Undefining ARG

So our readings recently have dealt with various definitions of ARGs and debate on what to call them. The two main options are Alternate Reality Game vs. Chaotic Fiction. In a way, this can go back to the Narratology vs. Ludogy debate. Are ARGs games? Are they stories? Can they be both? I thought the chart in Spacebass' "Undefining ARG" was particularly useful here.

Chart

It shows how some ARGs are more gamelike, with the player really being able to influence how things unfold, while other are more fiction-like, with the author having more control over the story. If ARGs can have so much difference in how gamelike or storylike they are, then, would it really be fair to apply just one label to them?  read more »

What I have gotten from Spacebass' Undefining ARG article is clearer than I expected. The author started off saying that in defining ARGs we would learn that there is no clear definition, but to me although there may not be a written in stone definition of what they are, there are commonly agreed upon components that make an ARG an ARG. It's not as confusing as I thought. In fact I see the article as a clear articulation of what ARGs are by someone who can communicate it. Basically, what I have been thinking since we've started reading and learning about ARGs, but definitely communicated and expressed more concretely and clearer. It's not as hard to understand as I had thought, given my lack of experience with ARGs. According to Spacebass, ARGs are chaotic play (an experience of chaotic fiction): Chaotic in that the end result is undetermined and play because the audience takes part in the process and they are who influence the outcome. From this experience of chaotic play comes chaotic fiction: again chaotic meaning the end result was not predetermined and fiction meaning that a work that is intended to be imagined and not real.  read more »