Weekend Puzzle [77]

Here's your weekly brain-bender. Good luck and enjoy!

- Weekend Puzzle 77 -

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Be sure to have a fun and safe Halloween. Ta-ta!

o Novel o

Steps Ahead

Planning for holidays is always fun business. We get to think about decorations, promos, giveaways, contests, etc. Happy times I say. I don't always remember what shenanigans we got into in the previous years, but it seems important to try and top them in some way. Halloween's a good time for this as we're already caricatures or costumed crime-fighters. Working at blazing speeds to solve problems in this cubicle jungle. It's a carpeted beat, but one that I patrol with pride. ^.~

Oops, got a little off topic... but I'm excited for the weekend already (and thinking of special days further along the road.) Holidays bring out happy spirits and hospitable hands, so I can't help but get swept away. Maybe I'll check out early today... just don't tell anyone. ^>^

The puzzle was solved! Awesome! Here's the key.

- Puzzle 76 Answer -

There are a couple of steps to this puzzle. First off, you'll need to determine the [ clef ] of the musical notation. The [ included text ] will fill you in, specifically this word: [ "viola". ]
[ Viola ] is traditionally written in [ Alto clef ]. Once you've got that you can discover the corresponding [ notes "A - G" ]. Translate each of the [ notes ] in the puzzle.
Now for a little bit of [ math ]. With the first group of notes, [ FFFA ] convert them to [ numbers i.e. - 6+6+6+1=19 ] which we can then swap with [ 19 = S ]. So the 1st [ letter is "S" ].
Continue replacing [ the notes with numbers ] and so forth. Each [ line ] is equal to [ 1 word ]. Complete the conversion for the entire stanza, you'll end up with:
[ Suki Knows Many Tricks ]

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Oh, yes, that is most certainly true! Have you learned them all? Alright, I'll see you tomorrow, with a whole new puzzle!

- Novel -

Uncertain Terms of Endearment

So the website has been enjoying a day of "disparate temperament"... or I guess fussiness. The fickle nature of technology these days, I tell ya. It's fantastic to be able to access all this cool stuff, but when something breaks it takes like 50 people to diagnose and fix the problem (which always ends up being an unplugged cable or errant semicolon). Bah! Oh well, I hope it's back in tip-top shape soon.

We got a handsome delivery today; our first set of completed Collector's Edition goodies. I stole one for a few moments to snag a photo.

- Pic of the Week -

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It's the real-deal, folks. The journal is even more awesome than I could have imagined. I'll have to get some interior shots for you to check out. I'm very pleased with how the whole thing is working out. It's going to be a Nancy-filled winter!

- Novel -

Nancy To-Go

I played around a bit in the Mobile Mysteries world today. I'm not exactly a techno-phile (e.g. Rentaro), but I will say it was quite an awesome experience. Its more novel than "PC snooper" which is fine by me. Of course I exploited the portability as best I could (considering the soppy weather we're having.) and found a quiet and comfortable corner to play in. The encapsulated "Nancy experience" was familiar... cold, dark room; notepad and pencil next to me; fingers tight with nervous tension. I guess its good that they included all that. But I'm still concerned about the barrier of entry (i.e. an 'iProduct'.) I guess they're becoming more common every day so who knows...

These jaunts into new territory are good for HI in my opinion. What do you think?

Here's a hint to help you solve the puzzle. Good luck!

- Puzzle Hint -

If notes were numbers, would they add up?

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Halloween is 5 days away! Got your costume ready?

- Novel -

Your First Weekend in Japan

So you've had a good, solid weekend to consider the latest Nancy-faire (Shadow at the Water's Edge). Do you absolutely love it? Has it met your expectations? Is it the scariest mystery this side of the Pecos? I guess an even better question is, 'have you completed the case yet?' So many questions, mayhaps we'll break out that most customary of launch rituals, the "post-launch fan survey." No ETA on that though, there's still much to do...

Deep in our secret Testing Facility, we noted that even our most senior of Test technicians took quite a long time to completely play through this game. Chore for them, but boon for you! Personally I find that our games tend to fall right around the "just-enough" play-time for me, with each offering clocking in at a length appropriate to my interest in the story's plot... (except The Phantom of Venice - cause, boy... I coulda spent ages snooping in that lovely city). Now of course I know many of you fall into the "Games are too short" camp, but I'm thinking that Shadow at the Water's Edge might just be the answer you've been lookin' for, ya dig?

You puzzle-players are on the right track. Though I fear it may be more math intensive than you realize. I'll keep an ear out for a good hint to sing your way.

- Novel -

Weekend Puzzle!

I'm particularly excited about this puzzle. It looks like it might be quite a "notable" entry. Good luck!

- Weekend Puzzle 76 -

"A little reading... a little math... and viola, solved!"

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See ya next week~

- Novel -

All This Stuff

I'm kinda in art overload here. I'm looking at pictures from 5 different launches that have happened, or are expected to happen this year. It's been busier than I can remember. I mean think about it... all those new games... and more on the way...

This here is what we call a "double-edged sword." I've enjoyed getting to solve new mysteries and adventures (on new platforms too). But, sheesh, we barely finish with one launch and we're moving on, setting up the stage for the next act. Can we maintain such a pace? Yeah, probably. If anything, Nancy's taught me that determination and hard-work are the way to go. But it hardly gives me any time to praise the fabulous teams that have made these great games. And how am I supposed to pepper in my commentary of the vox populi (that's you) for each product if I've only got a day or two till I'm hyping the "next-best-thing." Hmmm...

I guess this will take some extra thinking! But I'll come up with the proper solution... (new programming perhaps) No doubt, no doubt.

Keep rocking out in the free world!

- Novel -

p.s. Puzzle tomorrow. ^.^

Today's View

So there was a particularly excellent surprise delivered to the office today. One of our fans sent us a care package for Halloween! It is awesome! All the HI workers took a break to enjoy and peruse the contents. We definitely appreciate the effort of this Nancy-fan. Kudos to you!

- Pic of the Week -

- What could be contained within? -

- Cards, candy, and costume props! -

Oh, and you may notice that yesterday's post is now live... not sure what Blogger is up to, but I'm slightly disappointed that I had to wait a whole day to send you a shout-out. Here's hoping this one hits a little sooner.

Peas and thanks!

- Novel -

Shadow at the Water's Edge Launch

It's happened! We've launched Nancy's next case, Shadow at the Water's Edge! Get in on the adventure (and terror), you won't be disappointed. Promise.

Newsletter releasing in... 5... 4... 3... 2...


So last weekend's puzzle wasn't too tricky, but it was a bit of a departure from our normal approach. Lets see how it was solved.

- Puzzle Answer -

This puzzle is a [ visual puzzle called "rebus" ] Notice that [ many things ] is hidden by [ garden ] If you build that into [ a sentence ] you get the answer:
[ Garden hides many things ]

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Yup it's a Shadow at the Water's Edge reference. There's more fun to come. See ya soon.

- Novel -

Update: It looks like this post was held in queue for a whole day! Yikes!

One Day Left

So this is it. Launch week. Shadow at the Water's Edge is on shelves tomorrow. (No midnight launches that I'm aware of.) Does it feel like Christmas Eve to anyone else? Maybe New Year's? There's definitely a countdown coming to a close in my head and butterflies keeping me from shut-eye tonight. On the off chance that I say this every time...(let's pretend this is the first time.) This is the most excited I've been about a game release. ^.^ How bout you?

We've already seen a few reviews from people that pre-ordered their copies, and it's looking like "eagerly awaited" is a common motif. Also there's been a few "best game yets." It's just hours away till you're in Japan with Nancy! *grin*

For point three I'll be brief. Newsletter. It's coming. Soon. Very Soon.

I'd say the puzzle is solved. The process is valid, even if the answer is debatable. We'll bring it into view tomorrow. Ciao till then.

-Novel-

Weekend Puzzle

Here's the puzzle for this week. It's a bit of a departure from the norm, but I think you clever cats will nab this one, no problem. ^.^

- Weekend Puzzle 75 -

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Good luck!

- Novel -

Wednesday Fail

So maybe you're wondering where yesterday went... Well it seems we had a few hiccups in the office, namely the crash of several servers and loss of network communication. Work became fairly limited, but I suppose something good did come of it...

Yeah, that's how we solve some of our problems... cupcakes. Cause seriously what can't be solved delicious baked goods?

Oh hey did you check out the character trailer they released today? I'm hoping they've got some more to dish out. I particularly like these kinds of videos because the characters are my favorite part about our games. Anywho maybe you should check it out. ^.~

Tomorrow is Friday and that means puzzles!

Laters~

- Novel o -

Close to Answers

So officially one week until launch. I guess it would appropriate to start freaking out now. We're close enough. Go ahead, you deserve it. ^.~

I wonder what else we have left to surprise you with. Of course any more surprises and you're going to start believing we're just made up of big events. Still, the bag o' tricks has yet to run dry. And let's say that's a good thing.

It looks like the puzzle wasn't too tricky for you all to solve, but let's check our work.

- Puzzle 74 Answer -

The first step is to determine the code that's being used on this puzzle. You may notice it as [ Unicode ]. All you need to do is [ plug the characters into a decoder ]. This should give you the final answer:
[ Odds are, Pachinko plays a part. ]

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So it sounds like there will be a little bit of play time in Shadow at the Water's Edge. I guess that'll be a nice balance to the all the scares. Downtime never hurt anybody... ghosts, that's still up in the air.

- Novel -

Scary Business

We're only a week away from Nancy's latest and greatest (see: Shadow at the Water's Edge.) Not to mention scariest. Of course there's so much buzz going around lately it's hard to stay on point with just one case. Talk about a busy sleuthing year, this one certainly takes the cake. Let's hope Nancy is as good at multi-tasking as she is with detective work. ^.~

Oh, also in the news, we're looking for some Beta testers for the up-coming Mobile Mysteries Series. I know the AS blog isn't usually a bulletin board for these things, but this is an extra special case. If you've got an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, you just might be the tester we're looking for! Check out this survey if I've piqued your interest. (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KX3G29H)

In the world of puzzles, you've come out on top. Congrats! I kinda figured you all would solve this without much difficulty. But we'll leaving the spoiling to Tuesday; where it usually dwells.

Course we'll bring something else to the table then as well.

- Novel -

Puzzle 74

Friday is already here! Are you aiming for a relaxing weekend? Don't forget to give the weekend puzzle a whirl, check it out below:

- Weekend Puzzle 74 - 

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Cheerio~

- Novel -

Missing Days and Answers

No blog for two days? You know what that means... Yup, I've been bed-ridden for a short period of time, but I've returned to send some much needed love to my readers.

It hasn't been the most exciting of weeks in the office (from what I can see) but pre-orders have wrapped up, and shipping begins today. That means we're a little under two weeks till the official Shadow at the Water's Edge launch. Soooo soon! :P

You saw the trailer right? I told you it was brimming with spooky goodness. But what did you think? Too scary? Not scary enough?

So I know I promised the puzzle answer on Monday and here it is!

- Puzzle 73 Answer -

This puzzle uses a special kind of code. If you [ remove every 3rd letter ] from the list [ starting with the capital "S" ], you'll discover a [ message - "Start with the first and take out every third to solve!" ].
Take that [ statement ] and look at [ what is leftover. ] There's no need to [ rearrange the letters ], the final answer is
[ Bento can be quite charming ]

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I'm certain that is a clue for something... Perhaps it'll make more sense when SAW lands on your doorstep. ^.~

We'll have a new puzzle tomorrow, stay tuned.

- Novel -

Start of Something Sinister

Good afternoon, Monday!
It is now officially the first week of October, the month of scares. We’re getting into the Fall swing of things, which as we all know means launch time is almost upon us. If you’ve pre-ordered your copy of Shadow at the Water’s Edge then you just might see it shipping out a little earlier than the retail launch. I suppose that’s one pre-order perk they failed to mention. ^.~

So there’s one more piece o’ the pie; the trailer. Sure they played a short teaser thing, but I’m talking the full-blown, epic, thriller of a preview. You’ll be pleased (or afraid, depending) to know that it is on the way to you. Let’s say… tomorrow, and hope that I’m not proven wrong by the powers-that-be. It'd be best if you didn't miss it, you'll thank me later. Although... talk about nightmares, this one’s definitely got terror written all over it.

The weekend puzzle has met its end. We’ll discuss tomorrow, no?

- Novel -

Got a good Halloween costume picked out yet?

Weekend Puzzle

So I think there were like 8 announcements this week... well at least 3 big things happened. Did you catch them all? I promise next week will be a bit slower. ;)

Any who, here's the puzzle for this week. Good luck, sleuths!

- Puzzle 73 -

bStearntwtitohtcheafinrsbtaendqtaukeioutteevecryhthairrdtmosiolnveg!

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Adios~

- Novel -