Cancer Research UK ARG

For some reason I’m having a charity week, so here’s another one. This isn’t a game or a video or even an advent calendar but an ARG. It’s not started yet, they’re currently only in the design stage with the short list announced this week. Let’s Change the Game has the details:

We want an Alternate Reality Game that will do just two things:

1. Raise money for Cancer Research UK
2. Raise awareness of cancer and the work that Cancer Research UK does

Remember that one book you read when you were young that completely changed your life? That’s what we want this game to be for everyone who plays it – an experience they will never forget. An experience that makes them see the effect cancer has on us all, and how we can help fight against it together.

If you come up with the best game design, here’s what’ll happen: You won’t get paid. It’ll be a hell of lot of hard work. But you’ll be doing something that you can always be proud of, something genuinely good. You’ll get to create and run a game that’s likely to have media coverage all over the world. And you’ll be mentored by the very best ARG and game designers in the world. That’s something money can’t buy.

There’s a small development fund plus mentoring from some real experts. There’s been a few ARGS that have been put together to do more than advertise/market or purely amuse, such as World Without Oil. It’s going to be interesting to see how this develops next year.