tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12536328.post8326020857113902405..comments2023-09-20T04:12:45.159-07:00Comments on CKL's HotSheet is OBSOLETE: I Enjoy Hunting for PuzzlesCKLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05813803474788808773noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12536328.post-16751762793137753332014-01-16T23:15:00.383-08:002014-01-16T23:15:00.383-08:00I feel that the "linear"/"batch&quo...I feel that the "linear"/"batch" terminology fine, but I disagree with the next step of the analogy, where you consider it "audience"/"competitor". I feel that the difference is more like "passive audience"/"interactive audience". Traditional storytelling (movies, novels) tend to tell a linear story -- the audience member is led along a specific track and expected to enjoy events in a certain order (even if that order is different than the order a character experiences the events). Whereas interactive storytelling allows the story to unfold differently based on the choices of audience members. Interactive audiences have mostly been in the purview of video games, but you can see some of it in improvisational theater or Choose-your-own-adventure books or what not. I think *that* is actually the true analogy to a "batch" model.<br /><br />Now, it's true that it is MUCH harder to tell a good story in an interactive setting than in a passive setting. World of Warcraft (a massively interactive game) just isn't going to generate the same depth of storytelling that Arkham Asylum (a much more linear interactive game) is. And from what I know of you, you find the narrative and storytelling to be a compelling part of a game. But, my point is, it's not inherently a problem with the "batch" format.<br /><br />I believe the "competition" vs. "casual" axis is actually a different axis. If you are a super-talented solver, or even if you're not, there is nothing that stops you from being a team of 1, solving a "batch" puzzle hunt, and experiencing everything. In fact you might enjoy it more as you get to flit around different goals instead of always stuck on the same puzzle. Even if you're not "competitive", you can enjoy things just as much -- if you were given enough time to. However, the realities of the situation is that GC needs to go back to their day job, so they can't keep the interactive stuff open indefinitely long.<br /><br />Anyway, my point is, I understand how you prefer "casual" over "competitive", and "audience" over "weak story", and maybe even "linear" over "batch" -- but those are three different axes. It should be possible to have all sorts of different combos -- "casual batch weakstory" hunts (e.g., Octothorpean), "competitive batch audience" (e.g., Escape from the Locked Room), and so on.<br /><br />My feeling is that, if there were a conference room hunt that had a rich story and wasn't competitive, I think you'd enjoy it even if it was "batch".Wei-Hwa Huanghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02085566918668005783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12536328.post-46432739771038175932014-01-16T15:52:17.474-08:002014-01-16T15:52:17.474-08:00Yay! I'm a reference!Yay! I'm a reference!Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11369875666571891479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12536328.post-59671036069326594312014-01-15T20:38:47.809-08:002014-01-15T20:38:47.809-08:00"I don't know if I would play Puzzled Pin..."I don't know if I would play Puzzled Pint if I weren't on GC"<br /><br />Hmm.<br /><br />Oh man, you're trying to trick me into helping to run an MIT Mystery Hunt but IT'S NOT GOING TO WORK.lahoskenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12011437847555356710noreply@blogger.com