It’s ARGing time!

During my daily grind to work, I grabbed myself my free copy of The Metro, found my seat and did my usual ‘don’t sit next to me, it is WAY too early for me to be nice’ scowl.

To prepare myself for the day ahead, I had my music blasting into my ears while I was flicking through the newspaper. As I was going through the paper, I was very surprised to see an article about ARG games. I like to believe that I am always on the pulse of what is new, hip and fresh in the gaming industry, but I am sad to say that this is a lie. I am usually the one that has to be told of the new and shiny fandangos and thingies, as I mentally head slap myself for not spotting this before. I will apologise now for those who already know about ARG but for those who do not, I now have the chance to wow you with my newly found knowledge.

ARG or Alternative Reality Games blends real-life treasure hunting with the ever growing online gaming community. The games which are usually free, gets the player to interact with the unfolding storyline. This gets players to find various clues they find on websites, newspaper articles and even social networking sites. Many of these clues have even been sent to players by email, SMS and by snail mail. After solving the puzzles, you can then unlock new videos and information, allowing you to progress through the game. You will stumble across more difficult puzzles which you can’t solve on your own. This is where the ARG gets you to interact with other community members, turning your solo game into a completely interactive MMO.

I think what really makes ARG’s so unique is that the game can potentially go on as long as there is a demand. So far ARG’s have even been used to promote films and games, such as Batman: Dark Knight, Bioshock 2 and even Bejing 2008. And of course what is even better is that you don’t have to pay a dime for it. Although ARG’s aren’t that well know in the UK, game developer nDreams are trying to change that, with their game ‘Secret Lewis’. Starring Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, the game follows Hamilton as he recovers priceless art from around the world and returns them to where they rightfully belong.  Secret Lewis is currently underway and will be running until October. If this sound like it could be up your street, make sure to check it out at www.secretlewis.com