Alternate Reality Gaming is a computer game that deliberately blurs the line between the in game and out of game experiences. Often events that happen inside the game reality will 'reach out' into the players life in order to bring them together. Elements of the plotline may be provided to the player in almost any form, some of those used have been:

• e-mail
• websites, both those obviously connected with the game and those innocent looking - often where the bulk of the game lies, these sites provide puzzles in many forms, e.g. cryptography
• phone calls to a players home, cell or work phone
• snail mail
• newspaper articles or classifieds
• chat/Instant messaging and so on - the games have been known to initiate conversation
• IRC channels
• real world artifacts related to the game in play

These games often have a specific goal of not only involving the player with the staff or fictional characters but of connecting them to each other. Many game puzzles can be solved only by the collective efforts of multiple players. Players however may be driven by conflicting motivations and thus not always be trustworthy.

Brief history

• One of the earliest large scale examples of this was the EA game known as Majestic . Though the game itself suffered commercial failure and had significant problems, it remains a useful initial case study for the genre.

• The most successful ARG to date has been a game developed to promote the movie A.I. by a small programming team (associated with Microsoft). At its peak, this game was being played simultaneously by many thousands of users, and created something of a cultural phenomenon when it was released; it was referred to by some of its players as "The Beast".

• A more recent ARG is the Haunted Apiary ARG, which is in relation to the Xbox game Halo 2. This ARG departs from the traditional puzzle-led form to be more story-led, and is also set in a pre-made universe, that of Halo.

Terminology

• ARG - the abbreviation for Alternate Reality Game
• The Beast - the promotional game for the movie A.I.
• Beasting - to play an ARG (deprecated)
• Cloudmakers - the original group that took on "The Beast". They are also credited with coining most of the terminology.
• Curtain - the layers of plot, technology and social contract between the players and the PuppetMasters
• Evan Chan - the fictional character murdered in Beast.
• Guide - a narrative of the experiences of gameplay, including the process of clue discovery and puzzle solving.
• PuppetMasters - the usually secret group that controls a ARG
• Rabbit Hole - the initial page or clue that drives the player into the game.
• Trail - a list of sites, clues and other items found during gameplay

Resources

(in alphabetical order)

• Alternate Reality Gaming Network - the largest and most complete resource available for players of online collaborative Alternate Reality Games
• cloudmakers.org - the first famous group of the genre
• Collective Detective - Complete resources including news, information, trail sections, forums, chat and many other tools, all in one location (changing website in 09/04, focus not on ARGs - current archives still exist)
• deaddrop.us - Dedicated to Alternate Reality Gaming.
• Immersion Unlimited - Immersion Unlimited is a site for players to solve puzzles without spoiling the immersion effect the game establishes.
• Project MU - the most widely played Alternate Reality Game
• Meta Unlimited - Meta Unlimited is a spoiler free resource for the players to discuss the genre and ideals.
• Real World Gaming - Creating games twice a year and financing games for anyone creating a campaign.
• unfiction.com - a news and fan site for ARG's.
• unforums - message boards dedicated to ARGs since September 2002.