#junko junsui

[thatbitchsimone]

[water-mellie-seeds]

Reccomend me ARGs to look into i cant find any i havent seen

[askezis]

[fatihulusoy]

Junko junsui - reborn

[thatbitchsimone]

[rabidchild]

Does anyone else remember Junko Junsui?

I kinda want to get into another ARG

[thelifeofmrw00kz-blog]

This is completely off the topic of video games but does relate to a type of game. I found it extremely interesting because until last year I had never heard of ARGs or knew that they even existed. Anyways, I was taking a break from my studies last Fall semester and stumbled across this crazy article. When the video first came out there was barely a description of it in the article but I watched it to see what it was. I was very confused and decided to do some research on the Junsui project. I ended up at http://www.unfiction.com/ which had a few threads on the subject in their forums. I found out that the video and the website that the video brings you to is a part of an Alternate Reality Game or ARG. I started following the Trailhead (http://forums.unfiction.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2815) to try to understand what the naz was going on. Anyway, here is a bit of what I learned. (You might want to read a bit of the Trailhead but it is over 170 pages and the websites are no longer working :S )

Firstly, just to get an overall idea of what exactly an ARG is, they are described by Wikipedia as being "an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform". In other words, ARGs can be freaking huge. ARGs are run by someone called the PM or 'Puppet Master'. The PM is basically the creator of the game and is the one that designs the trails, media, and other things in order for the game to play out. They can change the game at any time and also act as a guide, dropping hints and clues, to keep the players on track. The PM is separated from the players by an invisible Curtain which is not supposed to be breached during the duration of the game. It basically means that the PM does not directly interact with the players.

One principle of the ARG is the "This Is Not A Game" aesthetic. This means that the game is not supposed to be overtly recognized as a game but every hint and clue, from phone numbers to websites to mailing addresses, are all fully functional in the real world. This is one reason I was so startled by the ARG "Junko Junsui". Everything was so real I could not make a distinction between what was part of the game and what wasn't. The players must follow the trails and try to distinguish what is in-game and what is OOG (out of game). From what I understood, players may send OOG people emails or hack OOG websites (although I think hacking any site, IG or OOG, is frowned upon) trying to find the next clue.

Without a doubt, ARGs are the most mind-bending games I've ever had the pleasure to experience. Of course I didn't participate too much, seeing as it was during my semester, but even following the clues and watching the story unravel was incredible. If you plan on following one all the way through you are going to need a lot of free time- some can take years to finish. But, if you don't want to get attached, you can always creep the forums :D

Another neat thing about ARGs is that they are being used more and more along side movies, games and shows. There have been ARGs for LOST, Halo 2, The Dark Knight, District 9, Cloverfield, and even new movies like Tron and Super 8. You might have already seen a website or puzzle that belongs to an ARG and not known it!

Anyways, that is my rant on ARGs. They're very cool and you should take a look at one if you have the chance. All sorts of crazy stuff happens!