Maddison Atkins: Must Love Reboots
From comments we’ve seen around the blogosphere, it appears that the characters and settings may be the same but the storyline will not necessarily depend upon the previous history.
http://www.despoiler.org/2009/06/10/must-love-reboots/
"To be absolutely honest, there’s a drop out there right now that the fans might miss if they don’t hurry up"
Unfiction: [indy ARG] Maddison Atkins - Restart News
http://forums.unfiction.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=27959
Discuss: http://www.maddisonatkins.com/forum/topics/are-we-missing-a-drop
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Posts
Yeah cause telling us we're idiots is really going to make us want to help. "Don't miss out on the drop dummies". We have EVERY REASON to be waiting. WE DON'T TRUST YOU.
ReplyDeleteFair enough...
ReplyDeleteMost of us already over the trust issues stop feeling so attached to past mistakes he came to his own conclusions, apologised and has put heavy effort into the reboot.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair we dont have a point to complain on this one. Weve been dipping our toes in the water instead of diving in and go play with Maddison and Adam.
and respectfully, I don't think any of you are "dummies"
ReplyDelete"WE DON'T TRUST YOU"
ReplyDeletearg players can be such drama queens!
'Trust no one' is always a pretty good basic way to look at things, especially in games like these. You never know who might switch 'sides' or turn out to be someone other than who they originally claim to be. That said, we weren't called idiots. It was just said that there's already a drop out there that we're missing - that, to me, doesn't say we're thought to be dumb. Just that we're not seeing something we should be.
ReplyDeleteHey Amanda! wait is the "The Amanda" if so congrats on your new baby!
ReplyDelete~Mitch
ARG rule number#1.
ReplyDeleteThe puppet master should never come from behind the curtain to say flat out that there is a missed drop.
This is what characters are for.
Oh blah blah blah...you folks are such whiners. He's clearly put more effort into this thing than the LG15 crew have in the past few months...just be happy and play it.
ReplyDeleteWe believe that based on a discussion at maddisonatkins.com it was decided that THIS game should use a somewhat porous curtain that would allow for some communication for specific purposes rather than the more traditional 100 percent curtain. I do no see a great deal of harm in saying that it is important for players to pay attention and interact and really that is all that was said.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why anyone would want to participate in the interactive element of this ARG. The videos were always fun, cute, and charming, while the ARG element was frustrating, overly complicated, and at times, downright demeaning. For instance, I think it's pretty clear that there was no way we could have saved Maddison the first time around. It's just such a waste. And let's not even get into the catastrophe that was the Clara/Marla era. I, for one, intend to sit back and watch the videos and let the suckers bother with Jeromy's idea of a good ARG.
ReplyDeleteThe interaction in Chapter 1 was some of the best we have experienced. I think the reasons for Maddisons death were pretty clear. Perhaps we could have done better but there were also meta issues involved but the overall experience was excellent.
ReplyDeleteThe interaction with Maddison, maybe, but not the ARG elements. The puzzles were confusing, and we kept being told that we didn't solve them correctly and that's why Maddison died. That's just BS. If the puppetmaster is having trouble getting the players to do the puzzles the way he wants, maybe it's the puzzles that are wrong, not the players. And now we are already starting down the same path. Why are people indulging this? I just don't understand.
ReplyDeleteit was always pretty clear to me that in ch 1, the players "lost the game" and maddison died because of it. that was a terribly painful reality that we don't want to face.
ReplyDeleteProlly cause we're not all whiny bitches, anon@12:52...
ReplyDeleteI like hard puzzles. Under your logic he should just spoon feed us story and no interaction. Turn on your TV if you want that. I want interactivity.
If Maddison died because we failed the game... and then the Clara/Marla fiasco happened because we failed the game... maybe there's something fundamentally wrong with the game, not the players.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course I want interactivity, I just want interactivity that I don't have to be demeaned to be a part of. And the name calling - yes, that /really/ helps make your point seem mature and well thought out...
You generally can't "lose" an ARG. A fair portion of the experience -should- be on rails, with room for player influence. It can't be all one or all the other. The right balance between the two is up for debate.
ReplyDeleteGenerally, a PM will find a character that can guide the players if they lose the "trail." That's not always the case, though.
If you're interested in a meta-discussion on the role that the curtain plays in the player-creator interaction that develops a story within an ARG, you might want to read this excellent article:
http://www.unfiction.com/compendium/2007/12/15/the-puppetmaster-player-communication-dynamic-in-alternate-reality-gaming-and-chaotic-fiction/
I still say leave the hints for the characters.
ReplyDeleteI understand the transparent curtain, but as was pointed out, it's a fairly easy gesture to put the players on the right track. Just an extra line or two.
If J's gonna pop out every time something gets overlooked, he may as well drop the actors and just do the Jeromy Show.
Maddison did a lot to guide us in Ch 1. '
ReplyDeleteIt actually went very well and we solved most of the puzzles and retrieved the drops. We were also supposed to build a community which clearly we did. In the end, yes Maddison did die, but I suspect that that was more for meta reasons (lack of funding and a failed attempt to reach out to Bree for "help"). Perhaps we did not perform at 100 percent but I would give us a A- for what we did accomplish.
If someone wants to say we did not i challenge them to spell out explicitly what we did not solve. Mr. Zipp and a few other things but that pales in comparison to the very rich experience we did have. For anyone who participated it was actually extremely enjoyable.
Now, as for Ch 2 - no comment:):):)
I would say if you want to know what we didn't solve, you would have to ask Jeromy. He's the one who told us that we didn't do it right.
ReplyDeleteI thought she died because he didn't have any money to continue. I even remember him blaming the creators for not paying him to continue his show. It's always the creator's fault.
ReplyDeletelol @ anon above. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS the Creators fault!
ReplyDeleterekidk - good points.
@ anon 6:55 - That's exactly what I mean. There was NO WAY we could have saved Maddison.
ReplyDeleteIt kind of blows my mind that anyone would want to play a game where the only purpose of the players is to achieve the financial and business goals of its PM, and then when those cannot be reached (for OBVIOUS reasons) the players "fail" and the rug is pulled out from under them in the form of the death of a beloved character. That's just messed up.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the concern that these anonymouses have for me as a player of this ARG. I can just feel the L.O.V.E.
ReplyDeleteAnonymouses, you are either participating or not. Its as simple as that. You are free to choose not to participate, and those that want to participate are also free to do so. Everyone is also free to choose the level of participation they wish to engage in.
I'm having fun so far, but I do appreciate your "concern".
By all means, play the game. Enjoy it while it lasts, then enjoy the sucker punch when the game once again fails you (and once again, you are accused of failing it).
ReplyDeleteFool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
Virginian, why would you want to play a game where you are guaranteed from the get-go to fail?
ReplyDeleteWho told you this is going to fail? Do you know the ending? because i dont and i highly dobt a pm would choose to aim for the you lose ending this time he has an ending for the win. And whilst you continue insisting we are going to fail im gonna go win this because why sabotage the people who are trying to win by telling them they are going to fail?
ReplyDeleteOn of the rules is the journey is as important as the destination im sorry if you fear were gonna get drooped off at the same point as last time
anon @ 8:12. why live life when you are guaranteed to die?
ReplyDelete@ milowent - So you admit losing this game is as inevitable as dying? ;)
ReplyDelete@TZDane - We have lost every previous incarnation of this game (Maddison Ch1, Clara, Marla), so what on Earth gives you the idea that the fourth time around will be any different?
ReplyDeleteMilowent - with life/dying, you don't have a choice, so you might as well make the best of it. Here, you do have a choice, so why choose to fail?
ReplyDeleteI love a defeatist attitude. It just makes me feel good about myself.
ReplyDeleteIf by defeatist, you mean realist, then sure :)
ReplyDelete