Schedule

9:30 am – 9:55 am
Jeremy Irish

When geocaching began in 2000, it was all about finding physical geocaches hidden in the woods. As geocaching grew, so did the community’s creativity. Now, you can immerse yourself in a storyline as you find epic multi-caches, attend community-driven Mega-events and, with the release of a new Geocaching platform, create your own local adventures. In short, geocaching has moved beyond just a box in the woods.

10:00 am – 10:25 am
Haley Moore

Everyone likes to get stuff in the mail, but what separates promotional trash from storytelling treasure? In this session, designer Haley Moore explores the ways that tangible objects can enrich a campaign and bring the audience closer to a world and its characters. We’ll also look at common pitfalls in tangible storytelling, and go through the nuts and bolts of producing a fully tangible piece of literature, from an indie perspective.

10:30 am – 11:20 am
Adam Russell, D.Phil.
Moderator
Yu-Han Chang, Ph.D.
Alice Leung, Ph.D.
Maneesh Yadav, Ph.D.

A brief introduction to IARPA and background on the recent UAREHERE RFI will be followed by the panelists’ thoughts on the six RFI questions found on the website, inviting a discussion about those questions and the promises as well as challenges that may be faced in using Alternate Reality Environments – such as Alternate Reality Games – to facilitate high-quality, externally valid behavioral and social science research in near-real world contexts.

11:20 am – 11:35 am

1:00 pm – 1:55 pm
Lucas J.W. Johnson
Moderator
J.C. Hutchins
Rob Jagnow
Dana Luery Shaw
Andrew Grant Wilson

Too often, story is slapped onto game mechanics or platforms chosen solely due to popularity. Given the near-limitless options in crafting a game or transmedia experience, how do we ensure that our projects are designed as carefully as possible so the audience doesn’t experience ludonarrative dissonance? For instance, rather than throwing in “interactivity” because we’re told it’s a good thing, how does the interactivity actually help tell the story? This panel will delve into that relationship between story and design: how should an experience be created such that the narrative and the design of the experience/game/story are working together towards one purpose?

2:00 pm – 2:50 pm
Jordan Weisman
Special Guest
Steve Peters
Moderator

Widely known as the creator of The Beast, the game which germinated an entire genre now known as Alternate Reality Gaming, Jordan will share with Steve Peters and the audience his views on his recent Kickstarter success, the impending release of his re-imagined Shadowrun tabletop RPG now ported to PC as Shadowrun Returns, and his history and future in gaming and transmedia.

3:00 pm – 3:50 pm
Dana Luery Shaw
Moderator
Connor Fallon
Eric Kays
Tom Pike

No matter how long you spend creating your world, and no matter how much you plan, your players will come along and do things you won’t expect. Your game takes place in a complex moral landscape where you won’t have much time to react when the players take a hard left. But no pressure.

The creators of the TV Tropes ARG The Wall Will Fall discuss the (many) times that they found themselves surprised by player choices, and how they adapted based on the way their players were playing their game.

After all, it’s not every day a player volunteers to die.

4:00 pm – 4:50 pm
Mike Selinker

Mike Selinker of Lone Shark Games discusses the placement and purpose of puzzles in ARGs and other games, the effects they have on players’ psyche, and the process of creating elegant and creative challenges.

6:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Steve Peters

This year, we are thrilled to welcome another Emmy® award-winner, Steve Peters of No Mimes Media for our 2013 Keynote.

Are We There, Yet?
In this very special keynote prepared exclusively for ARGFest, Steve shares from the heart about his personal journey over the last decade, and how becoming a professional “puppet master” has turned out to be so very different than he ever expected. The good and the bad; the wonder and the sadness; the rewards…and the costs. He’ll take stock of where we have come, where we find ourselves, and where we might be going. And whether it’s all worth the trip.

9:25 am – 10:10 am
Rick Healey

When a new book is made, nobody has to teach the consumer how to read that book. The same goes with new video games, new movies, or new television shows. But implicitly, every single ARG needs to be ready to teach new players how to participate. My discussion is why that necessity is good, and ways to incorporate such techniques into your ARG. Examples from The Wall Will Fall will be included, both in terms of showing what to do and who to not do.

10:15 am – 10:40 am
Mike Minadeo

GameDesk’s sixth grade PlayMaker School cohort at New Roads School in Santa Monica was not expecting to be a case study for one of the first ARGs run in a middle school. However, over the course of the 2012-13 school year, their classroom and campus environment, lockers and class website, soon ignited with new meaning and compelling mysteries. It was a secret and wholly elective experience seemingly outside of the bounds of the school day.

This presentation will center on a case study of the United Colonies educational ARG and discuss new frontiers in education – specifically, how intrinsic motivation, knowledge transfer, and self-driven inquiry can be fostered in middle school students through alternative reality gaming.

Please join us for a lively discussion about the lessons learned and opportunities for future application of this exciting new educational architecture.

10:45 am – 11:00 am
Ken Morris

A glitch, by definition, is a mistake. An irregularity. Yet some of the most profound moments in human history (and the history of our universe) could be considered glitches. In this talk, artist Ken Morris explores how simply changing perspectives can turn a mistake into something beautiful.

11:00 am – 4:00 pm