Alternate Reality Game Madness

Rev tried to talk me into joining the Alternate Reality Game that started at gDNA. However, I just can't get into it and I'll tell you why - I don't like being tricked.

You see, it started out with someone asking about a friend that has sort of dropped off the face of the gaming world only to turn up in-game spouting nonsense. This friend, apparently, had a blog in which he had been writing all sorts of things that read very convincingly like someone on a slow spiral towards a mental breakdown. Everyone in the thread was voicing concern, urging the original poster to find help for his friend. Everything that was written felt very real, to me. In fact, I didn't take the things that should've tipped me off that it was a game seriously because they were comments posted by people who are known trolls. I figured they were just trolling.

In hindsight, when I saw Rev "taking it seriously," I should've known it was a game. However, by that point, I was drawn too far in for that to register. It just didn't even occur to me.

Once I did find out that it was a game, I was irritated. I felt tricked, duped. I felt like the entire thread had been used to jerk me around and I don't like that at all. Now, in another thread, the originator of the game stated that they liked to keep the ARG as real as possible, not letting anyone know it is a game because then people can just "relax and play."

But, how are you supposed to "relax and play" if you don't know that you are playing? If I had known from the start that it was just a game, I think I would've liked it. But, as it stands, I'm just annoyed by the whole thing.