Numb3rs on MMO-ARGs
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Nov 112007
Just finished watching the recorded episode of Numb3rs I had on the DVR. It was about an MMO crossed with an ARG.
Two thoughts:
- Why is the design of the fake MMO-ARG so much more intriguing than the real ones? (Except for the world design, which really sucked).
- Why does there always have to be one helpless, pathetic nerd? I mean, this is a show about nerds. The show’s stars aren’t stereotypes like the kid in this episode was…
Anyway, it got surprisingly more right than it got wrong — the distinction between MMORPG and ARG for example, proper use of the term “PvP,” and even a clear distinction between fantasy violence and real life violence. And it did show the huge diversity of game players: a cute old grandma, a biker dude, a day trader, a district attorney.
Most importantly though, it said that the head of the game company making the game was named Binky. Yes, as in Chris “Binky” Launius. Possibly a scribe or consultant knows whereof they speak?
6 Responses to “Numb3rs on MMO-ARGs”
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What is ARG?
Alternate Reality Game.
Saw some of that episode myself, and the one thing that really stuck out for me was this; Have you noticed how the majority of Hollywood’s interpretations of MMOs are pure PvP with no PvE at all? I mean, at least they seemed as if they knew it in the episode of which you speak, but still… The majority of the American MMOscape doesn’t have a strong PvP element.
One other minor thing that struck me about it was that it really look more like it was a Massively Multiplayer Street Brawler.
That was actually the first episode of that show I’ve caught, and coming away from it with that being my first impression, I’m not really going out of my way to watch it again. Shows that deal with the things that I personally know something about tend to make me grind my teeth every time they get something wrong. They can get a hundred things right, and only 5 things wrong, but it still makes my teeth sore. heh.
Cheers!
Raph, apparently that episode was itself a rabbit hole. Turns out the game that the villain was making in the show actually exists: Chain Factor.
[…] the game genre’s mention in mainstream entertainment was a historic first. Raph Koster (Areae) grumbled that the game portrayed in the show looked more intriguing than real ones, but conceded that the […]
I’m a big Numb3rs fan, actually. I’m not sure if I’m indifferent or a bit dissapointed in them with this episode. They did a better job of conveying to the uninformed what these games are than CSI:NY did, at least. That one had me laughing to the point of tears!