Rules of Engagement

Rules of EngagementRules of Engagement Steve PetersSteve Peters

Your audience can be your biggest ally, your Your audience can be your biggest ally, your fiercest adversary or your creative partner, fiercest adversary or your creative partner,

depending on the design choices you make… depending on the design choices you make…

Rules of EngagementRules of EngagementFor Alternate Reality Games and all Immersive For Alternate Reality Games and all Immersive Entertainment, there’s a very unique relationship Entertainment, there’s a very unique relationship with an audience that’s available, unlike any with an audience that’s available, unlike any other medium. Your audience can be specifically other medium. Your audience can be specifically targeted, designed for and responded to.targeted, designed for and responded to.

How do you initiate, build, andHow do you initiate, build, andnurture that relationship? nurture that relationship?

Rules of EngagementRules of EngagementTo look at this, we’ll be looking at a game we did back in 2007…

Rules of EngagementRules of Engagement

Five F’s of Fantastic-ness:Five F’s of Fantastic-ness:



1.1. FindFind



1.1. FindFind2.2. FocusFocus



1.1. FindFind2.2. FocusFocus3.3. FunFun



1.1. FindFind2.2. FocusFocus3.3. FunFun4.4. FreedomFreedom



1.1. FindFind2.2. FocusFocus3.3. FunFun4.4. FreedomFreedom5.5.Fear!Fear!

Find:Find:

Let them Let them findfind you….or at least you….or at least thinkthink they did. they did.

Find:Find:-Down the-Down the Rabbithole Rabbithole


Aiming at a very specific audience of bloggers, early adopters and community leaders, we threw out a challenge…


O RLY?You think you’re smart?

Prove it!


In addition, key individuals got puzzle boxes and USB drives containing more clues, leading to the most compelling rabbithole today…





No, notNo, notbrunettes in distress…brunettes in distress…


A COUNTDOWN!

(teh internet loves ‘em)

Find:Find:-Down the-Down the Rabbithole Rabbithole-Discovery-Discovery

Letting players find things themselves gives them a sense of ownership. Keys led to hidden pages…


Letting players find things themselves gives them a sense of ownership. Keys led to hidden pages…which gave puzzles which, when solved, revealed the “rules” and game intro…

©2006 42 Entertainment, LLC.


Let players dig, and discover stuff on their own. If the find it rather than it being given to them, it’ll make them feel smart and give them a huge sense of ownership over what they find.

And always, always monitor progress.

Focus:Focus:

Let them Let them focusfocus on the level of on the level of experience they’re willing to invest experience they’re willing to invest

themselves in.themselves in.

Focus:Focus:-Create content -Create content for multiple for multiple levels of levels of engagement.engagement.


Level 1 (casual)

Spectacle at Bellagio


Level 2 (active)

Puzzle Suites


Level 3 (enthusiastic)

Meta Puzzle (ARG): Who is Loki?


-Create a -Create a structure where structure where the experience the experience promises them promises them things and then things and then fulfills them. fulfills them.

There were even more countdowns here!

Recurring update schedule of weekly Puzzle Suites


-Create a -Create a structure where structure where the experience the experience promises them promises them things and then things and then fulfills them. fulfills them.

-Create natural (but Create natural (but very subtle) very subtle) boundaries or boundaries or indicators, so indicators, so players won’t make players won’t make wrong wrong assumptions, and assumptions, and will know what’s in-will know what’s in-game and what’s game and what’s not.not.

Fun:Fun:

Be sure that, above all else, they have Be sure that, above all else, they have fun!fun!

Fun:Fun:- Create a FUN experience.

Anyone can make a difficult puzzle, but a lot tougher to make a difficult puzzle that’s FUN.


Create an environment where the experience allows players to learn and improve at the skills they’ll need as they go (don’t start off with the toughest stuff…keep a low barrier to entry at first).


Create compelling characters and give players voyeuristic glimpses into their lives. .

Via emails, voicemail, video, etc. Show the results of yourstory, don’t just tell it in a bunch of blog posts.

Freedom:Freedom:

Give them Give them freedomfreedom to explore your universe to explore your universe on their own…and to play in their own way.on their own…and to play in their own way.

Freedom:Freedom:- Let players affect the experience (even if it’s only in small ways).

In Last Call Poker, players helped Matt Vietout of a burning building…..or didn’t.

Freedom:Freedom:- Remember that the experience really exists in the PLAYERS’ space.

Absolutely stay out of player spaces at all times,no matter how tempting.

Freedom:Freedom:- If players are “playing wrong,” that’s your problem to fix via design. You can’t control how players play.

The term “puppetmaster” is a misnomer.

Freedom:Freedom:- If players are “playing wrong,” that’s your problem to fix via design. You can’t control how players play.

If you love someone, set them free

Freedom:Freedom:- Let players make their own tools, systems, resources.

Wikis, forums, etc. build community culture (let them playat home.

Freedom:Freedom:- Playerrelationship

The developer/player relationship could be comparedto a game of chess: outwit, outmaneuver, outrun your opponent…


…but that would be so wrong.


Think of it more as a really good jazz session,or like dueling banjos. Dynamic, call and response.

Fear:Fear:

Give them a healthy attitude of Give them a healthy attitude of fearfearlessness. Give yourself a healthy lessness. Give yourself a healthy fearfear of of their attitude, and what they can accomplish.their attitude, and what they can accomplish.

Fear:Fear:- Instill trust and fearlessness.

Give players a sense of safety. Don’t punish them for loving your game. Make sure they’re safe and don’t ask them to do anything humiliating.

Fear:Fear:- For live events, make sure that there’s something for both the on-the-ground players and online players to do (preferably together).

Fear:Fear:- Don’t forget, they’re smarter than you.

Results:Results:

Over 1 million active players took part online, and according to Nielson Metrics, Vanishing Point had a reach of 20 million people around the world.

Conclusion:Conclusion:

Without successfully engaging an audience,an ARG doesn’t exist.

A true case of the tree falling in the forest withnobody to hear it. It doesn’t make a sound.

One last thing:One last thing:

Don’t forget to usecheap media tricks.

An unexpected phone call in the middleof the day does wonders.

Entertainment & Humor

Rules of Engagement