What is an ARG? For those who know, this may be a bit old hat, as the phenomenon is not exactly new. ARG is an acronym for Alternative Reality Game, defined by Wikipedia as “an interactive networked narrative that uses the real world as a platform and employs transmedia storytelling to deliver a story that may be altered by players’ ideas or actions.” Typical ARGs will utilize social media to build its network of players and present clues or puzzles that, once solved, reveal further layers of the story. The hallmark of a well-executed ARG is the player’s inability to determine if it is fiction or reality, or even a game at all.  

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of ARGs in existence, varying wildly in style, purpose, and intensity. They range from the humorous and benign, creepy and unsettling, to “holy shit, I have to smash my computer and erase my online footprint!” Others are creative attempts at viral marketing such as I Love Bees for Halo 2 and Year Zero for the Nine Inch Nails album of the same name. Perhaps the best way to explain the phenomenon is to cite some examples. Here are three of my favorites. 

This is My Milwaukee / Bear Stearns Bravo 

Created by Synydyne and running from 2008-2009, this is one of the more amusing, if not pointless ARGs out there. The player is introduced to the game through a bizarre and hilarious tourist advertisement for an alternate universe Milwaukee that has recently overcome a small apocalypse. Through the course of the video we learn that the towns chief employer, Blackstar, somehow brought down the wrath of some massive eldritch creature, which decimated the town. However, not to worry, Blackstar vanquished the beast and sealed it beneath the city, where it now rests in eternal slumber. 

At first glance, it doesn’t appear to be anything more than an art project, until you dig a little deeper. Several clues in the video lead to websites which in turn lead to dead drops and strange interactions with the game designers. Ultimately, the purpose was unclear and the game abruptly stopped. Synydyne returned in 2013 with an equally perplexing game involving defunct websites “Horse ebooks” and “Pronunciation Book”. This led players to a countdown clock that when completed presented another bizarre video themed around the real-world company Bear Stearns Bravo, involved in the 2008 housing crash. Most players were disappointed and confused. Personally, I thought it was brilliant. 

Deeper 

In 2016 a hexadecimal code appeared on a 4-chan post that when translated produced the url for the “deeper” youtube channel. The channel consists of a number of short videos, either converted from VHS or made to look that way. The videos contain odd and seemingly random subject matter and are generally unsettling. Many include strange audio tracks containing clues encoded in spectograms. Their titles appear as meaningless strings of numbers and letters, but are actually coded using a variety of cyphers. 

When decoded, the videos typically provide the name of a victim from an unsolved homicide. The cases are very real and span from the late 1970’s to the early 1990’s. These clues bring a disturbing context to the videos. The insinuation of the channel is that it represents the work of a serial killer who is now reliving his past crimes and daring the public to catch him. It is generally assumed that deeper is an ARG, though it has not been confirmed. A final puzzle on the channel seems to be authored by another hand and suggests that “deeper” has passed away. 

Junko Junsui 

This is one of the most elaborate, well produced, and controversial ARGs out there. It began with an innocuous social media account back in 2009 created by a woman calling herself Junko Junsui. Junko sent out hundreds of friend requests, seemingly at random, not unlike a bot account. However, soon she began contacting her friends with cryptic messages claiming that she was part of a sisterhood that was in danger and requesting help. What unfolded was a bizarre story about the Junsui, genetically engineered perfect humans, and a Russian paramilitary organization called Alfa Tsentr who were hunting them down and capturing them. 

What sets Junko Junsui apart from other ARGs and makes it one of the most notorious and controversial games is its blatant disrespect for its players and their privacy. Many times, in game characters would break from typical behavior and dox players in online forums like Reddit or Unfiction, often revealing their personal information in the process. Similarly, participants were required to interact with sketchy websites that put their online privacy in question.  

In addition to compromising players’ privacy, the game introduced an element of actual danger, unprecedented in any previous ARG. The most notable example of this is the fact that Alfa Tsentr is an actual Russian security firm, though the sites the participants accessed were created by the game developers. This led players to eventually find and to actually attempt contact with the real Alfa Tsentr, accusing them of kidnapping innocent Junsui and keeping them captive. Compounding the issue, the “sisterhood” and “Junsui” are real life synonyms for an active Islamic terrorist group called the Black Widows, known for perpetrating suicide bombings. One such bombing was carried out during the course of the game, coincidentally coinciding with in game events! The entire ordeal had many participants scrubbing their computers and deleting their social media accounts. 

Have ARGs Infiltrated Our Daily Lives? 

Alternate reality games masterfully blur the line between fiction and reality, making players question what is real as they unravel clues and narratives. This disorienting effect, while thrilling in the context of a game, becomes unsettling when applied to the spread of misinformation. Just as ARGs immerse players by weaving cryptic clues into real-world spaces, misinformation campaigns can manipulate people by presenting selective facts or narratives as hidden truths. In this way, the mechanics of ARGs serve as a perfect analogy for how misinformation spreads today.

Consider movements like QAnon, which operate much like an ARG. Followers are fed cryptic messages, which they interpret and “research,” connecting dots to reveal what they believe to be a hidden reality. They form a community around shared beliefs, much like players of an ARG working together to solve puzzles. However, the difference is that this isn’t just a game—these ideas drive real-world actions, often with dangerous consequences.

The COVID-19 pandemic offered another example of this phenomenon. Content like the “Plandemic” video used the same immersive techniques, presenting misinformation as a hidden truth that powerful entities are trying to suppress. Once presented, this information spread rapidly across social media, much like a viral ARG puzzle. As people shared it, many began to doubt credible institutions like the CDC and WHO, creating confusion and distrust in science and medicine.

The spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories is disturbingly similar to the immersive tactics used in ARGs, but with far more dangerous consequences. Remember, the hallmark of any good ARG is in the player’s inability to determine if it is fiction or reality, or even a game at all. This begs the question: are we the players, or are we being played?

 

 

Jason Roberts is a Seattle-based author noted for his acclaimed Western Horror series The Dead Wind Trilogy and other works of cosmic horror infused with historical fiction. His web-based series, Dark Distractions, examines paranormal mysteries, unexplained phenomena, and all things strange.