Incognito; The Rebirth of Nonchalance

Fair Reader you may be wondering, "What About This Project?". Fore I'd previously alluded to some grand endeavor that was taking place in 2008, the post-Oaklandish project that would once and for all settle the score. And yes it's underway, however the overall approach has been modified. Rather than hyping it up / going massive, I'm starting at the other miniscule end of the spectrum. It's gotta begin micro & mysterious. And then grow organically, eventually arriving at an appropriate scale. I will drop clues here, but I will not be "promoting". To the viewer/player/performer, the author(s) will be quite anonymous. And there will be no press. No reference. No alternate resource. All I shall say now is that the script has been written, and we are in full production mode. Funny that I'm discussing this here in a manner in which there is a supposed audience who actually gives a flarn.

Acting as if >>> Humble beginnings >>> Nameless >>> Nobody but us in here.

SFZero

"If there is such a thing as open source games, sf0 is a beautiful version of it."- Greg Niemeyer

From the site: "SFZero is a Collaborative Production Game. Players build characters by completing tasks for their groups and increasing their Score. The goals of play include meeting new people, exploring the city, and participating in non-consumer leisure activities.
......

SFZero: An interface for San Francisco. That is to say, a new representation for the data that's already there. Your mind is full of /inaccurate/ representations that are affecting the way you use the San Francisco dataflow: steering you away from interaction and collaboration and towards unproductive reflexive data loops (forNext). SFZero designers are working double-shifts to engineer this next-generation interface that will bring you together with your cohabitants to experience the freedom that is /hard-coded/ into San Francisco's protocol."

http://sf0.org/

"Alternative Reality Gaming"

"So, yes, I think we are going to be seeing more alternative reality games. The movement is gaining momentum, though there is still not a fully developed business model for thinking about how to build on this trend yet, and so it is likely to remain in the hands of marketers on the one hand and amateurs on the other."
- Henry Jenkins, Director of Comparative Media Studies Program and Full Professor of Literature at MIT

To learn about the basic tenets of ARG's, start here:
- Wikipedia article on Alternative Reality Games
- The Alternative Reality Gaming Network

OK, when you read the description of Immersive Media Narratives, you might observe that it sounds remarkably similar to an "Alternative Reality Game". And you would be correct. However, there are a few distinctions I'd like to make. As a genre these ARG's are defined by their adult, macabre, nerded out sensibility. Without exception they are all hard-boiled & dark mysteries, reminiscent of the comic book & video game world that are their breeding grounds. By nature, they are a "cult" activity, accessible mainly to the initiated gamer (adult male). Here's where I believe these games fall short as engaging entertainment.

- Producers are not seeing the "next level" of ARG as a broad entertainment platform with a massive intergenerational audience.
- There are no colorful, playful, joyful, completely integrated examples of this medium.
- So far the major games have been limited to "marketing tools".
- There is a tremendous gap to be filled here.

The "Games of Nonchalance" as an Immersive Media Narrative is different in that:
- it is designed as an ongoing activity for parents and children together in real space.
- There is a different level of immersion, with real stylized sets, rooms, and character actors.
- The aesthetics of the game are on a different creative & conceptual level. It is driven by an arts & entertainment model.
- There is a rough business model.

{ Immersive Media Narrative }

Now we're getting closer to the heart of why this blog exists. It serves as a conceptual safety net for ideas. More specifically: a safety net for ideas related to an upcoming creative project. This project could be described as an "Immersive Media Narrative", and this is what I have to say about it right now...

It is an activity, an "alternate reality game", a story, a novel, a movie, a website, a pirate radio program, a map, a guided tour, an urban exploration, a public art project, a scavenger hunt, a choose your own adventure book, trading cards, both a mystery & science fiction play, socio-reengineering experiment, and new commercial venture. For children & Adults. Foreshadowing the future of entertainment.

The story has online and offline content, that is immeshed. These tools are used as "narrative devices", all guiding the "participant" to real time / real space journeys. Examples of online content include: Google Maps, You Tube Video, Streaming Audio, Websites, Text Messaging & E-Mail. Examples of offline content include: Wheat paste visuals, FM radio transmissions, epoxy figurines, voice-mail boxes, graffiti-like messages, sidewalk chalk, exchanges of alternative currency, vending machines, photocopy tear-off flyers, oddball print ads, buried treasures, lock boxes, actual rooms or "sets", and introductions to the characters (actors placed in real space).

Besides the medium, it is really about the style and the content of the narrative. I'll save that very important subject for another day.

Beautiful Katamari

We're not "gamers", in the traditional context. That's why it's so satisfying to find a contemporary video game that is so colorful, fun, and trippy. You're this little prince who has to roll up this little ball of human clutter, unitl it gets bigger and bigger and bigger! You start off with bottle caps and match books, moving on to bikes and vending machines, and finally buildings, killer whales, and entire continents. It's so gratifying to move on to the larger scales and start grabbing huge stuff.

This is another great example of the sense of *scale* & *scope* being creatively explored through modern media. Such a game we can surely get down with, like the ones we used to enjoy in the arcade! Q-Bert, Pacman, Berzerker, Tempest, Battlezone, Dig Dug, Burgertime, etc. etc. These were playful, conceptual, silly, and just delightful. Such a contrast to the loud and gloomy shoot 'em up flarnery being pushed so heavily today.