It's no question that immersive ARGs require a degree of suspension of disbelief-- even the most convincing narrative can have holes poked in it, and no ARG designer can expect their game to be perfect. But time and again, players are willing to suspend their disbelief and play along, hanging onto the 1% chance that there's a reasonable explanation for everything.
Except for that one guy. What a real piece of work.
You know the one I mean: the "how are you guys falling for this?? this is so obviously fake lol" in the group chat; the one who spends hours scouring the darkest corners of the web to find proof that the narrative is artificial; the one who goes to every game event just to tell people that the game "isn't real".
ARG "Truthers", if you will, are the people who have made it their sworn duty to spread the word about how fake an ARG is. And sure, there's a whole conversation to be had about whether or not an ARG is "fake" if people engage with it, but that's not what we're talking about here: we're accepting that ARGs usually involve an intentionally constructed narrative that at least in part predicates itself on fiction and performance.
But at the end of the day... the Truthers tend to stick around. And often, they spend just as much time trying to poke holes as the people playing along spend engaging with the narrative. Sure, maybe it's because they have an undying devotion to sharing the "Truth-with-a-capital-T"-- but honestly, who really has the energy for that. That's not a plausible explanation.
Maybe instead, it's that these people who refuse to "play along" are actually playing along in their own way. Much like people who enjoy debating "play" by poking holes in their opponents' arguments, Truthers "play" by searching for the pieces of evidence that can disprove the existence of the alternate reality. Maybe this isn't the explicit purpose of the game's narrative, but it's another way players can engage with the game and the content created by designers, making it as much a part of the game as "playing along" is. And for seasoned Truthers, uncovering new and innovative methods that ARG designers use to make their narratives resilient to prying (and finding new ways to poke holes in these methods) can be a fun way to play without having to suspend disbelief.
And if you want to talk about how ARG narratives "evolve" over the course of the game, this is frequently catalyzed by Truthers. In the parasite, for instance, Truther behavior outed Facebook first-year "Jacob Fullmer" as a cover for beloved T.A. and games enthusiast Jordan Pruett-- but this allowed the narrative to evolve to include the character of Jordan Pruett, a dissident member of the secret society with "ulterior motives," a running plot point throughout the game. Given that the parasite was mainly played by UChicago students, the game was rampant with Truther behavior (is anyone really surprised); but the game simply used this player investment to evolve the narrative as the game went on.
But a note to those who love poking holes in an imperfect narrative: Let People Enjoy Things. ARG players are just trying to have a good time, so feel free to play in your own way, as long as you let people play in theirs.
Hail Caesar,
a former (and future) ARG designer
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