G: What went through your mind when you first took on this project, in deciding how to connect with an audience? Were you shooting for numbers, or an established Hellboy fan-base? Both?

M: A little of both, but I think above all we wanted to make a very high quality experience that both fan and newbie alike would enjoy and stick with. Hopefully we accomplished that!

G: The production quality of the content was quite impressive – from PANATROG videos to the acting of the characters themselves, including Lexi. Can you describe your process of actor and developer selection to arrive at that point?

M: Writing and shooting the live action portions of this ARG was a lot of fun for me and I think everyone else involved as well. I knew I wanted the Panatrog movies to be period late 60’s early 70’s – my director Danny Trachtenberg made the call to shoot it all on 8mm, which turned out to be a great choice. We cast the Panatrog agents in one afternoon and all said and done, it was pretty painless. We needed a team of guys that not only looked the part but also had chemistry with each other… man… we LUCKED out, the actors were FANTASTIC, I couldn’t have asked of more from them. Lexi was a little trickier, we needed a female lead that was believable, cute, innocent but also engaging and available immediately – we were lucky to get Jenn [Cambra] and I think most would agree she did an amazing job! We also had an unbelievable film crew behind us that really made it all possible – big shouts to all involved on that front including Rich, Annie, Ari and Nick!

G: Seconded – props to everyone involved!
It’s always great to hear a Puppetmaster’s take on the ARG genre itself. How would you define an A.R.G.? What is an Alternate Reality Game to you?

M: It’s where the river meets the ocean. It’s the combination of all forms of entertainment and media, swirled in any number of creative and compelling ways to deliver a uniquely fun experience. A good ARG has you immersed before you know you’re actually playing anything and keeps you engaged through story, puzzle and adventure.

G: How do you feel about, or deal with ARG concepts the likes of “TINAG” (This Is Not A Game), or the “4th Wall”, for example?

M: Ahh, the age old question… COVERT vs. OVERT :) This is a massive question that deserves much more attention than the piddley answer I give below. The short answer is, if the experience is well built, they can both work quite well! In fact, for both OE and TSD, we used elements of both. It really depends on WHY the experience is being built though, is it a promotion or a stand alone experience? What are the client’s needs if it is a commercial experience and how much time has been allotted for deployment and organic growth? If the experience is well crafted, the audience will extend disbelief with an overt experience much more so than some might think. Of course, covert ARGs are amazing too but pulling off a truly covert ARG in today’s world is MUCH more challenging than it was when “I Love Bees” first arrived on the scene. Personally, I like the hybrid recipe – some parts overt and some parts covert ;)

G: Have you or Tania played, or lurked, through any other ARGs yourself? What were some of your favourites?

M: Sure, I’ve played around with Perplex city (I love what they did with the trading cards), The Beast, and listened to part of the radio broadcast within I Love Bees (cuz I’m a HUGE HUGE Halo fan and LOVE to play – I’m rated 28 on Lone Wolves which ain’t bad for an old timer like me!). I also play a lot of videogames and of course design and produce them. Tania recently fell into the Triangle Mystery and loved their intro, she also followed The Dark Knight and ducked in and out of What Happened in Piedmont (quick shout out to our good friend Ivan over at Big Spaceship :)

On the flip-side, I’m concerned that so called ‘integrated media ad agencies’ are tarnishing the ARG in the name of profit and wanting to be seen as ‘getting digital and interactive’. Most have NO idea what they are doing and I feel it hurts the genre. In the future, you’ll see D20 and I change up our recipe on ARG-itecture in a big way… starting with our next one ;)

G: The ARG genre could be described as a niche art form, and typically after projects such as this, some individuals feel inspired to create their own grassroots games and storytelling projects. Would you have any tips for fledgling ARG-creators and puppetmasters?

M: Preparation is huge because during deployment, you typically don’t have time to create new content if you haven’t planned for it. Try to remain as flexible as you can while the ARG is live, things change because it’s an organic experience. Trust the strength of what you’ve built, the community is a lot stronger than you think it is… things won’t implode overnight so don’t panic if stuff goes a little sideways. Treat your players like family because without them, you are nothing and your experience is nothing – at all costs, your players must be held in the highest regard. Don’t let the control go to your head… especially since control is an illusion for PM’s… we’re not in control as much as we’d like to think we are… it’s the players that wield most of it ;)

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Tags: d20, hellboy

Categories: ARGs General, Puppetmasters