An alternate reality game (ARG) is an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform and uses transmedia to deliver a story that may be altered by participants' ideas or actions. The form is defined by intense player involvement with a story that takes place in real-time and evolves according to participants' responses.
"Think of it as an alternate world Cold War era spy adventure, if that kind of thing included stuff like blood sacrifices packed with dark beings."- Andrea Phillips, Balance of Powers Kickstarter campaign video. Before Adrian Hon and Naomi Alderman took to Kickstarter to fund the mobile app Zombies, Run, there was Balance of Powers.