Monday, March 17, 2008

iARG - NeverRest: Operation Sunshine - beta test


I know you are all going to be jealous. Well, okay, maybe not all of you. But you gamers out there will be.

I just got my beta invite to MediaEdge's beta test of their iARG. What the heck is an iARG you might be saying. Learn about ARGs HERE. Now slap the word Instructional on the front of that and you start to get the idea. No? Here's what was in the email:
What is an Alternate Reality Game (ARG)?
Basically, an ARG is an interactive story. Players use everyday tools (email, chat, forums, websites, meetings, etc.) to navigate an immersive scenario and to ultimately determine its outcome. ARGs appeal to a diverse audience and encourage collaboration and innovation. An Instructional ARG (I-ARG) takes these features and uses them for training.
Never Rest: Operation Sunshine is an I-ARG that fosters collaboration skills. It was designed to reinforce the knowledge, skills, and attitudes taught in mediaEdge’s Intelligence Community (IC) Primer course, which introduces new employees to the sixteen IC agencies as well as techniques for interagency communication. With Never Rest: Operation Sunshine, IC new hires can practice and reinforce the important collaboration skills they learned in the classroom.

I think ARGs will have a unique place in the Serious Games genre of games. I'm looking forward to participating my first ARG. No wait that's iARG.

2 comments:

B.J. Schone said...

Hey Brent - I'm very anxious to hear about this. I attended the MediaEdge iARG session at the last DevLearn and I saw huge potential in what they're trying to do.

Please keep us updated with whatever info you're allowed to share. Thanks!

Adam said...

Thanks for the post, Brent. This approach to learning (or reinforcing learning) as well as the original course both sound fascinating. Any way your beta source has a few more invitations to pass out...? I'm sure you have more than a couple of readers who would love to be beta testers (me included!).