{"id":534,"date":"2016-05-15T10:29:49","date_gmt":"2016-05-15T17:29:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/invader.trystorymachine.com\/?p=534"},"modified":"2016-05-15T10:29:49","modified_gmt":"2016-05-15T17:29:49","slug":"stealth-education-and-video-game-chautauqua","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/invader.trystorymachine.com\/?p=534","title":{"rendered":"Stealth Education and Video Game Chautauqua"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you signed up for the Dead Secret mailing list<\/a> or follow us on Twitter<\/a>, you might have heard of the DEAD SECRET Puzzle Challenge<\/a>. \u00a0Each puzzle is unlocked by a YouTube streamer and anybody can submit an answer during the few hours that each puzzle is open. \u00a0The first ten people to submit correct answers get a copy of Dead Secret for free.<\/p>\n

At the time of this writing three of the five puzzles have been unlocked, and so far the response has been phenomenal. \u00a0The puzzle questions are designed to be just hard enough that a quick Google search will not yield the answer. Some of them\u00a0also have another purpose: to force respondents to learn a little tidbit about something that they might otherwise never have\u00a0encountered. \u00a0So far topics covered have included pioneering psychologists, binary numbers, and the historic underpinnings of a classic Japanese folktale.<\/p>\n

\"chautauqua\"

A chautauqua. Relating it to this article is a task I leave to you.<\/p><\/div>\n

Most folks who submit an answer will just find the information they need, type it into the field, and hit “send.” \u00a0But a few might keep their research tabs open\u00a0to be read in greater detail later. \u00a0A yet smaller audience might become interested\u00a0in what they’ve found and spend some time learning more about it. \u00a0This is my secret goal. \u00a0My hope is that, as people trace the story paths we’ve laid, a few will notice a back alley, explore it, and discover a fascinating new world.<\/p>\n

In solving Puzzle #3 perhaps somebody will read\u00a0Hoichi the Earless<\/em>, a Japanese folktale about a blind minstrel who is bewitched into playing for ghosts. \u00a0To complete the puzzle\u00a0maybe they’ll discover that the ghosts he’s playing for are the deceased Taira clan, who are the subjects of the story Hoichi sings about. \u00a0Maybe they’ll realize that Hoichi’s temporary home,\u00a0Amidaji Temple, is located on the straights of Shimonoseki, which is where the decisive naval battle that ended the Taira clan took place in the 12th century. The temple still stands there today, although\u00a0it was converted to a Shinto shrine and its name was changed during the Meiji era. \u00a0Maybe one of the respondents to our quiz will go there someday.<\/p>\n

Or maybe not. \u00a0There’s no way to know if we can really spur learning with the offer of a free Steam code to a horror game. \u00a0As long as folks are having a good time it’s not important that we cram some stealth education down their throats. \u00a0But if we can tickle the interest of even a few and lead them down a\u00a0path to opportunities for learning and deeper thought, they’ll remember us later. \u00a0Maybe we will have enriched their lives, even just a tiny bit. \u00a0Seems worthwhile to try.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you signed up for the Dead Secret mailing list or follow us on Twitter, you might have heard of the DEAD SECRET Puzzle Challenge. \u00a0Each puzzle is unlocked by a YouTube streamer and anybody can submit an answer during … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dead-secret","category-game-design"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/invader.trystorymachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/invader.trystorymachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/invader.trystorymachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invader.trystorymachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invader.trystorymachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=534"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/invader.trystorymachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":538,"href":"https:\/\/invader.trystorymachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534\/revisions\/538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/invader.trystorymachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invader.trystorymachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invader.trystorymachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}