{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/online-participation--t329","type":"mechanic","id":"online-participation--t329","lang":"en","title":"ARGs, transmedia and play beyond the application","summary":"Puzzles continue through linked material across channels. The Black Watchmen leads an investigation to a fictional website that becomes part of the puzzle.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/online-participation--t329/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/online-participation--t329.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/online-participation--t329.md","aliases":["ARGs, transmedia and play beyond the app"],"tags":["Online worlds and participation","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-d6403e86b24cf114","source-313f9f6bf6b865c2"],"sources":[{"id":"source-d6403e86b24cf114","title":"Steamworks: Multiplayer","url":"https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/features/multiplayer","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-313f9f6bf6b865c2","title":"The Black Watchmen","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/349220/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Play beyond an app connects fictional materials and different channels into a verifiable chain of challenges and reveals."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t329-variants\"></a>\n\n- Documents contain clues to another material. <a id=\"t329-v1\"></a>\n- Channels reveal different story fragments. <a id=\"t329-v2\"></a>\n- Shared archives preserve participant discoveries. <a id=\"t329-v3\"></a>\n- In-game substitutes support unavailable external steps. <a id=\"t329-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"A fictional site and audio recording provide code halves while an in-game archive preserves both.\n\nPrototype check: Test completion when an external resource disappears and clear fictional boundaries without requiring contact with uninvolved people."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"Online mechanics connect individual contributions to shared state, participation timing and explicit commitments between players. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"online-participation","id":"t329","title":"Online worlds and participation","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/online-participation/#t329","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"ARGs, transmedia and play beyond the app","description":"Puzzles continue through linked material across channels. The Black Watchmen leads an investigation to a fictional website that becomes part of the puzzle.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/interface-black-watchmen-01.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"game":"The Black Watchmen","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/349220/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/349220/ss_effdc393f7b6af8d3602d320d2cb1b6fa4f3967a.1920x1080.jpg?t=1702491751","credit":"Alice & Smith / Alice & Smith","rights":"© Alice & Smith / Alice & Smith. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot. All rights reserved; excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"The Black Watchmen: a fictional website as investigation material","alt":"The Black Watchmen: a fictional website as investigation material","markers":[{"x":51,"y":38,"label":"The linked website’s content must be investigated as part of the puzzle"}]},"tips":["Make the game’s boundaries clear and avoid involving unrelated people or organizations."],"examples":[{"title":"The Black Watchmen","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/349220/"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/online-participation"}}