ARGs in Education

BBC has relaunched its online Children’s offering – to some pretty negative comments from the kids, who are saying its too green (trying to hard to be gender-neutral), the logo is a wack (one commenter asked if it was responsible for the BBC to have a graffit tag-esque logo – i don’t see the graffiti ness myself, but it’s a valid and intelligent point) and its generally too busy – the users can’t find the content they like, and the fact you can click some of the wallpaper elements is too much.

Although I know people tend to hate change, I have to agree, and I think there is a danger of bombarding children with interactivity when it’s not totally necessary as it assumed their attention spans are so short they need to have things flashing and moving in all directions to keep them entertained. I was also very impressed by some of their comments – children aren’t stupid (but yeah they are precocious – The question asked was: Have you seen the brand new CBBC website? What do you think of the homepage? Do you like the new logo? What hidden items have you found? Have you tried clicking on the background images? [That's really covert, btw BBC])

“well ovbiously i have seen the new cbbc site, i would’ve had too, to even get to the message board. The homepage is cool, but there is way less buttons and too much flashy stuff and its harder to find things then on the old website. As to your question ‘Do you like the new logo?’ yes i do, its very nice, probably one of the best things out of everything. Also the background pictures are alright, but quickly get boring and unintresting and what are the coins for. CBBC needs to have a rethink about the site, keep everything the same but make it easier to find things. I hope my message gave you something to think about and hopefully it caused a bit of contreversy. (By the way i’m 12)”

…for not being clear/posting for so long. The reason has been trifold.

1) I got a new job. An amazing new job, at Tate. Yes Tate Tate. From September 24th I’m going to be the Editor of Tate Kids. You know what that means people…yes ARG time, bitches. As part of the interview, I had to put together a proposal of what I would do to the site (as I have to revamp it completely – see the job description) and of course, an ARG was an idea mooted. Think – galleries are great places to hide clues and be great fun for kids (6-12) to go tearing round them, pissing off stuffy types. I can’t go into to much detail on the ideas, because I don’t want other galleries ripping it off, but I think I could tie it into an event they do called Secret Tate. Loves it. Would probably make the game very short – just lasting an afternoon, and we would provide all the technology – possibly PDAs. God. I’ve said too much, haven’t I? I can see it being a distant relative of Hotrocket’s CIE. Sort of.

Anyway, the plan is to ‘Web 2.0′ the whole site, so keep checking it please. Actually don’t worry, as I will no doubt be posting all details here. So yes, I couldn’t go public with the news, EdComs forbade (is that a word?) me. Embargo lifted, mofos.

2) From the previous post, you can see I went to the Mind Candy offices. Whoop. How privelliged am I? Basically Michael Smith had been reading this very blog (!), and was thinking of ways I could possible get involved with their work. I was beyond flattered – to the point to of puking actually. I was the archetypal dickhead hammy fan, but it rocked. Spookily I had the Tate interview just an hour before I met them, so I felt properly in demand. Thanks for your time MC – I’ll be back.

3) This blog was created as part of a my MA, and I am now no longer obligated to maintain it. However – I love it too much to ditch, it rocks.

 So yeah, a new chapter all, and a real chance to get this ARG made.

From MindCandy:

We’re currently developing a highly innovative new virtual world and online game, where people adopt and care for their very own monster pet.

Designed for the kid in each of us, Moshi Monsters will enable owners to select and customize a monster, decorate its world and share it with friends.

Coming this Autumn!
Get a sneak preview now at moshimonsters.com.

From me:

I’ve signed up. I suppose this is the reason PerplexCity season two is a no-go. I’m going to keep an eye on the Unfiction forums to see what the hardcore fans are saying about this…

**UPDATE**

More on MM can be found here. Unfortunately I’m slightly older than target demographic, but I still want in.

I know I haven’t said much about the game, but rest assured I am still playing it. Initial thoughts below:

• Games are of two different type – investigative (go look around the web bring back the info) or more ‘practical’/arcade (guide the ball to the hole via obstacles)
• It’s designed a bit like the film SAW, so it is sufficiently creepy
• The in-game emails work differently to Jamie Kane. They offer further information to the games and give you hints and tips. They are from other investigators working on the case. In Jamie Kane, they were chiefly there to tell you to resume playing. As IM comes on a CD, there would be no need for those types of email…Both types of communication have different functions, but each work suitably well. If I was doing an ARG for younger children, I would keep circumstantial information to a minimum
• As Neil raised in the comments, the issue with CDs is not who holds the physical CD, but how many licenses there are…I’m thinking just put it on the web for free, altruism at its best. Users don’t expect to pay for things these days.
• The in-game sites are a little basic (could be down to the age of the game [4 years]) so when you access one, you know you are in the right place. They all share very similar conventions – e.g. a drop down box on the left to choose language - I will provide screengrabs
• As the game is quite old, there are a number of walkthroughs on the Internet, so if you are searching for a clue, the walkthrough will tend to be at the very top of your search results. Annoying, but something to consider….maybe there does need to be a shelf life on ARGs…otherwise the playability is compromised quite easily

It looks like I might have an ARG to study for my dissertation afterall!

There is a group of Facebook called Transmedia, where Transmediums (!) like myself discuss the finer points of cross-medianess. It’s an open group, so join in if you are interested.

Through the group I have got in touch with Alexa from Belgium who is willing to show me their intial research etc.

She blogs here.

Very kindly, she sent me a number of links to get me started, which I am happy to share with you. Once I have had a detailed read, I will post a response up here.

Her pilot in Poland

The eMappps project

OK everyone, I’ve decided I’m going to start blogging about social networks, virtual worlds and education here too.

So, in the sprit of things,  here is an article from The Guardian re the aquisition of Club Penguin, a sort of SL for children, just bought by Disney. They also list the other major virtual worlds:

Webkinz
Habbo Hotel
Stardoll
Neopets
Gaia Online

I’ll also be blogging about Kate Modern, a new online interactive drama from Bebo, from the creators of Lonelygirl15.

This week is My Week Off, where I was planning on playing Cathy’s Book and In Memoriam. Cathy’s Book, I did within an few hours of receiving it and In Memoriam was broken – I installed it, but I couldn’t receive any emails from the game – I couldn’t even register my email address. Was peeved, yes.

However this is now changed thanks to an email to tech support, who responded within 10 mins!  The game is now working and I’m good to go. Yesterday, I finally managed to rig up my wireless router sans instructions and installation cd, all thanks to Tech Support.

Thanks TS. You rock.

OK, so that was suitably lame, but it had to be said.

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.

There was an article in yesterday’s Metro. If I still have the copy, I’ll scan the article in. It was about pervasive games, by this, they really meant treasure hunts set in cities. Yep, like Masquerade. I guess they are definately related to ARGs, perhaps, their less technical mother. The are missing the online elememts, and also the community – however you have to remember that these were not possible in the pre-digital age.

Anyhow, I came across a company called London Quest, who make bespoke games for company away days and hen nights. How cool is that? I’m going to have to arrange that for my birthday, or make someone marry me so I can do this. Awesome. I’ll have a word with them, see if I can get a bit of work experience with them and hopefully some inspiration.