Editing Alternate reality game (section)

{{Short description|Alternate storytelling in media}}
{{distinguish|Augmented reality}}
{{About|the genre|the 1980s series|Alternate Reality (series)}}
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{{update|date=November 2021}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2021}}
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[[File:NIN ARG 24-20-3.jpg|thumb|A number hidden in graffiti as part of the ''[[Year Zero (game)|Year Zero]]'' ARG]]
{{Art and video games}}

An '''alternate reality game''' ('''ARG''') is 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.

The form is defined by intense player involvement with a story that takes place in real time and evolves according to players' responses. It is shaped by characters that are actively controlled by the game's designers, as opposed to being controlled by an [[AI]] as in a computer or console video game. Players interact directly with characters in the game, solve plot-based challenges and puzzles, and collaborate as a community to analyze the story and coordinate real-life, online activities and AI. ARGs generally utilize [[multimedia]], such as telephones and mail, but rely on the Internet as the central binding medium.

ARGs tend to be free to play, with costs absorbed either through supporting products (e.g., collectible puzzle cards fund [[Perplex City]]) or through promotional relationships with existing products (for example, ''[[I Love Bees]]'' was a promotion for ''[[Halo 2]]'', and the ''[[Lost Experience]]'' and ''[[Find 815]]'' promoted the television show ''[[Lost (2004 TV series)|Lost]]''). Pay-to-play models exist as well. Later games in the genre have shown an increasing amount of experimentation with new models and sub-genres.