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Where we've been...trying to find the hornet's nest
October 7, 2009 - 4:17pm
It's nice to have a puzzle that we didn't all figure out right away...but it's driving me a little crazy, too. :-) So, I thought I'd try and collect my thoughts. I'll try to walk the fine line of putting thoughts and ideas together without giving things away (such that it causes this post to be deleted).
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Pages:
PTI - This site appears to be "out of game", by which I mean no clues have been on the site itself (though we've gotten hints from achievements PTI developers had). I say "appears" because of the YouTube post by picturetheimpossible.
SCP - Completely "in game". The site of the hidden society. Multiple clues originated here. The data has been static so far (the "Progress" page still talks about the Clothesline Festival from week 1). Apart from the D&C/RIT footer at the bottom of each, the pages are pretty free form so things can be hidden anywhere. Also, since the URL for each page is .html, there could be hidden pages that we don't see yet.
Clockwork - Completely "in game". The site of the Watchmaker/Clockwork. Multiple clues originated here. The blog is updated at various intervals and provides a way to communicate "in game" with Watchmaker/Clockwork. The form of the pages is by WordPress, so expect to just see hidden things in the header, in the posts or under the "Pages" heading.
PTP (the "under construction" site) - Completely "in game". Another site by Watchmaker/Clockwork and it seems to be his little playground. We haven't seen links within that site to know how they'll be structured (just the couple of images on the page), so things could be hiding anywhere.
Twitter - Tangential site (users SCP_rochester and ptigame) - Ability to communicate "in game" with SCP. Could be other "in game" users out there that we don't know about.
YouTube - Tangential site (users SocialCollaboration and picturetheimpossible) - One clue was found here. Could be other "in game" users out there that we don't know about.
ShortText - Tangential site. Watchmaker/Clockwork put the encoded documents on this site for us to see. Other documents could be posted there as well.
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People:
Watchmaker/Clockwork - Seems to think SCP, and the group behind it, is at least corrupt or possibly nefarious. Feels the need to stay hidden and wants us to be his investigators.
Tobia Sentinel - Thus far unseen found of SCP, though we interact with his people via Twitter. Claims to be a social activist group doing what's best for Rochester (however they decide what that is).
Marquis - The host of the Picture the Impossible party. Maybe related to SCP (SCP says it supports the game...and maybe this game is the test for prospective SCP members).
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Where does this leave us for finding the latest hornet's nest?
- It could be a brand new site that we're supposed to figure out from his clues.
- He hacked the SCP site, so it could be something hidden on the existing pages or a new page we haven't found yet.
- It could be that he put the documents somewhere for us to find (either on the PTP site or on ShortText).
- Maybe something in his message is a clue (anagrams or synonyms for "hornet's nest" or the like).
- "Security Department" is the only thing with capitals (apart from the beginning of a sentence)...maybe that's something...
- He uses "wondering" once and "wonder" twice...maybe that's something...
October 7, 2009 - 8:05pm
#2
Thanks! Now...if it would only point us to the hornet's (notice the singular) nest...
October 8, 2009 - 6:49pm
#4
Minor update:
Marquis appears to have a twitter account.
http://twitter.com/masque_de_roc
Nothing terribly meaningful there yet.
October 8, 2009 - 8:44pm
#5
Thanks so much for this, jknapp!
However, I'd like to introduce another possibility. I don't remember who mentioned this before, but I'll bring it up again. Watchmaker said he "poked another hornet's nest." Seeing as this week's theme is performing arts, it wouldn't surprise me at all if the hornet's nest referred to is in fact the Hornet's Nest mentioned here:
http://www.gevatheatre.org/events/the-hornets-nest.html
I'll look around, but maybe the clue we're looking for is at the theatre itself, even though there are no events during the span of this game. Either way, I wouldn't put something like this past PTI.
October 8, 2009 - 9:24pm
#6
Yeah I agree, that is awfully suspicious...I doubt that it would be inside Geva though, but maybe on the outside of the building tomorrow as and "mark of the searcher" award?
October 8, 2009 - 10:59pm
#7
Maybe it's just this game and that last Under Construction achievement playing games with my mind again, but there is a link off of the Hornet's Nest page (or anywhere on the Geva Theatre page) for the Geva Blog. It takes you to an empty site:
http://www.gevatheatre.org/under-construction.html
Could be coincidence. Probably is. I'm done searching this site. At least for now.
October 9, 2009 - 9:47am
#8
Did you view source or any of the other fun tricks we learned to do?
October 9, 2009 - 10:52am
#9
Yepp. Tried my whole bag of tricks and found nothing. Seeing as nobody has this achievement yet, it may (or may not) be safe to assume it cannot be achieved at this point.
October 9, 2009 - 11:54am
#10
RIT and its gaming program were part of the first season of The Hornets Nest according to the article mentioned on the Geva website. It also mentioned that some of the performances are on youtube. We might be reaching as far as the clue goes but it looks like a cool venue for debate and theater!
October 9, 2009 - 12:55pm
#12
GAME ON! Dev, AvonPaintball, and their Watchmaker cohorts have begun to get the "I less than three bees" achievement, described as "A pioneer comes back." Time to start searching in earnest...
October 9, 2009 - 1:09pm
#14
I can't tell either. A one would make sense in this case, but you can never tell. Maybe it's supposed to be an "I," in which case it might be more of a reference concerning the clue.
October 9, 2009 - 1:11pm
#16
ILOVEBEES... Hmm... sounds familiar
Those three players are RIT students. They must have gone to the talk today.
October 9, 2009 - 1:17pm
#17
Elan Lee created game I Love Bees (I<3 Bees)an ARG
from wiki:
In 2003 he{Elan Lee] co-founded 42 Entertainment, a design company in the new field of the Alternate Reality Games (ARGs). 42 has created multiple ARGs, including, I Love Bees
October 9, 2009 - 1:30pm
#18
Cool. I got the I <3 Bees thing but couldn't connect it to anything. I didn't have time to go to the talk, but Mamamusings said it would be put up on PTI's website tonight or tomorrow. There will also be an article on it in tomorrow's paper.
October 9, 2009 - 1:31pm
#19
Okay, so is it censoring his name because that's part of the code? Let's try:
Elan Lee
ELANLEE
Interesting...
October 9, 2009 - 1:50pm
#20
In News it says to settle in w/ saturday's paper. Maybe the clue will be in the article about today's talk.
October 9, 2009 - 2:42pm
#21
Taz--you figured it out already? I was going to wait to watch video tomorrow--not necessary?
October 9, 2009 - 2:52pm
#22
wikipedia does have good information. It led me to a weird web site but I haven't figured out what importance that has.
October 9, 2009 - 4:15pm
#25
The vid of Elan Lee's presentation this morning. Should be on PTI tonight to tomorrow. You'll get your hint.
Also, judging from smp8330's post, it seems as if Elan Lee is not censored anymore, though it was earlier...
October 9, 2009 - 4:17pm
#26
But I want it now! Oh, maybe my username should have been Veruca. I wonder why his name was censored earlier...
October 9, 2009 - 4:26pm
#27
Don't read anything into the censoring of his name; we had blocked a number of possible answers before we knew which would be relevant.
The video will be posted tonight or tomorrow, and you can find out a lot about today's talk by reading the story in tomorrow's paper.
October 10, 2009 - 8:58pm
#28
I've watched the video but nothing is jumping out as a possible code. I feel like it's right in front of me and it's going right over my head. What should I be looking for?
October 10, 2009 - 9:14pm
#29
re-read the clue from the paper, then re-watch the video. Don't think into it, just answer the question.
October 11, 2009 - 6:31pm
#31
I have a bit of an inside track with one of the other factions with a family member playing for a different team. :-) They have been following a lead on a suspicious photo someone stumbled upon on the picture the impossible website of "stage 63". I'm not sure if it is headed somewhere, but I'll try and get a link to the photo to post here.
Nicely compiled. Good job.