Thu Mar 23 '17 Announcement
about 7 years ago
– Thu, Mar 23, 2017 at 10:13:36 AM
So many boxes!
Dear Mysterious Case Supporters!
We thought the most challenging part of this new venture would be coming up with the mysteries themselves, the characters, the settings, the double-crosses, but no! It seems we’re in the midst of a BOX CHALLENGE!
Unlike a digital game (which exists completely in the netherworld where it’s just as easy to create a blade of grass or an entire alien planet) Mysterious Cases exist in the real world, in real time, in your actual hands.
Which takes us back to boxes! As we’re sure you can imagine (or at least visualize) each Mysterious Case is a series of boxes which must fit inside each other and hold other objects and clues, too. This doesn’t sound like much (“can’t you just get some of those Russian nesting doll versions of boxes, and call it a day?”) but it has been VERY challenging finding and sourcing these boxes from various places around the world.
We don’t want just any old boxes, each Mysterious Case is unique and has its own time period and “flavor.” This requires a bit of detective work on our part as we hunt down possible sources. Often we reach a dead end and sometimes we luck out. Just like a great mystery, sometimes it all comes down to chance!
Here’s a bit of an inside of view of how we work when trying to find a source for our boxes.
Each box that we’re hoping to source has to be very carefully measured and all details about it diligently recorded.
Is the box strong enough (if it has to hold other boxes and their clues inside)? Does it have the correct finish to reflect the time period indicated by the mystery?
Is it a good-looking box? (just in case you want to keep it out and show your friends after you’ve solved the mystery!)
All these things that most people might think don’t matter are of vital importance to us here at the Armchair Detective Company!
Attention to detail, no matter how small, can make all the difference when solving a mystery!
Onward as we speed towards our Winter 2017 deadline!
Tue Jan 17 '17 Announcement
over 7 years ago
– Tue, Jan 17, 2017 at 01:38:57 PM
Logistics, Logistics, Logistics (and a sharpie)
Hello everyone and Happy New Year!
Things are moving along on this exciting project. We have been designing, plotting, and strategizing, working hard to create the most compelling stories and provocative puzzles we can.
We're pushing spreadsheets to the limit! They're coming in handy not just for organizing the lists of objects we're assembling for the cases, but also to help us plot out the structures of the stories themselves.
A written manuscript just didn’t work - we needed to devise several new visual systems to help us see how everything was divided and tied together across many compartments.
See an example below!
…HEY, who went to town with a sharpie???
Well, I guess we can’t risk giving away the stories or clues just yet, so we’ll have to let the scribbles stay.
Update re: updating your mailing addresses: We’ve had a few backers contact us to let us know that they have moved and need to update their mailing addresses. If this happens, we’ve just learned that Indiegogo should let you update your mailing address yourself through your own account, SEE THE LINK BELOW for instructions!
https://support.indiegogo.com/hc/en-us/articles/212528078-How-do-I-update-my-shipping-address-
ALSO, just to be safe, we’re planning to send updates and a survey before we ship anything out to make sure that our records for everyone’s addresses are correct.
Any guesses on what this Mysterious Object is for? It's not just decorative, but functional. This is a small component that goes into one of our big puzzles.
Ahoy! A new printable puzzle to keep your mind limber while you wait! Download the pdf here!
Sincerely,
The Armchair Detective Company
Thu Nov 3 '16 Announcement
over 7 years ago
– Thu, Nov 03, 2016 at 07:02:23 PM
Heads down, working hard
We have been working non-stop on all of the various materials and details as we stay on track to reach the final testing and production phases!
We apologize for our silence on our email account. We're sure you'll be glad to hear that we’ve enlisted some help for our email communication, so you can expect responses to your questions soon!
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In the next couple of days we will be sending out surveys for those of you who chose rewards with names or portraits in the Mysterious Cases - if you are one of those backers, keep your eyes peeled!
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Check out these videos from early in the development process of the mechanical drawing machine that Robert has designed for Star Crossed Scientists (it’s not drawing the actual clue, of course - no spoilers!)
Quarter for scale (...and weight in this early version)
After learning to draw lines, the machine learned how to write...backwards! Here it is writing "Chloe"
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Free font download: Many of the clues in all three Mysterious Cases involve handwritten clues, and we couldn’t seem to find quite the right typeface for one of our needs - so we made our own!
Click here to download the font to use however you’d like.
If you have a scanner, you can try your hand at making your own fonts for free with this handy tool: http://www.myscriptfont.com
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It’s a struggle to give a good update without giving any of our Mysterious clues away! Here is a small hint of a few of the things we’ve been putting together for just one of the Mysterious Cases:
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We promise it won't be so long until the next update! Until then, perhaps this little puzzle will be a pleasant diversion: Download the pdf here!
Wed Jul 6 '16 Announcement
almost 8 years ago
– Wed, Jul 06, 2016 at 10:51:30 AM
THANK YOU!! WOW!!
We still can’t believe it!! In the last few days of our campaign, we flew far beyond our $100,000 stretch goal, all the way to finish at the grand total of $124,029 on July 1! This is mind-blowing - we can’t thank you all enough for your incredible support and enthusiasm!
In fact, we’d like to make a special “Thank You” page on our website – please stay tuned for a survey regarding if and how you’d like to have your name included.
Also, if you backed a perk that includes your name in a Mysterious Case, we’ll be sending out additional surveys soon to confirm names and spellings - keep an eye out!
You may have noticed that our campaign page now says “InDemand” at the top: Indiegogo offers this service for campaigns that reach their goal – our Mysterious Cases will continue to be available here until we set up our own online store. If you have a friend who missed out on our 30 day campaign, they can still sign on at our Indiegogo page to get their own Mysterious Cases!
Mon Jun 13 '16 Announcement
almost 8 years ago
– Mon, Jun 13, 2016 at 03:13:23 PM
We've hit 90% so it's time for our first STRETCH GOAL!
THANK YOU all SO much for your support! We can't wait to bring this project into the world and are so grateful you're on board with us!
We've just reached 90% of our $75,000 goal with 18 days left to go - at this rate, we're on track to beat our deadline! As a result, here's our first stretch goal:
*** If our campaign reaches $100,000, EVERY backer will get this special reward: ***
An EXCLUSIVE 3D pop-up vignette of a stand-alone, Mysterious Case moment - designed by Robert Sabuda!
This pop-up will be EXCLUSIVE to the campaign. While we hope to continue offering our Mysterious Cases after the campaign ends (though we can't guarantee our current low prices), this pop-up will ONLY be available to you, our supportive and faithful Indiegogo backers!
Thanks again for all your support and please spread the word about our Mysterious Cases!
