It was a tough task coming up with clues. We didn't just want clues, we wanted cool clues, the kind which wouldn't drive you up the wall while solving it and yet when the eureka! moment comes would inspire an immense feeling of satisfaction. We made a conscious effort to include textual, visual, audio, edible, physical, software, game-playing clues to vary the overall experience and to reduce fatigue and boredom. We based off many clues on previous experience, game websites, online research and hours of experimentation, but it was still very hard to estimate whether a clue would be too difficult, too easy or just right. Here's some comments on the final clues:
X Marks the Spot
I really enjoyed the double-crossing bit. We probably should have included more hints on having to intersect the lines twice, but I personally felt that this would serve as a memorable talking point after the game and therefore, hints should be omitted.
Q Software
As someone who is quite inexperienced with windows programming, it took me a while to figure out how to create the software without having to deal with nasty Microsoft .NET issues so it can run on every single windows laptop. The clue itself is quite straightforward which was welcomed by most teams. Some teams managed to play around enough with the programs to discover the free hint. In case your team didn't, if you called Mission Control and tried to pick-up M, you get a free hint. Some classics heard were "If I told you you have a good body, would you hold it against me?" (TTT), and "Are you tired? Because you have been running around in my mind the whole night." (either Pussies or Cha-Ching!). The Poker Showdown clue started out as a text conversation, but it wasn't really that intuitive to understand, hence the change to the slide show format.
Soap
Most of the games I've played involved breaking open stuff, so I was quite adamant we had one too. This clue turned out well because we were lucky to be able to find a way to slice open the soap, insert the clue, and then seal it back nicely. The soap box was also glued back well enough to avoid suspicion. Lots of time was spent manufacturing this clue, but the descriptions of teams shaving, scraping and smashing open the soap bar, as well as the many looks of disbelief when they finally found the clue made it all worthwhile.
Japanese Cards
This is a TOUGH clue. When Olivia first showed us, it took multiple efforts before progress was made. The telephone number formed when you arrange the cards in the right sequence gives you the Terminal One Arrival Information. We originally required the teams to find the belt number for the only flight coming in from Osaka, and would have planted our agent there. But flight timing issues gave us problems, and we had to give that up in the end.
X-Ray
Originally called Arrows, we managed to find a good reference to the location as well as to the plot. Ideally, this is what all clues should have. Future Game Controls take note!
Taboo Game
This is the most last-minute clue, and we pretty much decided some of the rules/forfeits when the teams arrived. The original idea is to play a variation of poker, but fear of landing the organisers behind bars for illegal gambling and gathering dealt the idea its death blow.
1 comment:
Just to chime in... Having played the Game ourselves, some of us have been bombarded with mind-numbing text clue after text clue. Hence we felt it was important that there be sufficient variety across clues in order to keep Gamers guessing.
One principle for would-be GCs to create that Eureka! moment is to keep in mind is that clues should be self-contained only to the extent that they contain the bare minimum information needed to solve the clue, without unnecessary red herrings to send teams on wild-goose chases (unless deliberately intended - like X marks the spot; although we would contend that all the signs were embedded within that clue...).
At the same time, teams should never be penalised for thinking about a clue more 'deeply' than intended. In other words, the possible set of answers that a clue can produce should be constrained sufficiently, so that when a team chances on the right track, the solution pops out and the methodology is so elegant that everyone knows immediately that it must be what GC meant, without having to call back.
In short, clues should not contain too much distracting information, neither should they be so cryptic that it is impossible to tell if you're on the right track.
More clue-by-clue post-mortem coming up. On a lighter note, M's gender bending antics throughout the Game were a source of many inside jokes within GC. For the record, let me state that Ian Fleming's books went with a male M.
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