Post-writing edit: This article is known to have odd formatting issues when viewed by someone else. I don’t know the cause of them, and have wrestled with them for a while. I think they’re gone, but if one of them crops up, reach me on Twitter and I’ll see what I can do.

So, after doing some binging and research, you’ve decided to want to do some sort of minor web-based ARG-type thing. Probably using YouTube or Twitter as focal points. You really aren’t even sure what kind of story you want to tell, you just want to make an ARG. Maybe you’re somewhat young, in your early or mid teens, and don’t have may resources to use. But you really want in on this and almost can’t wait to start.This is a very, very common situation in the world of ARGs, and leads to many less than stellar products without much substance. But that’s never the person behind the project’s fault. There’s really not many places where someone can look at opinions on how people would suggest going about doing things. So, since I like voicing my opinions on how I’d suggest going about things on this very blog, I wanted to write about some pitfalls a project that starts this way is likely to fall in to, and how to fix them. Obviously, this is just how I feel, and make sure to follow your heart when making your project. It’s honestly what I think makes a better project in all ways, but it’s what I think. Not fact. Hardly anything on this blog will ever be solid fact, and I’m not going to tell you it is. To kill free thought is to kill creativity. So, with that in mind, let’s get on to what exactly these opinions of mine are.

DON’T Start Without Having A Clear Story

I understand the feeling of being so excited about doing something that involves telling a story that you forget even having a story to tell in the process, besides maybe a couple notes on a phone or laptop. It’s a rampant problem in any sort of storytelling that involves something other than the story itself. Early video games did it, but because everything about them was always more about the gameplay, and that was the real experience at hand, it wasn’t an issue not to have a story. The experience being delivered by an old cart of Super Mario Bros is the gameplay, not the story. But when doing something in the realm of ARGs, story has to be at least somewhat important. Especially if you want to be cryptic, as you can’t really be mysterious if there’s nothing to be mysterious about. I’m assuming that if you’re in the target audience of this article you want to be at least a tad bit vague and cryptic, whether that’s to be in a spooky manner or just endearing. That’s probably what your idols that have lead you to this path have focused on as well, and that’s not inherently a bad thing. You can take inspiration without directly imitating. It’s not entirely impossible to get by with only a few notes and concepts, but you first have to know the rules to break them, and your first time around isn’t the best time to break the largest rule possible that holds everything in place, especially if it is born out of impatience and not the principle of pulling it off. Patience will reward you greatly. I’ve seen many projects focus the entire thing around one sole thing at all times, that being a character has an illness or issue, whether that be depression or something else. The problem is that depression is a character’s struggle, not the entire plot. What is this character doing to try to help themselves? Do they get help elsewhere? How does this effect their life? I think the YouTube channel Abstractions did this very well, by using the tried webseries trope of “Someone has depression and makes cryptic, sad videos about it” and flips it on its head, and makes the ordeal very meaningful, as we see their struggles and their attempts to overcome what’s bothering them. You can find the series here, and I think it’s good research if you’re just itching to make something like it.

DO Have A Story And Concepts At Least A Bit Solidified Before Jumping In

I’m not going to say you have to have your entire story planned. In any other form of media that’s a beyond good idea. But this is a rather reactive medium. You need a story and a place to go. You need concepts and characters. You need themes. But if you want to leave some of it loose for audience participation, I’m more than fine with that. I’m not saying the audience shouldn’t impact anything. Games are for being played. Giving players choices and helping them influence the story are good things. You have to have a story to change though, or else the impact is meaningless. There’s nothing wrong with a story being just a tad loose for audience participation. I like when things do that very much. But there has to be a story to squeeze in to for it to really work. I suppose, in a very odd cake metaphor, you don’t have to have a cake with all the icing and decorations on it by the time you invite people over, you can the people who are going to eat the cake help you beautify it and make it something extra special, but the cake better be baked, or else it’s just kinda weird as they awkwardly watch you bake it first before enjoying the experience at all, wondering if the cake will every really even be done. (Please don’t try this with a real cake unless you tell your friends what’s up beforehand.)

DON’T Use Basic Codes And Ciphers, Especially Not For Their Simplicity

This is something I want to write a whole article about someday, because not only does it get in the way of many otherwise interesting projects, I’ve done this myself multiple times and learned a lot from it.If you’re using codes and ciphers, you want to make your project a puzzle game that uses deciphering messages as a mechanic. Puzzle games are supposed to be at least somewhat challenging, as that’s some of what makes them fun to play. I’m not saying a good puzzle has to be hard, but you have to have an obstacle to overcome. It’s not a very interesting or challenging experience for someone to look at something, immediately realize it’s binary, write it down, and go translate it. Nor can that really be considered much of playing a game, especially if that’s all there is in it. If codes aren’t your strong suit, why even have them at all? There are so many different ways to make a game, and you don’t have to make an Alternate Reality Game. You can simply be an immersive work of online fiction of that’s your fancy and games aren’t. Don’t force something where it doesn’t belong, it’s not going to fit in the hole very well.

DO Research Different Codes And/Or Create Your Own, If You Even Think You Really Need Them

You don’t need codes, but if you want them, you can research different encryption methods used and created until your heart is content. Just do some smart googling and you should be on your way. Or, create your own. That’s the option that ends up being extremely exciting to your audience nine times out of ten. Maybe hide the key to solving it under a different puzzle. Maybe it’s solvable with information-guided brute force. There are plenty of ways to make it interesting. And if you don’t think you really need or should have codes but want some sort of other traditional puzzle option, not only does that open a vast amount of doors for what you can research, it also opens up even more doors for what you can create yourself.Think to yourself before you translate that message in to Base 64, and heavily consider your other, more engaging options.

DON’T Try To Imitate Something Just Because It’s Popular

Imitating something simply because it’s popular is going to get you far more infamy than success. Allow what you like to inspire you in different ways than the exact way it was done in your inspiration. If you’re looking to add something purely because it’s successful, I’m worried your heart is in the wrong place. If you’re looking to get famous off of an ARG more than you’re looking to make an ARG, you might want to step back and think if your heart is really where it should be. There’s nothing wrong with wanting recognition and love from your peers, but it shouldn’t overshadow your desire to make something cool.

DO Take A Popular Lead If You Truly Enjoy It And You Think YourStoryBenefitsFromHaving It

If you really, personally enjoy an element you saw, you think your story is truly better with it, and you think you can deliver a fresh take on the idea, I say go for it. Just make sure your heart is in the right place and it really benefits you to use the element. I also heavily advise you mix things up and use your own spin. Integrate it in to your story in it’s own way and make sure it feels unique and interesting again. Don’t just copy elements over from something else, tweak them and make the blend. Maybe only take very small bits and pieces, and put them on a new entity entirely. Nick Nocturne of the YouTube channel Night Mind, a favorite of mine personally when it comes to the analysis of experimental and immersive media, did an excellent video a while back about this whole topic and how to implement your borrowed elements. It’s part of a recent collection of videos known as How To Make A Webseries, which is a pleasant and recommended series in its own right. You can find the video here. It’s a long one too, and every second is an enjoyable one. Grab a soda, or whatever you fancy, and relax. If I’m personally not doing a very good job, this video most certainly will.

DON’T Limit Yourself To Certain Websites And Tropes Because They’re Associated With ARGs

Not everything has to be cryptic, spooky stories about monsters that are shared on YouTube and Twitter. That’s not what classifies what an online ARG is or should be, so don’t let it define you by any extent. That’s not what an ARG is, just an example of what it can be. And not everything that hits these marks is one either. Same goes for what tools you’re using.

DO Use Whatever You Want To Use, And Don’t Be Afraid To Break The Mold

Try whatever you want, not just stuff you think is ARG-y. Instagram has some interesting possibilities I’ve never seen done, for example. Same for many other websites. Anything has the potential to work. You wanna make a PornHub ARG? Make a PornHub ARG. (Provided you’re legal of course.) The sky is the limit. Same for plot points. Don’t make a story full of things you think ARGs do because you think it’s what ARGs do. Carve your own path and do what you want. Don’t limit yourself based on what you think the community likes, and don’t plan a story around only thinking there’s one way to do it. There’s no such thing as too different. As long as it’s performed with precision, your project will find the audience that enjoys it. Dare to think outside the Slenderman-shaped box.

DON’T Make Aesthetic Decisions Based Solely On Being Spooky And Nothing Else

Without a reason, a creepy filter masking a shot of a random household object isn’t creepy at all. If you’re planning on creating something with a horror tinge and want me to be scared, you have to put effort in to that scare. Same goes for something not video related. Scary messages mean nothing on their own, and without proper execution, they won’t mean anything even with proper environment at all. Making people scared is difficult, and if you honestly don’t think you can pull it off, and aren’t sure why you want to, don’t try. Roping things together with our last topic, you don’t have to do horror. Don’t think that’s simply “how you make an ARG.” Build a good story, and if it happens to be spooky, then make it spooky. It doesn’t have to be, and don’t try to make it spooky if it isn’t. And if you have a good scary story to tell, and you want to take a crack at it, make sure what there is to be afraid of is well illustrated to me. Even if that’s simply the unknown, I need to be aware of what it is that I don’t know and why I should be afraid that I don’t know it.

DO Put Care And Attention In To Every Detail, Sentence, And Shot, Especially If You’re Trying To Be Foreboding

Everything you show me should be important. New information to new experiences, everything should have some sort of role. Don’t make a video or take a picture of that old house simply because it’s creepy if it has nothing to do with anything. It doesn’t have to be apparent to the onlooker what everything means, but it should be to you no matter what. Everything a character says should have some sort of purpose, even if that’s just to build on who they are. If that character taking a picture of that old house means something about their character? Include it then of course, but only if you really have a reason or meaning to.

Conclusion

I’ve said a lot, and I hope it helped. If not, make sure to tell me why either on here or on Twitter @Ekatclan, because if I’m not helping, I’m not succeeding in my goal I’ve set out to accomplish by any means. And I’d like to accomplish my goals.