The Weekly Review - Edition 3
Published every Friday, Editor: Will11, Special Thanks: SindriV
Editor’s Intro
This week the Review features an interview with the enigmatic SindriV, creator of the fantastic Homo Perfectus series, more reviews including EndMaster’s masterpiece Ground Zero and new tips, puzzles and jokes. I’ve slimmed down the Review a little to make it an easier read for people to browse through, hopefully there will be something here for everyone. The Writer’s Tips section has been changed to specifically refer to one genre now. As always good contributions and suggestions are welcome.
Reviews Recommending Riveting Reads
Note: your story-game must have received a player rating of at least 4 for inclusion here.
This Week:
The Midnight Forest: Ch1 (A Fantasy Adventure by MJ_Skylar)
You might overlook this little gem due to the large number of poor story games published in the last week but I seriously recommend giving this one a read: a gentle fantasy tale in the Narnia style the writing is superb, if only it could be longer or finished…
Eating Disorders Midterm (a School-Based game by Vnakaganeku)
A Medical textbook explanation of everything you could ever want to know about eating disorders.
Since The Dawn of CYOA Time (2001):
Ground Zero (a Sci-Fi story by EndMaster)
Ground Zero is a great story using a dramatic backdrop (you can’t get more dramatic than the end of the world) to explore the interactions between a group of well-drawn and varied characters. Typical of EndMaster’s style of writing this is more story than game but he creates a whole fictional world for his characters to inhabit and rather than one story you get the feeling you are reading one of a dozen or more possible short stories, each equally compelling which is exactly the way choose your adventure stories should be.
Interviewing Interesting Individuals
SindriV Speaks:
1: Why do you write choose your own stories?
I don't know, but I've always had an urge to make stories. When I was five years old I made primitive comic books and since then I've been exploring more and more ways to tell stories. In fact, right now I'm studying screenwriting and directing. I can't remember when I stumbled upon this website, but when I did, I had to try this out.
2: What is your preferred writing method and style?
I don't know. I haven't really thought about specific methods or styles. Maybe I still have them, and just don't realize it, but it's not something I make a conscious effort to put in my stories.
3: Any plans for future stories?
Well, I have been writing School of Assassins for a few years now, but I have been putting it more and more on hold. Maybe I'll never actually complete it, but who knows. I don't have plans beyond that.
4: Who are your favorite authors and/or story games on this site?
I actually don't do that much reading, which might be weird for someone who spends so much time writing. I often find I don't have the patience for it. Yes, I read stories from time to time, but it's not something I do often. I guess I'll go with EndMaster but even then, I haven't even read half his stuff, which I probably should do.
5: Do you have any advice for other writers?
I find that usually passion is what makes a story good. Write when you have passion for your story, avoid forcing you through it when you don't.
6: How about some final thoughts?
No, no final thoughts, oh wait, one final thought...and that was it.
Writer’s Tips - How to write a Good Quiz:
1) Do not have wrong answers lead to the End Game link. No one will have any interest in finishing your quiz.
2) Make use of the variables feature to assign scores to the readers based on their answers. That way a reader can receive a description of their knowledge at the end like a score of 0-3 being accompanied by the description “you’re blessed with an uncluttered mind” or a score of 10+ having the description “Have you ever considered going for a crazy hairstyle Einstein?”
3) Make the quiz interesting. We don’t want it too easy or too difficult but try to think of a middle ground a general reader or (in the case of specialized interest quizzes like a Dr Who quiz or a Lord of the Rings quiz) fan of whatever you’re writing about would know. Pictures, while not essential, are good for encouraging interest and a back-story of some sort to frame the quiz (Sethaniel, Ogre11 and Briar_Rose have written quizzes or puzzles with good back stories in the past so be sure to check those out for ideas of how to write a good quiz).
Puzzle of the Week
This week’s three puzzles come from Mensa.com. The first is an old English rhyme that is basically a Maths problem. The second puzzle is a twist on a similar and well-known riddle while the third puzzle is another straight-forward logic puzzle. Good Luck!
1: As I was going to St Ives I met a man with seven wives. Each wife had seven sacks, each sack had seven cats, each cat had seven kittens.Kitts, cats, sacks and wives: how many were going to St Ives?
2: A few minutes after a banker dropped off his son at a day care, a fire broke out. The son was trapped in a back room while the workers and all the other children escaped. When the firefighters arrived, one of them quickly looked at all of the children who had escaped and exclaimed, "My son is still in there – must go in and get him out!" How is this possible?
3: Yesterday, circus owner P.U. Burnem gathered his clowns, and told them he was going to fire every one of them after that night's performance. Last night, Burnem's electrocuted body was found underneath a bumper car.
The following facts have been determined; can you find the killer?
1. All male clowns with rubber noses wear red wigs.
2. None of the juggling clowns wear both a red wig and a rubber nose.
3. All happy clowns without rubber noses are part of the "tiny car" act.
4. None of the sad clowns without rubber noses wear red wigs.
5. All of the men who are sad clowns wear rubber noses.
6. None of the happy clowns who can't juggle wear red wigs.
7. All clowns with rubber noses who can't juggle are in the "tiny car" act.
The coroner was able to put the time of death at 8:17, which was during the clowns' "tiny car" act. Therefore, nobody involved in that act could possibly be the killer.
The list of suspects has been narrowed to the following four clowns. Which one of them bumped off the circus owner?
1. Alberto, who can juggle
2. Babs, who wears a red wig
3. Crazy Chester, who has a rubber nose
4. Doris, who is a happy clown
Last Week’s Puzzle Solution
1: The people, animals and location where they lost it are:
John lost his Dog in the Woods.
Mary lost her Cat in the Garden.
Robert lost his Rabbit in the Park.
2: Logical deductions can guide you to the solution here, you just reverse what all the liars said and work out the order they arrived in and whether the painting was missing or not when they were there. As BradinDorvak correctly says the order the Liars visited the Club is Bob, Tom, Ann and Chuck and Ann stole the painting.
3: The bear is white. The only location or earth where you can remain the same distance from a northern point after walking in a semi-circle around it is the North Pole. The only bears you would find at the North Pole are Polar Bears which are white (it’s penguins you’ll find at the South Pole).
Joke Corner
As they seem popular on this site here’s a few choice insults:
He's as sharp as a bowling ball.
He’s a few clowns short of a circus.
His driveway doesn't go all the way to the road.
The oven's on, but nothing's cooking.
The wheels spinning but the hamster’s dead.
He has an intellect rivaled only by garden tools.
I haven't been ignoring you; I've been prioritizing you.
No, those pants don't make you look fatter. I mean, how could they?
In the pinball game of life, his flippers were a little further apart than most (I’m not sure what this means but it’s quite creative).
He’s not so much of a “has-been“, as a definite “won't be“.
He would be out of his depth in a parking lot puddle.
PLEASE READ AGAIN NEXT FRIDAY FOR MORE REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS, TIPS, PUZZLES AND JOKES!
