Marble Hornets

Let me start out by saying this is a very creepy project these guys did. Its use of two accounts on youtube, twitter, and the somethingawful website made it an interactive experience. This is not just a series of videos to watch, there is more story beyond the videos that the viewer has to seek out. This makes it feel more real, increases the emotion of the story. It also adds to the character of Jay, again making it feel more personal and real.

But now lets look at the formal elements of games because interactivity does not constitute a game.
There is no way to win, a participant may have a more accurate theory about what is going on, but there are no winners and no losers.
I should be saying players because they are trying to figure out puzzles and are following the story across multiple platforms.
There is no clear objective to this "game". What are players supposed to accomplish? I guess they could gain theoretical points by the number of people they convince that this is real. But that would be a game that they made up out of this.
The only real rule is that this is all fantasy and nothing is real. Also don't contact the guy through AIM.
The resource given is people. Other players are there to discuss what is going on.
Conflict is absent from the project. Yes there is conflict within the story, but players do not compete against each other or the game.
The players' boundary is that they know only what they are given, however they must actively seek it.
The outcome is the player watches it all and keeps diving into the mystery, or they give up.
It engages the player by releasing the story bit by bit and has information available in multiple places.

This story does not meet many of the formal elements of a game. It seems more like a puzzle in that the goal is not to beat an opponent, but to find a solution. But that is also assuming that the purpose of this is to find a solution. If it is not, then it may not be beyond just a story. It is without a doubt an interactive experience, but it does not have the conflict and objectives that make a game what it is.