The Art Museum as a Game Platform. Presented at "Museum Narratives," the 20th Annual Salzburg Conference in English Literature and Culture, November 2009. See accompanying document for presentation notes: http://www.slideshare.net/georginab/alternate-realities-2443466

1. The Art Museum as a Game Platform Alternate Realities 1

2. Smithsonian American Art Museum 2

3. Luce Foundation Center 3

4. What is an ARG? An ARG is “an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform to tell a story that may be affected by participants’ ideas or actions.” Wikipedia An ARG is “an adventure you have in real life.” Jane McGonigal An ARG is “an interactive, trans-media narrative that evolves in response to what its players do.” World Without Oil An ARG is “a game that allows players (like you) to interact with a fictitious world using real world elements.” The Lost Ring “ARGs are “engaging narrative entertainment delivered across multiple platforms – web, phone, video, audio, even the street where you live.” No Mimes Media An ARG should “inspire and encourage people to step outside of their everyday lives and look at the world from a different perspective” Star Spider 4

5. What is an ARG? An ARG is “an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform to tell a story that may be affected by participants’ ideas or actions.” Wikipedia An ARG is “an adventure you have in real life.” Jane McGonigal An ARG is “an interactive, trans-media narrative that evolves in response to what its players do.” World Without Oil An ARG is “a game that allows players (like you) to interact with a fictitious world using real world elements.” The Lost Ring “ARGs are “engaging narrative entertainment delivered across multiple platforms – web, phone, video, audio, even the street where you live.” No Mimes Media An ARG should “inspire and encourage people to step outside of their everyday lives and look at the world from a different perspective” Star Spider 5

6. Why? 6

7. Core Narrative 19th Century… McDoggerel (McD), Blanche, The Reverend, & WhatFor 21st Century… Daisy Fortunis Daniel Libbe 7

8. Telling the Story 8

9. Telling the Story “You know, in thinking about it, this doesn't make any sense... Why would the Smithsonian send a stripper to a place like ARGFest to get this going? I mean, think about it, a borderline government agency sending a stripper to a convention in a hotel? That would be front page news on The Drudge Report!” --- Nighthawk 9

10. Telling the Story 10

11. The Artifacts Necklace of the Subaltern Betrayer Predictor of Imminent Doom Con Artists’ Replica Diorama of a Travesty Memory Vessel Escape Quilt 11

12. On-line Collections 12

13. Player-Created Narratives Incomplete Set of Prediction Disks (Predictor of Imminent Doom) by Lydia Burris "Last Call" (Memory Vessel) by Michelle and Eve Senderhauf 13

14. Supporting the Fiction 14

15. Supporting the Fiction - NMNH National Museum of Natural History 15

16. Supporting the Fiction - Cemetery Congressional Cemetery 16

17. The Final Event 17

18. The Final Event Contemplating Faces by Morris Louis Using a sculpture to solve encrypted text 18

19. The End “They rest. They really do. All of them. McD has vanished, his fame secured by the artifacts that players of Ghosts Of A Chance made in his honor. Blanche escaped the traps of life; she is free to discover whatever there is to discover, and this time in peace and comfort. WhatFor is free for all time. The Reverend is beyond temptation; he languishes in a goodly repose.” 19