The Magic Seal Second Contest Results
The purpose of
the mega-level contest was to challenge the players to uncover the most number
of secret words in the most advanced level ever
created for The Magic Seal. There were 10 secret codes scattered through the
level. The contest started 1/5/2004, and ended 20/6/2004, when 5
players got all the secret codes.
Read on for
details about the winners, contest highlights, and for an exclusive interview
with the winner.
Winners
The results were
really close. Here are the winners of the second contest....
|
Name |
Country |
secret codes |
Date of
Submission |
|
Anke Seith (tiranaki) |
Germany |
10 |
3 May, 2004 |
|
John Gillander
(pypr) |
USA |
10 |
3 May, 2004 |
|
Paula
Kopicko (goddesspaula) |
USA |
10 |
13 May, 2004 |
|
Richard Monk (fre3d) |
Canada |
10 |
21 May, 2004 |
|
Angela Rolands
(Gandalf) |
England |
10 |
20 June, 2004 |
Read
our interview with the winner... Here...
Contest highlights
1. The 10 secret codes were as follows...
1. Easy One
2. Wood Box
3. Heart
4. Sokoban
5. Fruits
6. Friends
7. Kingdom
8. Fireballs
9. Superb
10. Finale
2. We have prepared a map for the extra level for your eye
pleasure. You can find it here. All the secret
rooms have been highlighted. Have a look. (Note: the file is quite
large. If you are using dial-up, it may take some time to show.)
3. The contest stage consisted of 3 floors. The main floor, is probably
the biggest one, and the one containing the trickiest puzzles. It contained secret codes 1,2,3,8,9, and 10.
The basement floor, was a complex maze structure, hidden in a secret area. It
contained secret codes 4 and 5.
Finally, the top floor, was also a complex maze (but in quite a different style
than the one in the basement). It contained secret codes 6 and 7.
4. The first submission was made only 48 hours after the contest
started (3/5/2004) by Anke.
The last submission was made by Angela in (20/6/2004)
5. It is interesting that all the 5 winners got all the 10 secret
codes. The players levels have probably surpassed all what we have imagined. All the
winners got all the codes, even though the stage was extremely tough! This can
only mean that puzzles in the next contest is going to be even tougher!
6. It seems that the hardest secret codes to find were secret codes number
5
(FRUIT), and number 10 (FINALE). Nearly every one of the winners, sent the
secret codes without those 2, and then refined by sending them separately.
7. What does EOOY mean? "EOOY" was hidden under the secret code number 10
(FINALE). If you move the letters around, you find "EOOY" written beneath it.
Well... most people thought this was part of the secret code. Fact is, it was a
mistake! (we are blushing red right now!).
Actually, this was a level design mistake! At first, secret codes were intended
to be written on the floor, but, later, our team found that it looked much
better, if written with boxes instead. Some letters remained on the floor,
thought, by mistake. And this caused the misunderstanding. Sorry
8. The contest stage had a nice variation on the islands room from the
shareware version. In fact, in the contest stage, the same room was used again,
but only one conveyor belt was removed. Interestingly, the solution is totally
different that way, when this conveyor belt is removed. We noticed this fact before releasing the
original game, but we didn't want to make it harder by removing this cb. We knew
we were going to use this room one day, though.
Finally, congratulations to all the winners. Better luck next time for
anyone who didn't win this time. Hope you all enjoyed the contest. See you in
our next contest!
Have
you read our interview with the winner? If not,
click here to read it now.
Check out the map for the contest stage, click here to
view the map.
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