For work we have a momentous few days to hack together any miscellaneous project that's work related. It's a culmination of creativity, innovation, and the pressure of only a few days to form an idea that's presentable to the rest of the company. The few days are called "Hack'd". This is the 10th Hack'd. The theme was Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. (Y'know, the one where he had to find the Holy Grail by following a bunch of handwritten clues in his dad's journal...) The reason for this is the "X marks the spot" theme -- and X is the Roman numeral for 10. ;)
My job in this was to make the T-shirts for the event, but of course it couldn't be that simple. Instead, we came up with a preposterous idea that gained wind -- to design a treasure map of the office for the shirt design and then actually hide real tangible items. My main accomplice was my (wonderfully creative) coworker Jason*. With him, we added making the tangible items riddles that all led to a website. If you figured out the website quickly enough, you got a prize!
Pics or it didn't happen.
My job in this was to make the T-shirts for the event, but of course it couldn't be that simple. Instead, we came up with a preposterous idea that gained wind -- to design a treasure map of the office for the shirt design and then actually hide real tangible items. My main accomplice was my (wonderfully creative) coworker Jason*. With him, we added making the tangible items riddles that all led to a website. If you figured out the website quickly enough, you got a prize!
Pics or it didn't happen.
Step 1: Making the Map
So to mimic Indiana Jones' father's old notebook (ahem, Henry Jones, Sr. in case you need that for a Trivia Night answer), I went with a hand drawn feel and used a lot of tans and browns. Thus, I started out drawing a map with the III, VII, and X from the museum scene in the movie laid out in it. These mark the actual riddle locations.
We used Jakprints for the T-shirts and the quality, selection, and especially the customer service was incredible.
Step 2: Hiding the Riddles
Next, we made three different kinds of riddle cards. The cards can be found in any order, but to find out the website address, you'd need to have all three. Each card was placed with a burnt note in a burnt envelope (à la the fire scene in the underground tunnels in the movie)
Riddle III
I bought, modified, and hung a subtle clock on the wall so the "III" was there to see if someone was searching for it. Justin Bieber is always there. (What you don't have a life sized cut out of Justin Bieber in your office?) The envelope was taped under the clock.
I bought, modified, and hung a subtle clock on the wall so the "III" was there to see if someone was searching for it. Justin Bieber is always there. (What you don't have a life sized cut out of Justin Bieber in your office?) The envelope was taped under the clock.
Riddle VII
So after looking through these pictures, I've realized we have a lot of interesting things in our office -- case in point, that Mario ghost was already there. We just added the "VII" labeled Mario box above his head. Subtle, subtle. The riddle was on the back of the box that was Velcro'd to the wall.
Riddle X
Now for the big one: "X marks the spot," said Indy. That "X" mat was made with a rubber mat and some paint. The X was on the floor just like in the movie. The riddles were adhered to the under side of it.
Now for the big one: "X marks the spot," said Indy. That "X" mat was made with a rubber mat and some paint. The X was on the floor just like in the movie. The riddles were adhered to the under side of it.
Step 3: Building the Website
With the help of some talented developers, the riddles led to a website with a secret passcode and some clues on where to go for the prizes. Only a penitent man shall pass these trials and after a few hours, we had a few winners!
Done!
This was a lot of fun to set up; I felt like The Gamemaker in Hunger Games, sans the death and carnage, of course. Everyone was ripping up the office trying to find clues (which the bosses totally loved, I'm sure).
It was just the start of the games though and the Hack'd was, as always, full of ideation meetings and a lot of really cool technology. Kudos to my coworkers who work very hard as well as play very hard.
It was just the start of the games though and the Hack'd was, as always, full of ideation meetings and a lot of really cool technology. Kudos to my coworkers who work very hard as well as play very hard.
*Major props to Jason. He's a great guy to work with. You can check out more on him here: jasonlotito.com
