I was first exposed to Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) in 1999 when the Metacortex game was created to promote The Matrix movie. In the last 10 years they have evolved to something special. 

Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming is very popular at the moment, with World of Warcraft the most well-known game with over 11.5 million monthly subscribers and an estimated 62% market share.

Unlike MMO’s though, Alternate Reality Games aren’t about creating a second life in a virtual world that is better than our own – they are about building a reality that works more like our favourite games so that we are more engaged with the real world.

These games take many different forms and they all tie into reality in different ways. Most of them take place over email and blogs but some will have puzzles that result in phone numbers that you can call for the next clue, or postal addresses that you can send letters to. For this reason it can be easy to get lost in the game and witness a level of engagement that no virtual world can compete with.

World Without Oil is an Alternate Reality Game that finished in June 2007 that called attention to the idea of a possible near-future situation where we are post-peak oil. Jane McGonigal from The Institute for the Future was one of the puppetmasters for the game that aimed to provide a collaborative simulation of a global oil shortage. The game ran for 32 days and during that time there was a continual release of information about what was happening in the alternate world as the oil shock got worse.

Players responded by documenting their lives on community blogs, personal blogs, video, chat rooms, twitter and other forms of social media. By collecting all of these stories it is possible to harness the collective wisdom of the crowds on the internet to build innovative solutions to future issues, driven by lively public debate. There were over 60,000 participants during this game and the amount of discussion and output was amazing.

Another example was that during the game one guy was riding to work (because without oil he couldn’t run his car) and he imagined that there would be more bicycle thefts and suggested there would be a need to redesign locks and even the bikes themselves. 

The game concluded in June 2007 and since then many aspects of the game story have come true, such as the price of fuel reaching US$4 in April 2008. Lesson plans for teachers have also been created. 

These Alternate Reality Games are now starting to come into the spotlight and we will see more of them as the web community develops and people get bored with virtual worlds – looking for something more real, and more engaging. 

‘If you want to change the future, play with it first.’ Stefanie Olsen.

By Ross Hill - February 22nd, 2009 at 12:59pm with 1,124 views - institute for the future jane mcgonigal the matrix world of warcraft world without oil