Chapter 7 in Montola, M et al ~ Pervasive Games

137
“In many pervasive games, the design of tangible experiences is central. The goal should be to provide players with the feeling that they are, right at that moment, experiencing something unforgettable.”

143
“[The players] must believe “this is not a game” in order to enjoy the immersive pleasures of its realistic aesthetic. They must disbelieve “this is not a game” in order to maintain the ludic mindset that makes realistic murders, apocalyptic science, cyberterrorism, and other dark plots pleasurably playable.” McGonigal 2006

144
“Don’t let players leave the game. One way to create a strong life/game merger in long-duration games is to let players carry on with their ordinary lives, only to run constantly into game-related events and information. Utilizing temporal expansion in this way leads to a state of mind where the players are constantly in game and will start to connect anyting they experience to the game. Eerie coincidences are often reported as one of the most enjoyable experiences in pervasive games.”

147
“Games striving for a predetermined yet interactive plot often require game masters to control the pace of the game or to subtly steer players in the right direction. […] If players see this steering too clearly, there is a risk that they will lose their sense of agency.”

149
“Some games are based on narratives whereas others are not. Stories are particularly relevant for pervasive larps, alternate reality games, and urban adventure games, whereas assassination games, treasure hunts, and smart street sports do not typically feature them. A compelling game narrative provides players with a frame for the play experience: Solving the puzzles of The Beast was motivated by the need of discovering the narrative. The narrative was both a reward for discovery and an excuse for spending endless hours looking for clues.”
“Games with strong stories are usually games of progression instead of games of emergence. Games of progression feature a series of particular challenges presented in sequence, and a player progresses through the game by overcoming them. Games of emergence feature relatively few rules, but complex and changing gameplay emerges from those rules.” Jesper Juul (2003)
“A game of progression is only compleded once. […] Games of emergence tend to be much shoreter, but they are played over and over again.”
“Some hybrid games offer a story world that is more of a sandbox to play in. Exploring the story world is not only common in digital games such as the Grand Theft Auto series, but also in sequential pervasive larp campaigns, reality games, and urban adventure games. The completeness and coherence of the diegetic world are extremely important in these games.”

150
“The distributed narrative is told in small fragments, which are hidden in different locations and in verious media.”
“In the ARG community it is customary to share discoveries with other players.”

151
“In ARGs, players produce both a description of the diegetic story, a trail, and a story of how all the puzzles were solved, The first consists of a (re)assembled distributed narrative, the latter is the collective story.” Dena 2008
“The success of [The Beast] depended on whether a community emerged and whether that community began to tell its own story.”
“First person stories are not su much stories per se as sequences of events that players experience and later turn ointo stories when reminiscing the events. Although similar first person stories can be created for severeal players, they are experienced as private, as certain particular events happen only to a certain particular player. First person stoeis are especially common in pervasive larps, assassination games, treasure hunts, and urban adventure games, as these games feature incidental coincidences with outside events, making each experience unique.”

153
“One way to increase replayability is to simply include so much content in the game that it is impossible to go through it in one go.” If you make people experience an entertainment architecture under time pressure they CAN’T go through all the details! That way they can play (and pay for) it again!

154
“[…] keep players occupied with single-player content until critical mass is reached.” Then two players, then multiplayer, then massively multiplayer.
“Conceal the lack of critical mass”
“Designing the pace for a pervasive game is one of the most difficult parts of the design […]” Hardcore vs casual players.

155
Definition immersion:
“The experience of being transported to an elaborate simulated place is pleasurable in itself, regardless of the fantasy content. We refer to this experience as immersion. Immersion is a metaphorical term derived from the physical experience of being submerged in water.”
3 types of immersion:
Sensory
Challenge-based
Imaginative (fits ARGs and larp best)

156f
3 factors might make it possible to play a pervasive game casually and therefore reach a MUCH bigger audience (not just geeks):
Choosing a simple platform (inexpensive and compatible with everything)
Keeping the social threshold low (don’t make participants wear capes and swords)
Enabling tiered participation (there should be stuff for both hardcore and casual players)

157
“The key to successful development is in mutually supportive strategical decisions, where the technology, the business model and the gameplay work well together.”