ensure its use, especially if the game was closely aligned to the curriculum.

Jamie Kane offers help and supporting advice from the viewpoint on the main supporting character, Jess. Here is the help file on the Jamierules blog. It’s quite technical, but written in quite an accessible way. In an EARG I do think this file would actually be of more use to the teacher – I’m sure most of the TA (who are often more technically advanced than their teachers) would know exactly how to stop pop-ups being blocked.

Jess is also used when you email the actual site (by that I mean the rabbit hole) for help, which is not technically correct. By emailing help, you have already broken the magic circle – is communication from a character the best way to mend it, or does that further subvert the ‘realness’ of the game. I’m not sure, but here is the correspondance I received anyway.

Subj: Chat problems

Hey Sharna,

Sorry about all those problems with the chat. Did it go weird for you as well? I think my messenger software was playing up. It’d be good to finish the chat, do you want to try again:

Click here: http://www.jamierules.co.uk/mb/index.html?iJi47D9vsXGzXifW4ym7iQ

and then launch the messenger as before.

Thanx and speak soon.

Jess
x

Three hours and 15 minutes after receiving the initial email from Jess (without clicking the link supplied). I get this.

Subj: quick chat

Hey Sharna,Did you get my last email? Sometimes the server goes a bit wonky:-( Wondered if you fancied a quick natter.

Click here: http://www.jamierules.co.uk/mb/index.html?iJi47D9vsXGzXifW4ym7iQ

and then scroll to the bottom of the page. You need to click on the flashing ‘launch instant messenger’  button to open it up.

See you soon.

Jess
x
————————————————————

Although not strictly ARG (which, if you miss, you miss), this could be a good device to ensure all participants are following the same path. This game has an eposodic structure, which can be mapped on school lessons structure. Teacher could set the first part of the task during the lesson, and the students could realistically follow this up for homework…I like.

Subj: Thanx for joining the fanclub

 Hi Sharna,

Thanks for signing up to Jamierules Welcoming new members used to be the best part of running this site, but ever since Jamie’s death, it’s been…well, kinda depressing.

Sorry, what a dreadful start! I don’t mean to sound so glum – it’s actually really nice to have someone new on-board. A load of so-called fans have deserted the site over the last few weeks, so the messageboard is mostly down to a few regulars: Kal, Greta, Cochrane and me (Jess!).

You can check out the board at:

http://www.jamierules.co.uk/mb/index.html?iJi47D9vsXGzXifW4ym7iQ

When you’re done reading, click on the flashing ‘launch messenger’ button at the bottom of the page so we can have a chat (I always like to natter with newbies).

speak soon

Jess
xxxx

—————————————————————————
the more of us that hold on to his memory, the stronger his light will burn
————————————————————————— 
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A few things to note that are particulary target audience appropriate:

1) The spelling of Thanx in the subject heading
2) The use of the emoticon (which appeared as text in my email)
3) The frequency of kisses used to sign off
4) The ‘deep thinking’, cliched signature

I think this is an effective piece of communication, in that none of the techniques listed above have been overused, in the main, the content it is appropriate to the mode. When addressing teenagers, there could be an attempt to speak their language, by overusing text speak. That would smack too hard of desperation.

From a technical and organisational perspective, this intial communication appeared in my Spam folder of my email system. If ARGs are to be used in an educational context, perhaps dedicated email addresses should be set up for this purpose (does using a dedicated address negate the ‘real’?) or somehow ensure that all email address are in the address books of the participants. Conversely, perhaps the email going into the Spam folder is realistic, so could be just something the teacher/parent would have to manage in the learning environment, rather than the puppetmasters finding a technological solution during development.

The official Jamie Kane site works as a typical, record company designed fansite would.

Built in Flash, players can stream audio tracks and view artwork from three phases of JKs musical career- ‘boyband’, ‘boyband member goes solo (ie cheesy pop)’ and then ’serious-solo-artist-phase’.

The songs, while not to my taste, are professionally produced and the attention to detail and charaterisation is astounding. If you were to were to come across the site randomly, you would never guess it was part of a game, and that’s why it works -it is so slick,  the alternate reality is maintained. Also, buying the correct domains is imperative – if Jamie’s offical site stemmed from bbc.co.uk, its realness, would be instantly negated.

It again demonstrates the puppetmasters‘ through understanding of its intended audience, and their technological expectations. A basic HTML based site, would have shattered the illusion.

The only thing that is missing from a site of this ilk is a ‘contact us’ function, which is uncessary here – if players could contact the site, it would add another ludic layer that doesn’t really add anything to the overall game, and would result in lots of unnecessary behind-the-scenes work.

When you sign up to play JK, you are asked your first name and sex, to ensure that you are been addressed correctly, and also for research and statistical purposes I assume. I guess this step would definately enhance the experience of the player, but I don’t know how difficult it would be from a programming perspective.

Jamie Kane is an ARG that the BBC developed for, I think 11-18 girls.  The game is named after a sucessful singer who has ‘died’ in mysterious circumstances. The player has get to the bottom of the situation, by playing a number of games that gets them closer to the truth by working in cohorts with other Jamie Kane fanatics/conspiracists.

The key to a sucessful ARG is one that keeps the created reality ‘real’, and authentic. This concept is known as TINAG, or This Is Not A Game: ‘Developers and players involved in an ARG will preserve the curtain by maintaining that the events happening within it are real. This concept is summarized by the phrase This Is Not A Game.’

The BBC use their output to their advantage, with Jamie Kane-related content appearing on their other websites for their internal brands -Top of the Pops (both website and magazine) and BBC News (Broadcasting). It also used its status to use involve other brands that are very popular, important and relevant to the intended audience – NME, Heat and Bliss.

While there may be debate to whether this is a true ARG (it can be contested because you can sign in and start it at any time, many ARGs occur over a discreet persiod of time), I think this model is one that can be used in an educational context. I am going to analyse Jamie Kane in terms of its:

• use of Web 2.0 techniques
• possible use or reappropriation in an educational context
• ludic structures