ARG: Central or Not? Greg says t'is, Creators PLEASE respond

[HyeMew]

We've been having an interesting, indepth, and very important discussion in the thread "How to Come out of This Better...". It's rather wordy though, so I'm bringing to you guys the main and most important point made out of all of it. People on both sides of the ARG issue have both stated they're worried about recent statements and we'd really like an official response. First the quote:

: When asked about how things will move forward with OpAphid, he said, "Solutions right now are twofold... we're looking for good, talented people with ARG experience, and secondly, we're looking at the story and where it's going from here." He also disclosed that in the future, the ARG is going to be central to the LonelyGirl15 story, which is a significant development in our eyes.

And here are important quotes in response to that quote from that thread parsed out since you guys are busy:

What has me really concerned about that soundbite is that now the ARG is supposed to be central to the LG15 story. Let's reminisce for a moment here.

- In the beginning the creators stated that they wanted to include an ARG, but felt they needed more time before this could be done correctly.

- CiW blasted onto the scene, only to fade away in less than a blaze of glory. It created an intense frenzy on here, only to alienate some people elsewhere. Taking the YouTube numbers as an indicator to the size of the total audience, feelings one way or another seem only a drop in the bucket, however.

- Several other ARG contenders appeared, with OpAphid emerging as the most polished voice among them.

- The creators say, that it will now be part of the experience but wholly optional and not required to follow the show.

- This time, the ARG does go out in a blaze of ... well ... something.

- Now, however, the ARG is supposed to be central and this is a significant development?

I find that unsettling. I fear that the activity the ARG elements create on this forum, as opposed to the normal story, may suggest to them that this is what truly represents the franchises means of survival. Especially at a time, when even here, a poll asking whether people still cared comes out at 86% in opposition.

http://www.lonelygirl15.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5518

I am interested in ARGs as well. I truly enjoy and am constantly curious about interactive storytelling. It is just there have been so many changes of direction, and upheavels on the LG15 franchise already. All performed with less than surgical precision, that I am not feeling all too easy about this recent anouncement.

This worries me too. The ARG gradually became pivotal to fully understanding LG15 anyway - but I would have never used the word "central" to describe it before. So, yeah, worried now.

: I would also like to have the offical response to this question. I find it somewhat unsettling, that the fans are not even told about this 'significant change' when it is already announced to the press. Unless, this was said more casually than it actually sounds.

If we get to have a voice in this, I would vote ARG sure, but wholly optional! What would they do if the third ARG blew up too, only this time it is the heart of the show and takes everything with it?

Please Creators, ease our worried minds and issue a statement on this subject![/b]

[ApotheosisAZ]

I would like to add to this suggestion:

Would you guys mind setting up a focault pendulum somewhere near HyeMew? I think the rotation of the earth may actually have been altered as a result of his insistence upon this matter.

I just want to see a test of my theory. I know you're busy, but this could be the thing that breaks the whole issue wide open.

[ShardinsKitten]

I'd like an answer... not because I care, but because I'm interested.

I love the ARG and the characters, and I think it will be even better now in light of recent happenings.

I love the interactivity, if it wasn't for that I wouldn't still be here.

I can see why some maybe upset if it's true, but i think it could only bring bigger and better things.

[milowent]

Would you guys mind setting up a focault pendulum somewhere near HyeMew? I think the rotation of the earth may actually have been altered as a result of his insistence upon this matter.

LOL.

I think if the idea is that the ARG should be central because ARGs are a profitable endeavor, I've never seen any proof of that.

[surrealisticpill]

I think if the idea is that the ARG should be central because ARGs are a profitable endeavor, I've never seen any proof of that.

ARGs have been used to promote video games, movies, and television shows. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_reality_game

An official ARG could draw in more viewers for lg15, which could then lead to sponsorship, and eventually profit.

*shrugs* just a thought.

[Killthesmiley]

I think if the idea is that the ARG should be central because ARGs are a profitable endeavor, I've never seen any proof of that.

ARGs have been used to promote video games, movies, and television shows. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_reality_game

An official ARG could draw in more viewers for lg15, which could then lead to sponsorship, and eventually profit.

*shrugs* just a thought.

Just to add to that
Nine Inch Nails are currently using and ARG to promote their upcoming album

[immortal1]

I think if the idea is that the ARG should be central because ARGs are a profitable endeavor, I've never seen any proof of that.

ARGs have been used to promote video games, movies, and television shows. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_reality_game

An official ARG could draw in more viewers for lg15, which could then lead to sponsorship, and eventually profit.

*shrugs* just a thought.

They've been used to promote products but to make it central to the plot would actually be making it the product.

[surrealisticpill]

I think if the idea is that the ARG should be central because ARGs are a profitable endeavor, I've never seen any proof of that.

ARGs have been used to promote video games, movies, and television shows. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_reality_game

An official ARG could draw in more viewers for lg15, which could then lead to sponsorship, and eventually profit.

*shrugs* just a thought.

They've been used to promote products but to make it central to the plot would actually be making it the product.

i think the high degree of interactivity could attract a larger fanbase. and making it central to the plot guarantees viewership.

[milowent]

I think if the idea is that the ARG should be central because ARGs are a profitable endeavor, I've never seen any proof of that.

ARGs have been used to promote video games, movies, and television shows. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_reality_game

An official ARG could draw in more viewers for lg15, which could then lead to sponsorship, and eventually profit.

They've been used to promote products but to make it central to the plot would actually be making it the product.

i think the high degree of interactivity could attract a larger fanbase. and making it central to the plot guarantees viewership.

But ARGs don't seem to attrack large viewerships (and large is relative, but is it feasible to have 500,000 people follow an ARG closely?). And that's not a slight to ARGs at all, i just mean, that's their nature. The majority of the lg15 audience is never going to directly interact, though they may enjoy some of the fan-fic which is created out of fan interaction. That is, fans will like seeing the interaction without having to get involved themselves.

[surrealisticpill]

The first recognized ARG, "The Beast" had an astoundly large fanbase.

from the wiki that i linked to above:

"In 2001, in order to market the movie A.I.: Artificial Intelligence and a planned series of Microsoft computer games based on the film, Microsoft's Creative Director, Jordan Weisman, and another Microsoft game designer, Elan Lee, conceived of an elaborate murder mystery played out across hundreds of websites, email messages, faxes, fake ads, and voicemail messages. They hired Sean Stewart, an award-winning science-fiction/fantasy author, to write the story. The game, dubbed "the Citizen Kane of online entertainment" by Internet Life,[7] was a runaway success[8] that involved over three million active participants [9] from all over the world during its run and would become the seminal example of the nascent ARG genre."

[immortal1]

I think if the idea is that the ARG should be central because ARGs are a profitable endeavor, I've never seen any proof of that.

ARGs have been used to promote video games, movies, and television shows. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_reality_game

An official ARG could draw in more viewers for lg15, which could then lead to sponsorship, and eventually profit.

*shrugs* just a thought.

They've been used to promote products but to make it central to the plot would actually be making it the product.

i think the high degree of interactivity could attract a larger fanbase.

Sure it could but is there any evidence to suggest it would bring more viewers then traditional storytelling? Are there other less intrusive forms of interactivity worth exploring? Is it worth it's gambling the success of the entire show on?

and making it central to the plot guarantees viewership.

Based on what? Gemma's YT account I think provides an example of what can happen. Her views plummeted when the vids went from vlogs to Tachyon Surveillance style. Now maybe the viewers were caught unaware and have a better idea how Tachyon and OpAphid fit in terms of story but can anyone guarantee that's the case and a similar plummet could not happen again?

There's a lot at stake, more than out entertainment value perhaps even more than the Creators becoming financially successful. Shows like LG15.com are needed to show Hollywood independently created online content can earn money without their backing. FOX put 24 spinoff called CTU:The Rookie on the web. CBS just launched an online spinoff of one of it's soaps called LA Diaries. (The NoHo Girls can't be happy about that.) If lg15 doesn't perform well, the next time a sponsor has to choose between online content that was created by Hollywood or independently created, which do you think they will choose?

From what I've read what it sounds like we are talking about is something that is not wholly traditional linear storytelling and not wholly a traditional ARG but a hybrid of the two that it would seem has never been done before. That totally is worth doing and that very well be the future of the medium but this is not the phase for experimentation. You have to crawl before you can run.

[VanillaFlava]

The first recognized ARG, "The Beast" had an astoundly large fanbase.

And just what do you think their budget was? Certainly enough to raise a whole studio afterwards. You think ilovebees was produced for free? The Nokia game? Those crazy Scandinavians probably worked for free beer, right?

Seriously, these arguments are not even cutting close to the realities.

ARG's have been used commercially as alternative, viral, promotion to create marketing buzz. The professional ones were probably setup with budgets the c's could only dream about. They included hundreds of websites, interactive phone calls, text messages, plenty of infrastructe, as well as massive promotion in some cases.

These are not vehicles to draw revenue from, they cost money, in exchange for a promotional effect. Sure, money making ARGs could also be devised with premium rate call in numbers etc. Those would also require significant expertise and investment.

At the very least, an ARG beyong the amateur level requires man-power and time. If it is to draw a mainstream audience it will also draw funds, or basically people working for free.

So, ask yourself these simple questions:

1) What would be the purpose of the LG15 ARG?
2) What could the possible budget be like?
3) Could this easily co-exist with the product, or is it a vehicle to promote it?

Most of this will become much clearer if you actually read the Wiki article, and not just quote the portion that seems to support your argument.

[surrealisticpill]

you are right, i don't know what kind of finances they are willing to dump into an ARG. but if they are planning on hiring a new, professional PM, it could turn out in their favor. i know i wouldn't be involved in these forums and might not even be watching lg15 if it weren't for the ARG aspect. i know there are plenty of others for whom this is the case as well. i would even be willing to pay for an ARG. but maybe that's just me....

[VanillaFlava]

Sorry if I came on a little harsh, it was not meant personally. What I do find frustrating, however, is that everybody seems to project their personal enjoyment of the existing (or possibly past) ARG onto the future of the franchise, or the direction it should take.

I do not mean to belittle the immersion this gives you, or the fun it probably is. More power to you. The reality is, however, that the majority of the LG15 audience probably has no idea an ARG even exists. That is if you go by the combined Revver and YT numbers anyway. And if you purely go by the numbers, they seem to suggest that the casual audience is being left behind.

This had no bearing on the quality of the ARG or the people involved. It does, however, in my mind, reflect on the structural changes the ARG has on the storytelling, and how those are perceived by the uninitiated. I think immortal1 has a very good point that this mixing and matching and the resulting more disjointed storytelling is likely to leave the casual audience confused or turned off. The ones truly immersed in it don't even notice.

This forum or Anchor Cove do not represent the audience at large. We are a pretty vocal minority. So, before any drastic changes get implemented, I would like to see some thought-out reasons for them. And generalisations like ARG draw huge crowds, or speculations like ARGs create revenue ain't cutting it.

This is not a point against ARGs at all. I am very interested in them, even on LG15. The question is how it gets implemented, for what purpose and with which kind of integration. Plus, I guess there is the resource issue.

[Linc]

Basically, here's what the options are as I see them:

a) Scale the ARG back.

b) Acquire more investors, more advertising to maintain/expand the ARG.

c) Begin to add volunteers (dicey proposition) to the ARG.

With c), I believe that people are a production's most valuable resource. If someone lives in San Francisco, you just saved yourself at least $30 in gas, plus food and other expenses by having that person in SF make the drop rather than driving out there yourself.

(They may be doing this already; this is just an example)

With more people though more problems will arise. More personalities, more scheduling issues, more more more. So there's a balance there.