Editing Alternate reality game (section)

=== Serious ARG ===
In a 2007 article, columnist Chris Dahlen (of Pitchfork Media) voiced a much-discussed ARG concept: if ARGs can spark players to solve very hard fictional problems, could the games be used to solve real-world problems?<ref>{{cite news |title=Surviving A World Without Oil |url=http://pitchfork.com/features/get-that-out-of-your-mouth/6586-get-that-out-of-your-mouth-34/ |work=Pitchfork Media |date=13 April 2007 |access-date=7 September 2007}}</ref> Dahlen was writing about ''[[World Without Oil]]'', the first ARG centered on a serious near-future scenario: a global oil shortage.<ref>{{cite news |title=Slick Way To Address Oil Thirst |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/businessheadlines/ci_5783396?nclick_check=1 |work=[[San Jose Mercury News]] |date=30 April 2007 |access-date=7 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604073252/http://www.mercurynews.com/businessheadlines/ci_5783396?nclick_check=1 |archive-date=June 4, 2011<!--None--> |url-status=live}}</ref>

In October 2008 The [[British Red Cross]] created a serious ARG called Traces of Hope to promote their campaign about civilians caught up in conflict.<ref>{{cite news |title=Internet game for victims of war |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7638581.stm |work=BBC News |date=29 September 2008 |access-date=1 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081001075523/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7638581.stm |archive-date=1 October 2008 <!--None--> |url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[USC School of Cinematic Arts]] has run a semester-long ARG called [[Reality Ends Here]] for incoming freshmen since 2011. The game involves players collaborating and competing to produce media artifacts. In 2012, Reality Ends Here won the Impact Award at [[IndieCade]], presented to games which "have social message, shift the cultural perception of games as a medium, represent a new play paradigm, expand the audience, or influence culture."<ref>{{cite web |title=IndieCade 2012 Award Winners |url=http://www.indiecade.com/2013/2012_awardwinners/ |date=October 2012 |access-date=10 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121231221000/http://www.indiecade.com/2013/2012_awardwinners/ |archive-date=2012-12-31 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Plan of Gauss was a game developed as a didactic strategy to enhance the learning and understanding of mathematics in university students. In this game, the players had to help characters (students) to find a missing friend.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=López-Mera |first1=Diego Darío |last2=Archila-Gutiérrez |first2=Ana Catalina |last3=Hernández-Montoya |first3=Bryan Camilo |last4=Suárez-Chávez |first4=Sandra Esther |last5=Pérez-Rojas |first5=Eider Hernán |date=2021-09-03 |title=Modelo para la creación del juego de realidad alternativa "El Plan de Gauss": matemáticas, relatos y juegos en instituciones de educación superior |url=https://www.tecnologia-ciencia-educacion.com/index.php/TCE/article/view/529 |journal=Revista Tecnología, Ciencia y Educación |language=es |pages=133–154 |doi=10.51302/tce.2021.529 |s2cid=239651622 |issn=2444-2887|doi-access=free }}</ref>