A View From The Road: ARG, A Portal MMOG!

[JEBWrench]

While the ARG might follow the same basic concepts as Massively Multiplayer Online Games tend to, that doesn't really make it a fully fledged MMO, I think. If it is, it's a pretty poor one for all parties involved: it doesn't make money, noone gains any levels, and people don't even get loot! It was a lot of fun, but just because something's fun doesn't make it a game. I'd be calling this a massively multiplayer online... puzzle? I mean, unless you call driving to work through the traffing a PvP competitive massively multiplayer game, instead of calling it a pain in the ass or a fact of life... I can't exactly agree.

I'd be more inclined to say that a well-executed ARG is more of an MMOG than most MMORPGs.

It brings a large number of people together to sort through the events, and the story itself is the driving element to succeed. Rather than ding, numbers go up, hooray.

The play's the thing, and all that.

It's what makes Marble Hornets so damn interesting as well. There's no tangible reward for piecing together plot elemtents, but the story (if you're into that kind of thing), keeps drawing people back and working together.

 

[DTWolfwood]

I want some cake now ._.

 

[John Funk]

A "superconscious" is a better term- they are all working together, or at least working in large groups to achieve a common goal. Saying this would be like saying that Anonymous is an MMO.

But Anonymous isn't working together to solve a challenge purposefully put forward to them by a third party. Therein lies the difference.

 

[JEBWrench]

But Anonymous isn't working together to solve a challenge purposefully put forward to them by a third party. Therein lies the difference.

Scientology almost fits that bill extremely well. Only that L. Ron's purpose is open for interpretation.

 

[Hurr Durr Derp]

Now all Valve has to do is make an actual MMOG set in the Half-Life world, and we'd be set. And it would probably still come out before Episode 3.

Yes! Just what the world needs: More interesting franchises turning into giant MMORPG clusterfucks! Hooray!

Apart from that, I agree that ARGs are essentially just a different kind of MMOG. They're not 'infinite' like traditional MMORPGs, but I think their finity (finiteness?) is their strength. There's a goal everyone's working towards, which is solving the puzzle. That goal isn't as clear-cut as it is in traditional MMORPGs, but that makes the hunt all the more exciting. The idea that ARGs are set in the 'real' world in stead of a clearly defined game like MMORPGs also adds to the excitement, since the possibilities become nearly endless. In fact, if there was one argument against ARGs being MMOGs, I'd say it's that there are no real rules to the game. While any MMOG has clearly defined rules that aren't allowed to be broken lest you get your account banned, and the player's progression is clearly mapped out from the beginning, ARGs simply give the player some leads and then leaves it up to them how to progress.

 

[JEBWrench]

*snip* In fact, if there was one argument against ARGs being MMOGs, I'd say it's that there are no real rules to the game. While any MMOG has clearly defined rules that aren't allowed to be broken lest you get your account banned, and the player's progression is clearly mapped out from the beginning, ARGs simply give the player some leads and then leaves it up to them how to progress.

Though, in terms of being a game, I think in a way the core "gameplay" element of a quality ARG is that there aren't any rules. Anything goes, in effort to connect the dots. Which is why I think the Portal 2 ARG went over so well. People did everything they could think of to fill in the blanks.

 

[Hurr Durr Derp]

*snip* In fact, if there was one argument against ARGs being MMOGs, I'd say it's that there are no real rules to the game. While any MMOG has clearly defined rules that aren't allowed to be broken lest you get your account banned, and the player's progression is clearly mapped out from the beginning, ARGs simply give the player some leads and then leaves it up to them how to progress.

Though, in terms of being a game, I think in a way the core "gameplay" element of a quality ARG is that there aren't any rules. Anything goes, in effort to connect the dots. Which is why I think the Portal 2 ARG went over so well. People did everything they could think of to fill in the blanks.

I certainly agree that it makes the whole deal more exciting, but I'd argue that something that has no rules isn't really a game.

 

[PodX140]

The cake may be a lie, but it is delicious. I don't want to know the truth now if the lie tastes this good.

While I understand the argument, it's not an MMO. It really needs to have more than just the bare bones, and more than just one puzzle: now that it's been decoded, and Portal 2 has been released, how many people are still looking at the ARG? If this was an MMO, it'd be in its death throes right now.

And I'm still apprehensive for Portal 2. I mean, the first was all right (but nothing incredibly spectacular), but I don't feel that it'll make for a great full-length game.

I would like to know what you're definition of full-length game is. Did Portal not have a self-contained storyline and characters? Did it not have thrilling plot twists and an epic conclusion? Did it not involve more than an hour of time to complete? Then I don't see what makes in not qualify.

Though I did encounter the same post on RPS, and to that I will quote;

"What was missing?
All the filler that game devlelopers usually use to pad out games so that many people never finish them, that?s what was missing!
I demand my filler! I actually got to the end of portal before I got bored of filler! It was disgraceful!"

 

[Heart of Darkness]

The cake may be a lie, but it is delicious. I don't want to know the truth now if the lie tastes this good.

While I understand the argument, it's not an MMO. It really needs to have more than just the bare bones, and more than just one puzzle: now that it's been decoded, and Portal 2 has been released, how many people are still looking at the ARG? If this was an MMO, it'd be in its death throes right now.

And I'm still apprehensive for Portal 2. I mean, the first was all right (but nothing incredibly spectacular), but I don't feel that it'll make for a great full-length game.

I would like to know what you're definition of full-length game is. Did Portal not have a self-contained storyline and characters? Did it not have thrilling plot twists and an epic conclusion? Did it not involve more than an hour of time to complete? Then I don't see what makes in not qualify.

Though I did encounter the same post on RPS, and to that I will quote;

"What was missing?
All the filler that game devlelopers usually use to pad out games so that many people never finish them, that?s what was missing!
I demand my filler! I actually got to the end of portal before I got bored of filler! It was disgraceful!"

I get the feeling you're overselling the game. There are only two characters, and only one undergoes significant characterization. Thrilling plot twists? Not really. GLaDOS's "betrayal" should have been obvious if you noticed the lack of scientists in the observation rooms--not to mention the fact that the tests get progressively dangerous. The conclusion was far from epic; it felt anticlimactic, probably due to the mechanics involved. Had the final battle been more than "place portal, hit with rocket," then yes, it could stand to be epic. But a standard three time repeat? Not epic enough.

As for the length, no it's not full length. To me, Portal's three hour length does not justify it's $20 price tag. $10 would have been more reasonable, but I bought it as part of The Orange Box, played it first, beat it, and then never touched it again, disappointed at the massive hyoe that the Portal fanbase drummed up for it. But I digress. To me, a full-length game is, at the minimum, ten hours--eight at the least, depending on the game.

And, truth be told, I was underwhelmed with Portal up until the escape from Chamber 17. Almost to the point of boredom. Had the entire game been more like the second half--with an actual POINT rather than "go here, avoid this, activate switch, repeat," I might've been inclined to change my opinion. As it stands, however, it doesn't.

 

[JusticarPhaeton]

Why do I seem to miss out on all the ARG's? Also, that's nice, but I doubt it tops the Year Zero ARG.

Calling it an MMOG is a bit of a stretch; that's like calling Orienteering an MMOG because you communicate through the internet and there is a persistent 'world' where you search for scavenger hunt items left by others. Actually, 'cooperative scavenger hunt' is a much more appropriate term; an MMOG generally refers to a program through which you create an avatar and interact with others in a number of predefined parameters, and I think that's the real hallmark of the definition of an MMOG. In an ARG, you are free to approach the problem in any way you wish. If we say that an ARG is an MMO, playing the stock market could technically be defined as an MMOG; there's a persistent world, tangible goals, interaction, cooperation, competition with others, all held together by a global communications network (largely the internet nowadays.)

 

[raankh]

... playing the stock market could technically be defined as an MMOG ...

Yup, and that explains a lot.

However, would that make gold farming (playing the market) a meta-mmo game? A mmog inside a mmog

 

[DudeMan1031]

An actual MMOG set in the Half-Life universe would be great. Especially if it crossed over with other Valve games somehow.

 

[randommaster]

All I have to say about a Valve MMOG is that there would be hidden messages everywhere and it would create more rumors than anything else ever.