There's a strange thing that happens when you make an ARG. You get to know your players very well, from observing in silence everything they say to your characters and to each other. (Sometimes you really do know each other, at least generally, because you all come from the same community, and you all return to it when the curtain closes.) 

But there are many, many more players that you don't have an existing relationship with. While you may feel you know them by the end of the game, and maybe even feel like you are or should be friends, they still don't know a thing about you. You've been watching the whole time through a one-way mirror. It's the reverse of becoming a celebrity.

One way to deal with this is the customary wrap-up puppetmaster chat, a meet and greet so that players and developers can come together and enthuse about the experience they created together. But not every project permits this, and reaching out on your own can become... well, pretty awkward.

I am ever one to meet awkwardness head-on, however, and now that a respectful interval has passed since the 2012 Experience has ended, I'm reaching out to MovieViral to say: OMG I LOVE YOU GUYS THANK YOU SO MUCH. Your enthusiasm, good humor, and analysis of the experience were a tremendous help during the run. I owe you one.

And that's not even counting the awards. You guys, my projects have won a fair number of awards over the course of my career. But none of them have meant as much to me personally as the ones from you. You've actually participated in the experiences you're judging. You're in the trenches. You know what you're looking at. And if you say that the thing I made for you was rewarding to play and had a great story? That's some rare and wonderful feedback.

So yeah, long overdue. MovieViral, man. I love you guys. Thanks for playing. It's meant a lot to me.

Like my blog? Buy my books!

Get the Serial Box App for iOS | Android