Last summer I took a vacation in Walt Disney World, and after riding a few of the rides, it really struck me how similar imagineering is to designing ARGs. The people who design the attractions at the Disney theme parks are called the Disney Imagineers. All of the rides, from Space Mountain to the Tower of Terror, are the result of their work. But what makes designing theme park rides similar to ARGs?

Because the stories being told are so closely interwoven with how they're told.

The Imagineer's goal isn’t just to entertain, but to immerse the audience in the ride’s world using whatever technology they can find or invent. Sometimes the immersion is simple, like the runaway train at the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad or the “crash test dummy’s point of view” of Test Track. Other times, the immersion is more complex, like Muppet 3D’s combination of a 3D movie, animatronics, live actors, and other effects designed to put you in the Muppet Theater. When the Fozzie on screen squirts his joke flower at you, you get wet.

It's very similar to the “This is not a game” philosophy of ARGs, and it surprised me that the philosophy of immersing the audience as much as possible predates ARGs by at least half a century. It makes me wonder what other unexpected places I'll find the design principles of ARGs.