Gemini Division, NBC, and Alternate Reality Gaming and Viral Marketing gone wrong.

Wednesday, August 27th saw the release of the alternate reality game and immersive interaction content for Gemini Division, the new online-only series distributed by NBC Universal Digital Studios. Entertainment bloggers/reporters, fans, and entire ARG communities have been eagerly awaiting this release as this series is the first web only property produced by a Hollywood studio and distributed by a major network. With a production budget of just over $2 million dollars Gemini has received favorable reviews and is a smart, well filmed vehicle featuring an all star cast headed by Rosario Dawson.

In the media preview, series creator and Executive Producer Brent Friedman discussed the ARG portion of Gemini. NBC’s alternate reality immersive experience would be led by the creator of the Heroes ARG. Viewers who participated would join Rosario's character, NYPD Detective Anna Diaz, in becoming Gemini Division agents; sometimes researching for Anna, and sometimes working alongside her on missions. This was exciting news. In another first of its kind, this alternate reality type of game would provide what sounded like the first run of active immersive content in combination with a live, Hollywood created web/mobile series

In the Prime Time for Change post on July 26th we discussed the "corporate viewpoint" to illustrate the challenges facing both traditional broadcasters and program viewers as entertainment media corporations attempt to leverage the internet to increase their market share The concerns about corporate cultural impact were realized this week. With the premiere of Gemini Division on NBC.com viewers are able to sign up to participate in additional content, including text messages. This was to drive the alternate reality game that was to accompany the series.

In the Prime Time For Change articles, Looking Beyond the Box and Through Someone Else’s Eyes, both written in July, two primary points of concern were stated:

1) There is a disconnect between the ‘corporate think’ of primetime networks and the viewers who watch their content.

2) Major corporations don’t understand how to look beyond the immediate need of today and as such limit their ability to provide a viable product.

As entertainment media corporations attempt to leverage the internet to increase their market share, we believe that it is vitally important for major networks to:

1) Engage in active listening.

2) Think beyond today and be committed toward the rollout of a robust product.

Here you can see our concerns as well as our hopes for the progression of new media.

This week we waited in hope that our concerns would be laid to rest and looked forward to the imminent release of the interactive experience. With the premiere of Gemini Division on NBC.com, viewers are able to sign up to participate in additional content, including text messages. This was to drive the alternate reality game that was to accompany the series.

On Wednesday participants received a text message from Gemini character Pete Vacarella, Anna Diaz's partner, titled "Gemini What?". The message follows:

"What up? Listen, I need you to check out my MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/petevacarella. Dug up some dirt on Anna's new boyfriend, and I don't think you're gonna like it. She's in Paris with the guy right now, and when our girl gets back, I think we better knock some sense into our girl.

Later, Pete "

This was followed by the legally required unsubscribe disclaimer that is also found on the Heroes ARG emails ...a bit of normal, but vital in our overly litigious society. Based on our fan research, first impressions of the Pete Vacarella profile range from "adequate" to "good". Not over done, the profile contains character information, pictures, and blog posts structured to replicate a real world MySpace page. Some of the photos and posts establish the character background while others tie directly to Gemini Division meeting the basics of the ARG 'this is not a game' [TINAG] tenant.

Readers progressing through the blog posts, oldest to newest, reported that NBC had done an adequate job of building this alternate reality character's persona. The blog on the Character Nick Korda included passport photos and travel itineraries. When readers switched between the blog and photo albums additional information about Korda was provided, as well as a tie from a newspaper article that doesn't appear to have a direct connection to the episodes that aired thus far.

However, the last most recent blog post and the separate awkward release of two branded “viral” videos saw the burgeoning realization of our previously stated concerns. Consequently, these events are causing a considerable amount of controversy among ARG fans.

Pete’s branded/subtitle video blog entry

Fan feedback about this game component ranges from moderate disappointment to irrational fury over the series logo, "episode title", and summary. Part of the joy in alternate reality gaming, especially when it is combined as immersive content, is the TINAG, or This Is Not A Game aspect. ARG fans feel that branding invalidates the game as there is no way that the ARG player can suspend disbelief which is necessary to build an attachment to the alternate universe where character Pete Vacarella lives.

Most reference sources agree that Alternate Reality Games are interactive narratives using the real world as a platform. They nvolve multiple media and game elements with clues embedded in everyday life, the most important concepts behind the ARG are the 'archaeological storytelling' and the 'Non-hoax' or 'This is not a game [TINAG]' atmospheres. Game designers provide only portions of the story, distributed across multiple platforms, allowing players to assemble and supply the connective points and determination of meaning. By the game's lack of acknowledgement that it is a game players experience the foibles of a real-world experience; websites may either be real or game related, phone numbers or email address shown on game websites work, and the game is played real-time. Players are forced to advance through the game using their own analysis, deductive reasoning, and speculative skills.

Opinions vary greatly on the driver for "the game", though most agree that ARGs have become a tool for additional marketing of an entertainment property. An excellent example of this is the recent Dark Knight ARG where players worked through numerous websites leading up to a special six minute opening preview of the movie provided as "live coverage" on the Gotham News Network website. GNN provides a cross of real world news and DK characters in 'live' interviews driving the storyline. While players understood that they were participating in a game, the real world components made the game, and the movie, much more personal and believable. Dark Knight took the additional steps to stage live election campaign rallies in major cities and a live scavenger hunt that ended with the participants receiving one-of-a-kind swag.

While we agree that a comparison of the Dark Knight ARG and Gemini Division's is apples to oranges, the same basic gaming 'rules' apply. This can be best illustrated by a comparison of two ARGs that are similar in scope and managed by the same administration: Heroes and Gemini Division.

The Heroes experience started with the same fan sign-up at NBC. Fans who chose to participate received text messages and cell phone calls from show Characters. The kickoff ARG on MySpace also found fans logging in to view a character profile, Samantha48616e61, which directed them to her ARG blog, which provides additional links to other ARG websites as well as multiple puzzles and videos.

Here the delta between Heroes and Gemini becomes evident: While the Samantha blog has multiple videos the TINAG concept is maintained. No branding on the Heroes vids, nor is there a direct branded link back to a broadcast site. Further exacerbating this divergence are the two additional 'viral' videos also released on Gemini Division on Wednesday. Beyond the issues of the videos being labeled viral they were also preceeded by the standard generic advertisement that leads the regular series videos.

Fans were again baffled and upset that these self-titled 'viral' videos were posted on the main production website instead of being buried on the web, "to find as one would expect in an ARG". Feedback we received in our research for this article ranges from the simple, "NBC just don't get it..."[Powerdog], to the succinct, "Today we learned about how the term 'viral' can fail miserably and create apathy and distrust in viewers"[DaJackal]. What driving factors cause the Heroes game to be successful and the Gemini game to have such a poor launch?

As a long time Gary Larson fans, the Far Side cartoon of army generals hunched over a table with the caption "But gentleman, what if we had a war and everybody came!" sprang to mind as soon as we reviewed this week's NBC Universal Digital Studios release of the Gemini Division immersive content alternate reality game. The following is our updated version of that cartoon:

Touching back on our post of July 26th and contrasting that corporate culture against the release of this new ARG it is evident that a disconnect exists somewhere in the system. We expected to see an experience similar to Heroes and were both concerned and surprised when it was released with the issues that we've reported in this article. With the buzz importance placed on this series, the first of it's kind, allowing such an obviously controversial ARG launch is not in the best business interest of NBC. That it may be intentionally designed to create this controversy could harm more than help this fledgling form of entertainment as fan apathy for the game may be taken as apathy for the program content.

We encourage everyone, even the apathetic, to continue the Gemini experience. It may be that a disaffected employee wanted to harm the show, or possibly mutant deaf ninja hacker penguins broke the ARG ...whatever disappointment you experienced this week give it a little longer; remember, this series is the first of it's kind and there are bound to be oppses.

Geoblocking, Sony, Gemini Division, and You

Geoblocking or at least the concept of it is nothing new though it is becoming more prevalent. Video streaming and the Olympics made this abundantly clear. Jack Kapica of Globe Technology online wrote,

"If the Internet represents instant global communications, watching the Olympics online is still based on a pre-Internet mindset. Yes, you can watch the Olympics in streaming video, but you can do so only from a very limited number of sources, each chosen by geography."

I agree with Jack Kapica's statement. The broadcast of TV and new media content is still utilizing a pre-Internet mindset in many ways and there is definitely room for change. It appears that there is both a growing implementation of geoblocking as well as discontent over its use.

For the Olympics it was all about protecting and maximizing ad revenue and this is one of the central issues in the matter. It does ultimately come down to money and companies like Sony appear to be convinced that they can make more money with a pre-internet mindset than without. So far they haven't been shown different.

While geoblocking or geodistribution can be generalized as being about return on investment or even more succinctly as being about money, it is more complex than it appears to be on the surface. This is particularly so with the distribution of multi-platform content.

For those of us who like the Final Fantasy video game franchise, we still have to wait for each release. The games are released in Japan first and then separately to other territories, the upcoming release in 2009 being no exception.

It is important to keep in mind that multi-platform content is not just digital, web distributed video and it encompasses more than a video game. Instead, it also consists of alternate reality gaming websites, graphic novels, mobile and ARG interaction, etc. This content spans mediums and technologies and therefore is much more complex to distribute than a game like Final Fantasy. It has more moving pieces, involves different technologies, and may even feature a video game as part of the content.

That being said, I don't think we can fault producers like Electric Farm Entertainment from seeking to push the new media edge and make a profit in doing so. When there are companies like Sony who offer big money for international distribution rights, production companies will continue to sell distribution rights to them. Even if we put that aside, production companies simply don't have the distribution clout and resources needed to distribute multi-platform content globally. At the moment they still need larger companies like Sony.

The distribution plan for Gemini Division is as follows: Electric Farm Entertainment is the main content producer for Gemini Division, NBC has purchased the rights to distribute in the US, and Sony has the international distribution rights as detailed in this press release. Gemini Division is currently being released in the US and should be released to other territories pretty quickly (Sony did pretty well in distributing Afterworld globally last year). Sony realizes that there is money to be made in distributing good content to a global audience and they are willing to put up money to do so.

I do think that we should be using the Internet to move towards a global community and not to build more walls through geoblocking and territory release of content as mentioned by Modern Geekery. However, I believe that this will require new thinking, new infrastructure, and innovative ideas. We need to rethink how to do media in a digital media age.

I don't think that the current divide is the result of erecting new walls, but instead I think the structure we see today is built upon the walls of yesterday. Further, I think these walls exist due to real world distribution capacity and matters of scale, particularly when it comes to translating and adapting multiplatform content to other territories. For change to happen I think we need a competitive alternative to drive and bring about change.

For instance, consider traditional broadcast TV. What worked in the past, isn't working like it used to. The traditional ad arrangement, where broadcast tv provided free tv and the viewer watched their ads is breaking down. Vcrs, DVD's, DVR's, cable, satelite, Netflix, etc have changed the landscape. This competition is driving broadcast networks to emphasize new ways of doing media (albeit sometimes slowly). Advertising is shifting increasingly away from tv and moving toward online markets. They are beginning to change because there are competitive alternatives.

Another good example is Blockbuster and the local video store in comparison to Netflix. We used to have to go to the store for our movies and we used to have to pay late fees for them. If it wasn't for a competitive alternative this would still be the case. However, Netflix acquired distribution channels and capacity and leveraged the internet to change the landscape dramatically. Amazon in response ended up trying to start up a similar online service, but it simply hasn't been able to keep pace with Netflix.

We need the "Netflix of multi-platform content distribution" to shake up "Sony-type Blockbuster's". Sony may want to consider taking the initiative before someone else does it for them. Hopefully they see this need and are already making steps toward change. It is a prime time.

We also need shows like Gemini Division and companies like Electric Farm Entertainment to push the edge and to create new content as well as to make a profit (which they have already accomplished with Gemini Division and Afterworld). It is a particularly important time not to "shoot the messenger" and not to cut out production companies who are trying to bring us new media.

It is a transitional time and unfortunately sometimes we have to wait. Perhaps while we do, someone will start up the "NetFlix of multi-platform distributed content". Maybe it will be you!