DREAMER: Digital Readiness Enablers in ARGs as Media Education Reinforcement

This project proposes the creation of an Alternate Reality Game (ARG) entitled DREAMER, aimed at educating the general public about media. Designed as a playful, transmedia, and participatory experience, this game will utilize engaging mechanics (puzzles, false leads, realistic fictional content, urban or digital exploration) in order to develop participants’ critical skills regarding the media. From a narrative perspective, the game will build a fictional universe based on Namur folklore, thereby promoting the latter while linking playful content with real cultural points of interest in this geographic area.

The concept of an ARG is at the heart of this project. It is a narrative immersion concept that uses the real world as the backdrop for a fictional scenario. The goal is to blur the players’ perception so that the boundary between the real world and the game experience disappears. The game evolves dynamically based on players’ actions, hypotheses, and investigations; they use their knowledge and skills to progress while equipping themselves to face contemporary media challenges. ARGs are by nature transmedia experiences, relying on a variety of digital media (websites, social networks, messaging, emails) and traditional media (newspapers, posters, phone calls) to stage the game in real life. This multiplicity of channels creates a coherent and immersive universe, strengthening the credibility of the story and participant engagement.

In addition to the features of an ARG, the DREAMER game will integrate educational content hidden within the fictional universe, with the aim of conveying knowledge without breaking immersion. Participants will thus learn to identify fake news, understand media mechanisms, and adopt a reflective stance on their media use, all while remaining immersed in a collective adventure. By creating this game, the project aims to equip citizens in an innovative way while exploring the potential of ARGs as tools for critical media education in a digital and connected context.