They're a fun way to market your game... If people don't want to learn more about their games, then they can simply play the game. I love ARGs because they're fun and rewarding. No one is forced to participate in them and they can read up on all the info afterward.

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i have no idea what this article is about and i havent read it im just commenting

I was a little late into the Resistance 2 ARG, but I looked at all the info on a wiki. Developers can spread some amazing details about backstory that they can never put into games.

I think ARGs are extremely cool vehicles for exploring additional story lines.  The best example I can think of is the ARG that 42 Productions ran for NineInchNails' album Year Zero.  Admittedly, I was not one of those people out there running songs, or bits of "white noise" through spectrographs or chromostpectrometers or whatever the hell they were using -- but I loved going and looking at the websites and finding out what the people who did had found hidden in those seemingly innocuous bits of sound.

I still remember one website called Hollywood In Memoriam that was created for the purposes of revealing some of the backstory of Year Zero (which was really just our world in the future, after turning into a militant theocracy).  It was this website that talked about a dirty bomb that had been detonated in Hollywood and what followed -- all the people who had died, the people who went missing, the people whose lives had been ruined.  Obviously not real, but still so well done that it struck an emotional chord.

ARGs are awesome, but admittedly they aren't for lazy people.

How is this considered an ARG? It's more of just a promotion, as in you play something else in order to further unlock parts of it. Does that make this a game in itself?

For anyone who participated in, or even closely followed this ARG I think it was an amazing experience.

I'm actually a little iffy on what these args actually are. This portal thing on steam seems interesting, but it also seems too complicated for me to want to take part in. What, you have to buy 13 indie titles and you get to here glados comment sometimes? I don't get it.

Finding out more about a game before it releases or after it's been available is always fun to me.

I think Rocksteady could do this, and put a bit more history behind the Batman.

I think this sort of thing is cool....as long as it does not get out of hand.

It needs to add something to the game that does not take anything of necessity away from those who do not participate.  

I like most ARG's except this one cuz i dont use steam.

ARG's are cool although I kind of have a problem with the Portal 2 ARG, as it requires me to spend money in order to participate and help release Portal 2 early. For the most part though I think when they are done well they are not only fun and entertaining but a great marketing device.

It really does put a smile on my face to see Valve supporting indie games. "Want a five star quality game from us early? Fine. First play these other five star quality games you probably passed on, because they weren't released by a big publisher or developer."

I'm completely uninterested, so as long as nothing particularly important comes out of it, *** about as much as you please, developers. This goes for all ad campaigns.

For something big like Portal 2 or Halo, I wouldn't mind taking part in because they are well done, Valve's is exceptional, and are something to occupy yourself before the game comes out. And they're related to the game's story! Plus, if you don't want to participate, you can let everyone else uncover the mystery and read up on it later.
I was super into finding all of the potatoes in Portal 2 and releasing the game early until it hit me that I didn't pre-order the Steam version. XD

I love ARG's.  A good marketing campaign generates some great hype.  Even if I don't have the ability to help uncover the secretes, just following the wiki and staying up to date on the progress is incredibly fun.  

I don't care about ARG's at all. I'm never going to participate in one just because it doesn't seem interesting enough to waste my time on it. I'm sure it's fun and interesting to other people, but it's not for me.

I'm not even sure if I'm interested in this game at all... so this ARG stuff is most definetly passable. I'm probablly not even going to waste my time with Portal 2, to me it's all hype with this game. Didn't care for the first Portal, don't care about this one. I'd rather have seen another Half Life.

I love this kind of stuff.

By the way, ilovebees was Halo 2's ARG not Halo 3's.

I just appreciated the fact Valve spotlighted some of the best and brightest of the indie market. The ARG stuff is a sweet, juicy bonus.