Month: February 2006

*** Update: 4th March 2006: This post updated with extensive data here *** 

One thing industry likes is Top Tens. They like to see at a glance what are the top services, etc. No wasting time figuring out which ones are more successful, just a list of the top ten according to usage and/or ROI. Well, for my work at LAMP I do a few Top Tens. I did a list of Top Ten Mobisodes late last year, though that was not based on revenues or usage since I didn’t have data on either. Just a listing of seemingly popular mobisodes worldwide. The following are ARGs (alternate reality games) that are listed according to the amount of players. Some have a much bigger initial signup and then have alot less that actually play. I’ve listed them, initially, according to the ongoing players. Also, I’ve listed 11, as I’m not quite sure of the order of the last few.

1. I Love Bees (aka Haunted Apiary), 42 Entertainment for Microsoft, 2004 (3 mill+ players worldwide);
2. The Beast, Sean Stewart et al for Microsoft & Dreamworks, 2001 (3 mill players worldwide) [Cloudmakers];
3. Last Call Poker, 42 Entertainment for Activision, 2005;
4. MetaCortechs, independent [Project Mu credits] (1.3 mill, 113 countries);
5. Majestic, Electronic Arts, 2001 (800,000 initially registered, 70,000 ongoing players);
6. Jamie Kane, BBCi, 2005/.. (20,000+ players)
7. ReGenesis Extended Reality Game, Xenophile Media for The Movie Network and Movie One, 2004;
8. Art of the Heist, various for Audi, 2005 (500,000 website visitors, on-going players ?);
9. Lockjaw, independent, 2002 [Jawbreakers];
10. Urban Hunt, independent, 2004 [unfiction forum];
11. Perplex City, Mind Candy, 2005/.. (?00,000s website visits, 14,000+ players worldwide).

The stats are according to data I have found on websites, in papers, books and so on. I have not cited them here as that would be giving away too much! For the ARGs that are listed without stats, they are included because they are approximations according to anecdotal evidence. I’ve also had to weighup the market spin with the actual usage. Thankyou to Steve Peters of ARGN Network, for your help with this list (note: the order of ARGs mine however, don’t blame him if you disagree!). If anyone has any stats they can add or point out any blistering omissions, please email me.

I find this list interesting as I (and others) can use it to reverse engineer the effective design elements. The success of games that are recent shows that the genre is maturing, but also that there are more players. It makes the older games that have made it to this list all the more important too.

Added 11th Feb 2006:
Some notes on the stats and ordering. Unlike other genres with a retail figure or subscription model, ARGs don’t necessarily have fixed figures to measure by. The stats on usage can be derived from signups for games, sales of cards, registered users, forum members, blog users and website visits. But these change too, some have huge initial uptakes and then much lesser ongoing players. Also, what about the lurkers? There are many different types of players, including ones that maybe registered in a forum but do not participate in a manner that can be tracked. I’m sure there is a good healthy number of these as the work required to participate in ARGs is often quite large. [Though many are working on making ARGs playable on many levels, according to different player types etc.]. It would be good to have a system where “lurkers” could be captured at some point, with a quick tally other than unique website visits. I think the following are interesting and helpful values to measure ARGs by:

Website visits;
Media coverage;
Registered players;
Initial players & ongoing players;
ROI/brand-impact for client (if applicable);
Innovation/quality…

Oh, and I should say. This list is current up to late last year, early this year. So, the list needs to be updated of course, in time…

After my slow uptake on “The Secret” I will now blog AS SOON AS I HEAR SOMETHING. So, here is the news about some new distributed story/games that were announced in the last couple of days. [Okay, I still didn’t know about them before the public, but this is better than 3 months after the general public.] This fresh info is thanks to Daniel Taylor, my fellow team-member from the ABC LAMP.

AOL and Mark Burnett Productions have teamed to create an “online reality show” called Gold Rush! [cue long echo]. The reality show will have real people searching for US$1.6 million in prizes (gold?) that has been delivered by armoured trucks to 13 hidden locations around the US. Players are to try to find the money by searching through clues left on AOL sites, MapQuest, Moviefone and AIM. They will also be providing short 5 minutes clips on AOL, bits for mobile phones and leaving clues in other network programming. They will use real-world tie-ins, such as referring to a peice that has already been created for something else, but gathering a clue from it. This is a good technique that the Lost producers have used [see my post: Seek & Find Art]. They will be publising the production through TV, broadband, print & mobile platforms. Here is a nice quote for us CME fiends: “Burnett said the cross-platform approach was just as important as the program’s premise.” [Yahoo News, Jan 31]

Their motivation is based on their experience with previous reality shows where viewers spent alot of time online searching for more content about the show, and Mark was perhaps familiar with the idea from his time spent with Yahoo. It seems some more key TV people have figured out what many of us have been saying for a while:

“The world is changing and the Internet is about to become the next broadcast network,” Burnett said. “With the volume of people able to watch content on their computers between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., it could very well become the new primetime.” [Yahoo News, 31st Jan]

Yahoo have apparently employed Steven Spielberg to develop Treasure Hunt. But Burnett is also developing a “spy-hunt game” for Yahoo: The Runner. [CBC Arts, Jan 31]

These are very similiar to the style of game that has been developing over the years, that I have spoken about a few hundred times: ARGs. But is this genre of search fiction, search art, of pull entertainment, of “search operas” as 42 Entertainment call them that is a big part of the entertainment experience these days. What is hard about these events is that we have two contradictory elements at play: 1) the global access stage of the Net; 2) the need for actual live events for players to interact with each other and receive tangible rewards. So many of these events are made for players in the US and UK. 🙁 There needs to be some way to give tangibility to everyone. Oh, I know, books! Geez, how many times do I have to say that fixed media isn’t dead? Anyway, the performance element is important too, but doing with worldwide takes money, or at least organisation.

Yahoo News, Jan 30

Yahoo News, Jan 31

Yahoo News, Jan 31

CBC Arts, Jan 31

New York Times, Jan 31