Legacy Homeschool Co-op ARG
An Alternative Reality Game, or ARG, is a game built on blurring the line between reality and fiction. These games are highly interactive and built on community.
Legacy Homeschool Co-op is a family-oriented homeschool group that holds a special place in my heart. This is the school I graduated from and am currently teaching at. This co-op instilled the belief in community and growth that inspired this ARG.
The non-profit organization I chose is the co-op I graduated from, ‘Legacy Homeschool Co-op.’ Legacy is a Christian-based co-op that strives to bring together different denominations to cultivate quality education that provides children with the support and information they need for an affordable education. An ARG that would help the co-op grow would be education-based and inclusive of all lifestyles, leading to a fun activity. It would also be free to emphasize the importance of affordable education.
​
The main character is a mom, and her three kids are trying to find some fun things to do over the summer. The three kids, Sally, Carl, and August, are of different ages, ranging from five to seventeen, giving each age group a chance to shine and to encourage them to work together. Mom is mostly there to help coach the other moms on what to do. The ARG starts with a YouTube video of the Mom wanting to do something more than play video games and stare at the TV all summer. She decides to make a series of puzzles for the kids to find new friends and learn more about their community. Each puzzle is a mix of online and physical. Online puzzles are geared more towards the older kids, utilizing word scrambles, ciphers, and photos that are posted. Physical puzzles are more for all ages, ranging from actual puzzles, word games, and hidden pictures. Online and physical puzzles will be posted under Mom’s Facebook profile. YouTube videos will still be posted of the kids, also solving the puzzles. Each puzzle sends them to a park, a museum, or a library. The most important key puzzle is the Master Key document that is in the first video for the parent. The Master Key has all the answers to puzzles for the parent to see the schedule for one new place a week, and help the kids when needed.
​
The last video on YouTube will be the kids' first day of school at Legacy, sharing their adventures with their friends and inviting new people to join. This summer-long puzzle adventure is to support the mission of Legacy, of community and education.
