Morning everybody! So, for those of you who went to the Sandpit last night and played my game, "Watch your back" you will have discovered that Violet was in fact a fictional character.

The reason she had a profile and was interacting on this site was an experiment to see how ARG (Alternative reality gaming- check out my other discussion post for more information) and theatre can merge/co-exist/collaborate to create a brand new medium.

Of course, this raises an awful lot of questions- for the 'gamers' that usually interact with the ARG's they know to question everything that appears on the internet. But for us who don't play, how do you explain it without losing the game of figuring out what's real and what isn't? Basically, the hard core 'gamers' trawl through the internet looking for clues to solve which will then open a door to a new Alternative Reality Game.

I really believe that this merge has the potential to bring brand new audiences to the theatre and it also allows the world of a play to exist for more than an hour and a half. The play starts the second the writer creates a profile for the characters on social networks and doesn't finish until the writer removes all profiles, websites, emails and virtual identity.

Is it just me that's excited about this?
Do you see the potential?
Tv companies have had to accept that they need an online presence in order to compete with today's entertainment and I think theatre needs to join in too.

What do you think?

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Hi Bethan
I was disappointed to find that I was the only NTW site member who thought Violet was worthy of asking to become a friend. As her first and only friend thus far I feel very honoured and thought you might like to know that I followed the suggestion she made in one of her posts (after I'd referred to her as a citizen with human and civil rights). I did what she suggested and went to see the guys at Enterprise Car Hire on Penarth Road where I tried to tell them that Violet was indeed a citizen with human and civil rights and should be respected as such. I have to say they were remarkably welcoming. They took me in and sat me down. Made me tea and gave me biscuits and helpfully telephoned the local ARG (Armed Response Group) to come and escort me safely from the premises. The aforementioned ARG team then took me to a delightful sandpit where I was left playing quietly anticipating Violet's arrival. I was disappointed when she didn't turn up until I realised I was there on Wednesday not Thursday. My mistake. Please send her my apologies.
I agree that they are very welcoming at the Enterprise on Penarth road. I've had many a cup of tea there myself.

That is a great example of another platform that develops to create a bigger and wider world in these 'multi-platform' dramas. So thank you for playing Peter. Yes, I was disappointed that she only managed to make one friend. I got to thinking that people either didn't think Violet was real or just didn't want to react?

Were any of you guys reading the posts???
My first sniff of fiction came when you didn't offer yourself as a friend for Violet. Kind of thought you would have 'in reality'. (What a strange phrase that becomes under these circumstamces.)
Sorry Bethan forgot to say that, no, it's not just you that's excited about this and, yes, I do see the potential. There's a whole other debate I guess about how writers can monetise this kind of approach. Was that something you explored on the course?
Do you mean how do writers make money out of it? It's quite simple- if you put something out there that has enough of a following then the money will come to you- whether it's through advertising, product placement or a production company (tv, film or theatre) wanting to get involved. That's the great thing about this- you don't have to wait for a commission to get it out there!
Yep, that's what I meant. I only asked about the role that this aspect played on your course as I'm aware that the John Moore's University in Liverpool have been looking at this through their new media centre that Phil Redmond helped to set up. When I last spoke to Phil about this in April he was saying this has been their hardest task - identifying models that can work well for writers financially. I'm sure the potential is there though and am developing work of my own in this arena.
This has been a truly fascinating exercise to watch - both to see the development of a game and fictional character in an online sphere and also to see how people have reacted to Violet as a character. For me, this also brings into question the whole concept of what this online community space is and what it can be used for.

I have been thinking about what Naomi Alderman said when she was at National Theatre Wales' offices last week - and about how to encourage people to play games and engage in online narrative, when she said it was now okay to tell readers, users and participants that characters and stories are fictional and that writers of online participatory fiction no longer need to pretend that they are writing reality.

So I was wondering - would the reaction from people who use this community have been different if they knew from the start that violet was a fictional character, utilising this site in a very real way? How would the knowledge that Violet was unreal have affected your communication with and about her? Would you have been more - or less engaged?

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