W?h?a?t? ?i?s? ?a?n? ?A?R?G??? ?(?P?a?r?t? ?1?:? ?I?s? ?T?h?i?s? ?M?a?n? ?a?n? ?A?R?G???)?

Recently, this man popped up on your feed.

Today, I want to ask you three pivotal questions that will reshape your perception of reality as you know it:

1. ???? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?????????????? ???????????

2. ???? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?????????????? ???????

3. ???? ?????? ???????? ???? ???????? ???????????

If you answered “yes” to any of the above, then you might already be aware that the man in the heading of this article—the very same one that over 8000 people claim to have seen in their subconscious state—is nothing more than an Alternate Reality Game (ARG).

So now, the next question of this mystery remains:

What exactly is an ARG and how is it relevant?

An Alternate Reality Game (ARG) is an interactive networked narrative that uses the real world as a platform and employs transmedia storytelling to deliver a story which may be altered by players' ideas or actions. This form is defined by intense player involvement with a story that takes place in real time and evolves according to players' responses. Characters are actively controlled by the game's designers, not by AI, and players interact directly with these characters, solve plot-based challenges, and collaborate as a community to analyse the story and coordinate real-life and online activities.

The letters “AR” might make some of us think of Augmented Reality, but an ARG is actually an Alternate Reality Game. This distinction is crucial because the awareness of whether the events of the game are real is always brought into question from the very start in any ARG. Augmented Reality technology allows for an informed vision of some kind of layer placed over the current reality.

If Augmented Reality can be compared to the Japanese art of Kabuki theatre, where the stagehands and behind-the-scenes people (known as Kuroko) are overtly part of the experience, then ARGs can be compared to the more conservative disciplines of Western theatre, where props and non-actor players are hidden behind the scenes, and the stage seems to have a life of its own, unassisted by any human or artificial input.

Reality becomes the subject of a temporary rebranding to carry across the narrative effectively and within context. While all of this might sound rather philosophical or cerebral, it has much more to do with how we experience the world and how gamification assists us in making sense of our tasks and decisions.

Our reality itself becomes a game to us, with our own goals and achievements feeding our own dopamine receptors.

That’s why ARGs are very important.

In some of the most effective ARG campaigns ever executed, such as Ong’s Hat and This Man, the lines between the game world and your own real world are very much blurred. An ARG gives you, the player, an experience that feels as if it is all yours—something you have personally stumbled upon that instantly gives the world some semblance of mystery and intrigue.

This is the power of an ARG.

To elaborate, ARGs like Ong’s Hat utilised the concept of transmedia storytelling, where the narrative extends across multiple media platforms, creating an immersive experience. In Ong’s Hat, a ghost town in New Jersey was the backdrop for a fictional conspiracy involving scientists discovering parallel dimensions.

The story was spread through books, websites, and physical locations, engaging players in a real-world treasure hunt.

The role of the puppet-master, or "PM," in an ARG is to design and run the game while remaining behind the curtain, creating obstacles and providing resources for overcoming them. Players discover the "rabbit hole," the initial clue or puzzle that draws them into the game, and follow a breadcrumb trail of hints and challenges that keep them engaged.

ARGs can often serve as innovative marketing tools.

For instance, the Nine Inch Nails album "Year Zero" was promoted through an ARG that included phone calls, cryptic websites, and real-world events, drawing inspiration from dystopian fiction. Another example is "The Lost Experience," which expanded the storyline of the TV show Lost, providing fans with additional information and interactive puzzles.

In essence, ARGs are a blend of gaming, storytelling, and real-world engagement. They transform our perception of reality, making our everyday world the stage for an elaborate narrative.

However, one final part of this mysterious, multi-dimensional, multi-faceted, multimedia experience remains a mystery:

Why and How can ARGs be effective in marketing?

All will be revealed.

Soon.

IYKYK ...