What We Want

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

Raise money for Cancer Research UK
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.

Right now, we don't need you to design the entire game with artwork and content and programming - we just need a 500-word pitch. We'll ask the teams behind the best game designs to give us more details, but that'll come later.

Cancer Research UK resources you can use

This is where it gets exciting. The ARG will have a high level of access to Cancer Research UK's resources, which are pretty considerable and could result in one of the biggest ARGs, ever. It's up to you how you use them...

Direct marketing to over 20 million people, monthly TV ads, online advertising and more.
Hundreds of live events, ranging from 10k runs and Relay for Life (a 24-hour relay with over 100 planned for 2008) to the massively successful Race for Life, which has attracted over a million participants.
Over 600 shops across the Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland
A dedicated island on Second Life

Inspiration

What follows are some ideas we've had that might provide some inspiration. You don't have to go in these directions, they're simply examples of what's possible:

What happens when one person develops cancer? How many people are affected, and in what ways? What happens over the minutes, days, months and years?
The fight against cancer involves networks both large and small, spread out across the world and concentrated into cities and towns. Scientists work on treatments and drugs for years at a time, in work that is neither highly-paid nor well-recognised; dedicated doctors and nurses tirelessly treat patients; millions of volunteers and people donate money that funds research and treatment. It's a vast, collaborative enterprise, tackling one of the hardest problems ever seen... can your game describe it?
How can you encourage people to donate, or to raise funds from friends? How do other games (like MMOGs) and TV shows raise money? How can you get people to donate whatever they can, whether it's £1 or £1000? Virtual goods, points, levels, physical items?
600 stores around the country. Dozens of events. Can you entice players to visit and take part in them, perhaps through clues?
Could you set a target amount for players to raise before they reach the next stage, without annoying them too much? If done well, this could be an excellent challenge
Challenge players to come up with a new online, newspaper or TV advert for Cancer Research UK that will actually be used
Comic Relief is one of UK's most successful fundraising events, with thousands of live events around the country that tap into the country's love of humour. Is there anything to learn from the way Comic Relief motivates all sorts of people to raise money and donate it?
People spend vast amounts of time on sites like Facebook, MySpace and Bebo nowadays. Can you use this to your advantage in your game? Can these social networks be used to encourage friends to donate and outdo each other?
Do all ARGs have to be the same? Do you need puzzles? How can you get everyone playing the game, not just a few people playing and everyone else watching them? How can ARGs learn from the success of web-based MMOGs, Facebook and other web 2.0 applications? We're looking for the best ideas, even if they don't look much like previous ARGs at all.
The million dollar question: how do you capture those people who will spend every hour of their day playing and volunteering, without scaring off people who aren't familiar with online games, but are still interested in helping fight cancer?

What Next?

The competition is now closed to new entries. Please check back next year!

First, get a team together - if you can't find teammates, check out our forums. Second, have a look over the rules and requirements - you won't find any surprises there (other than pleasant ones, we hope) but it's important that you understand them. Check out the Submit page for information about deadlines and see an example entry for tips on how to write your proposal. Finally - and this is the hard part - write your game design and then submit it!