Another Steam ARG, that’s augmented reality game, is on, which means only one thing. Half-Life 3 confirmed? Yeah, right. But really, another Steam ARG means people are going to spend countless hours searching for the secret, even though there might not be any substantial reward for it. Why? That’s a good question.
Part of it is the secrecy. Steam ARGs aren’t always blatant. Even if it’s an official one, it could require a little bit of finesse to find. Take the most recent winter sale. You only stumbled upon the ARG when you typed “search” into the search bar. At which point, you’d get a password prompt, tied to the Northpole Noir theme. The current Steam ARG is more covert, with puzzle pieces featuring an eye sigil found in Crypt of the Necrodancer , The Magic Circle , Mini Metro , Legend of Dungeon , and even Kingdom of Loathing , a non-Steam game. Something hidden so deep makes you want to expend extra time figuring it out.
That secrecy means you’re elite. You know something ordinary folks don’t. Your contribitions to helping people solve Steam ARGs makes you special. Who doesn’t want to be the good kind of special or different? It fosters a sense of community. You’re all more informed, intuitive, and perceptive people. You figured this out, where others didn’t, and now the group of you gets to keep figuring this out together.
And honestly, it taps into that part of your brain that likes to defy authority and question everything. Play anarchist for a while and investigate things, while everyone else insists things are normal. They’re content to live their lives, but you know the truth. There’s a conspiracy afoot. You’re going to go against the grain and expose it.
Then, there’s the reward, which doesn’t even have to be tangible. With the Potato Sack Steam ARG, people got some bonuses in games that referenced Portal 2 and a badge. Hell, most Steam ARGs only offer a badge in return. The Binding of Isaac ARG offered access to new game content. The current one, which mostly features Steam games, might only offer knowledge as its reward. But the exact offering doesn’t matter. As long as we get something out of the experience, it’s enough. Think of it as earning a gold star for adults. The experience and resulting validation is enough.
Steam ARGs, and ARGs in general, can be pretty great and entertaining things. There’s something about letting yourself be caught up in the mystery, knowing others didn’t even catch onto its existence, bonding with new people who are also trying to understand what’s happening, and getting some sort of reward for your efforts in the end. It’s intoxicating.