ARG may refer to any of the following:

  1. Arg is an abbreviation sometimes used for argument.

  2. An ARG, or alternate reality game, is a type of game that mixes real-world elements with gameplay. Most of these games are based on the idea that there’s something bigger happening in the world that nobody but the players realize. To play an ARG, the player must stumble upon hidden messages leading them to a website or other locations with further clues, riddles, and puzzles that help explain the story. In many ways, an ARG is like a complex scavenger hunt with complex puzzles.

Examples of alternate reality games

  • Cicada 3301, an ARG started on January 4, 2012, when a mysterious organization released the start of several complex puzzles to find highly intelligent individuals.
  • I Love Bees, an ARG about an AI (artificial intelligence) that takes over the website ilovebees, and was done to help launch Microsoft’s Halo 2 game.
  • Year Zero, an ARG based on the Nine Inch Nails album about the year 2022, coined “Year 0,” when the US government restarted America after it suffered attacks.

Skills required to help solve an ARG

There are several skills required to help solve the riddles and puzzles in an ARG. Below are some skills with links to pages containing help on these skills.

  • Understand how to use computers and perform tasks such as opening and editing different types of files.
  • Understand the Internet and how it works, including IPs, URLs, and perform tasks like downloading and e-mailing.
  • Programming knowledge helps, especially a good understanding of HTML and JavaScript used to create web pages.
  • A good understanding of math and encryption help with deciphering encrypted messages.
  • Know how to use an image editor to manipulate an image to look for hidden messages in the image.
  • Understand how to manipulate an audio file, such as reversing the audio, speeding the audio up, and slowing the audio down.
  • Be familiar with GPS coordinates, phone numbers, QR codes, morse code, binary, and other methods of storing data.

Of course, no one can be an expert at everything, which is why most ARG participants work together to help solve puzzles.

  1. An ARG, or augmented reality game, is a type of game that overlays digital objects and other elements over the real world using your device’s camera. An example of an augmented reality game is a GPS (Global Positioning System) game that maps game characters, buildings, or other elements onto a real map. For example, in Pokémon GO, the player moves around the real world looking for Pokémon to capture.

Augmented reality, Computer abbreviations, Game, Q