Are you ready to take your team professional development day to the next level? With the power of alternate reality games (ARGs), you can transform a typical training session into an unforgettable and engaging experience. In this step-by-step guide, we’ll walk you through the process of designing and running an immersive ARG that will captivate your team, foster collaboration, and promote learning. Get ready to embark on a thrilling adventure that will leave a lasting impact on your team’s professional growth.

But maybe we are getting ahead of ourselves. Perhaps we should first understand what we mean by Alternate Realty Game.

An alternate reality game (ARG) is an interactive narrative experience that combines elements of storytelling, puzzle-solving, and real-world activities to create an immersive and engaging adventure. Unlike traditional games, ARGs blur the lines between fiction and reality by integrating game elements into the players’ everyday lives. People become active participants in the game, working together to uncover clues, solve puzzles, and unravel the game’s storyline.

ARGs often use various media platforms such as websites, social media, mobile apps, physical artifacts, and real-world locations to deliver the game’s narrative and challenges. They involve a mix of online and offline interactions, encouraging players to collaborate, think critically, and engage with the game’s content and community.

One key aspect of ARGs is that they often incorporate real-world elements, such as hidden messages in public places or interaction with actors playing fictional characters, blurring the boundaries between the game and the real world. This immersive nature makes ARGs an exciting and unique form of entertainment and engagement.

ARGs can be designed for various purposes, including entertainment, marketing, education, or team-building. However, they can also be powerful learning environments. They offer a dynamic and interactive experience that challenges participants to think creatively, collaborate with others, and navigate through complex narratives, making them a compelling and immersive form of gaming.

How do you design one? Following are simple steps to guide you through the process.

Step 1: Define Objectives and Theme

• Identify the specific learning objectives and desired outcomes for your team development day.
• Choose a captivating theme or storyline that aligns with your team’s goals and challenges.

Step 2: Develop the ARG Narrative

• Craft a compelling narrative that immerses participants in an exciting alternate reality.
• Create characters, settings, and plot twists to engage participants throughout the game.

Step 3: Design Game Elements

• Develop puzzles, challenges, and activities that promote teamwork and problem-solving.
• Ensure the difficulty level is appropriate for your team’s skill level and knowledge base.

Step 4: Integrate Real-World and Digital Components

• Incorporate real-world locations, props, and artifacts into the game’s storyline.
• Utilize digital platforms, such as websites, social media, or mobile apps, to deliver clues and information.

Step 5: Establish Rules and Guidelines

• Set clear rules and guidelines for participants to ensure a fair and enjoyable experience.
• Communicate the game’s objectives, time frame, and any specific instructions or limitations.

Step 6: Prepare Resources and Materials

• Create physical or digital resources, such as maps, puzzles, codes, and props, to enhance immersion.
• Ensure all necessary materials are prepared and organized before the team development day.

Step 7: Facilitate the ARG Experience

• Brief participants on the game’s rules, objectives, and backstory.
• Encourage teamwork, communication, and critical thinking as participants navigate the challenges.

Step 8: Foster Reflection and Learning

• Allocate time for debriefing sessions after completing major game milestones or the entire ARG.
• Facilitate discussions to reflect on the learning outcomes, insights, and teamwork dynamics.

Step 9: Provide Ongoing Support and Engagement

• Maintain post-game engagement by offering additional resources, challenges, or follow-up activities.
• Encourage participants to apply their newfound knowledge and skills to real-world scenarios.

Step 10: Evaluate and Iterate

• Collect feedback from participants to identify areas for improvement and future enhancements.
• Continuously iterate and refine the ARG experience based on feedback and lessons learned.

These steps are pretty straightforward, but a specific example might help clarify the process.

As such, let’s go through an example together. Imagine that you were designing an alternate reality game for a professional development day at your workplace, and the focus was on exceeding customer expectations. Your plan might look something like the following.

Step 1: Define Objectives and Theme Objective: Equip the team with practical strategies to enhance customer satisfaction and exceed expectations. Theme: “Customer Experience Quest: The Journey to Extraordinary Service”

Step 2: Develop the ARG Narrative Narrative: The team receives a mysterious package with a letter from the CEO, informing them of a hidden realm where extraordinary customer experiences are created. They are chosen as the “Customer Experience Champions” and must embark on a quest to uncover the secrets of exceptional service.

Step 3: Design Game Elements

• Puzzle: “The Puzzle of Personalization” – Teams must solve puzzles related to customer preferences and tailor their interactions accordingly.
• Challenge: “The Labyrinth of Surprises” – Participants navigate a physical or virtual labyrinth, encountering various customer scenarios that demand innovative solutions and creative thinking.

Step 4: Integrate Real-World and Digital Components

• Real-World: Design physical artifacts like enchanted scrolls with customer profiles and clues hidden throughout the workplace.
• Digital: Create a mobile app or web-based platform that provides access to clues, tracks progress, and facilitates communication among team members.

Step 5: Establish Rules and Guidelines

• Set a time limit for completing challenges and earning points.
• Encourage collaboration, allowing teams to pool their strengths and share knowledge.

Step 6: Prepare Resources and Materials

• Develop customer personas representing different demographics and service preferences.
• Create interactive props, such as “magic wands” that provide tips and guidance during challenges.

Step 7: Facilitate the ARG Experience

• Launch the game with a captivating video introduction from the CEO, setting the stage for the customer experience quest.
• Assign teams and provide them with personalized quest kits containing necessary tools and resources.

Step 8: Foster Reflection and Learning

• After each challenge, facilitate group discussions to reflect on the customer interactions, discuss lessons learned, and identify innovative approaches.
• Provide opportunities for participants to share success stories and best practices.

Step 9: Provide Ongoing Support and Engagement

• Establish a dedicated online forum or social platform for participants to continue sharing insights, challenges, and strategies beyond the game day.
• Offer access to additional resources, such as articles, videos, and podcasts, to encourage ongoing learning.

Step 10: Evaluate and Iterate

• Collect feedback through post-game surveys and focus groups to assess the ARG’s impact on participants’ understanding and application of customer-centric strategies.
• Use the feedback to refine the game for future iterations, addressing any areas for improvement.

Of course, there are more details to add, but hopefully this gives you a sense of what an ARG design outline might look like. Designing games is a skill that is refined over time. Like any skill, improving requires deliberate practice. The more you do it and reflect on successes and failures, the better you will get at it.

So why not get started? By following this step-by-step guide, you have the framework to design and run an immersive alternate reality game for your team professional development day (or for pretty much any situation). Through engaging narratives, challenging puzzles, and real-world interactions, ARGs can transform the way your team learns and collaborates. Embrace the power of this playful approach and unlock the full potential of your team’s professional growth. Get ready to embark on a thrilling journey of discovery, connection, and learning as you harness the magic of alternate reality games in your next team development day.