Why Would I Do This??

Hey there.

So, if you happened to stumble upon my introductory post, way back about a month ago when I started the blog, then you should know I mentioned that I was in the process of joining the ARG/ARE community as an author/director/writer (wow, that's a lot of /'s for one sentence.!) Hit the jump for more!

First off, let me define what an ARG or ARE is, before I delve into the gory details of my own project. An ARG, or Alternate Reality Game, is (to quote the hated Wikipedia) “an interactive networked narrative that uses the real world as a platform and uses transmedia storytelling to deliver a story that may be altered by players's ideas or actions.” Basically what this means is that a story is told through various forms of media (whether it be social networking, BLOGS, video blog entries, etc) in real time, and that the audience following along can “play along” by interacting with the characters in the story, and that the players actions can change the narrative.

A screenshot of Marble Hornets Entry #80

An ARE, or Alternate Reality Experience, is a similar type of spinoff ARG. The main difference between the two is that an ARE is much less interactive on the end of the audience, and that their interactions (if there are any at all) have little to no effect on the narrative.

One of the original Slender Man images.
 Credit: Victor Surge

The ARG genre has been around for quite some time, but has recently gotten pushed into the lime light a little more recently due to the success of the glorious MarbleHornets YouTube series. Marble Hornets also pushed something else into the spotlight – The SlenderMan (although technically, MHdid not invent Slenderman. Also, thecreature in MH isn't “SlenderMan” per se.) Since then, SlenderMan has become a sort of public domain, open source property that many have used as a basis for CreepyPastas, ARGs, “Slenderblogs,” and all kinds of transmedia storytelling. From this sprung the FEAR mythos, and then FEAR-based ARGs and stories. Click those links for more info – all great reads. (Also, if you haven't checked out Marble Hornets, do so!)

My pet project “Forgotten Colors” is such an ARE. It's a blog I'm using as a basis to tell the story of a kid whose twin brother goes missing, and then decides to go investigating around. Of course, my favorite tall antagonist is involved, as well as some other easily recognizable characters from around the internet. But I'm not just gonna post on the blog like I am currently (with simple text and pictures), no no. There will be videos involved, as well as photos, and audio clips, and an Instagram, and maybe a Twitter feed. Now, you wouldn't have to follow all of those to stay involved and get a good experience and comprehend the story. The blog is the home base for everything, eventually all the story content will end up on there one way or another, so you could just follow that.

Anyway, the reason I'm going on and on is because this question popped into my head just the other day:

Why am I doing this?

Why would I do this when there are such popular ARGs out there such as Marble Hornets, EverymanHYBRID, Tribe Twelve, and so many others? Why contend with all of the folks truly involved with the FEAR mythos? I'm no film buff, my filming skills aren't excellent. I'm just now getting to learn how to really treat a camera in a found-footage project. In terms of the blog, heavy writing isn't a high point, as this is much less a personal journal as it is a personal chronicle. So, I'm doing a lot of what I'm not good at (filming) and not enough of what I excel in (writing.) To top it all off, the main character is a photographer. So some FREAKING AWESOME photos have to be a part of this thing. I don't have a professional camera. Nor do I know how to photography. What is photos. SO again, why am I doing this? I can't compete with the special effects of MH, or the involvement of Tribe Twelve, and I'm way more ambitious than a FEAR storyteller using a blog (not knocking it – they're awesome! But I want to go beyond writing.).

Well, the idea hit me.

I'm doing this not to get popular, not to compete, not to gain notoriety. I'm doing this because:

1. It's fun. It's storytelling, and I'm good at that. And I get to play with programs and equipment I normally don't handle.
2. It gives me experience. In acting, directing, editing, filming.
3. It's FUN.

I have an awesome story to tell, and the way I want to tell it – using so many forms of media, in such a way that hasn't quite been done before – isn't really “new” to the communities so much that it's refreshing. I have cool ideas for my monster(s), and cool ideas for the story that no one's has really touched on yet. So, even if I don't get famous (not expecting to) or get a lot of Unfiction attention, then I can still be happy knowing that I contributed to this awesome mythos, and that I actually made something that's part of a bigger whole.

[btw the blog has actually been launched, so you can read the first post(s) HERE]

[Oh! And as always...thanks for reading.]

--Aaron