Questionaut
Questionaut is a small educational game by Amanita Design commissioned by the BBC. The questions cover basic subjects like language, math, and science. (Once again, the British school system endangers its young charges by neglecting to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts.) Because the questions are aimed at eleven year olds, few of them will provide much challenge for the extra clever Goodjers, unless they, like me, get tripped up by this one:
"Why is putting one plant in a fridge and another on a windowsill not a fair test of how temperature affects the growth of plants?"
I chose the incorrect answer, "Because the plant in the fridge will have access to food," and bravo to the cutesy test writer who came up with that one.
The real reason to play Questionaut is to see Amanita's distinctively weird, beautiful art design. It features everyday objects, the smaller the better, expanded and swollen into a series of mushroomy worlds. Each world has a few self-absorbed but mostly harmless inhabitants, and your goal is to disrupt their little lives just enough to get them to help you. After guiding the Questionaut to his goal, head over to Amanita's site for their Samorost games, two brilliantly imaginative adventures with more puzzle solving and fewer questions about how many milliliters are in a liter. No offense, BBC, but as an American, I'm not allowed to admit that liters even exist. Nice try.
If you'd like to suggest a game for Act Casual, send us a link at contact@gamerswithjobs.com.
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I came across Amanita Design's website just a few days ago and simply fell in love with the two Samorost games (though oddly, I played them in reverse order).
http://www.amanitadesign.com/
If you click the "Flash Games" link at the top of the screen you'll find the Samorost games and some other good stuff as well.
The art design in these titles is so inspired. As I played the my first game, I couldn't help thinking about how not long ago (during Point & Click Adventure's golden years), these games would be considered the cream of the crop, worthy of any gamer's dollar. And here it is, instant and free.
So, uh, why is putting one plant in a fridge and another on a windowsill not a fair test of how temperature affects the growth of plants?
Also, bravo on clicking "login" from a post taking you right back to the post with the ability to comment. The little things make a big difference.
Because not all the other conditions are the same. In other words, the plant in the fridge gets no sunlight, in addition to being cold.
Certis wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:
Neat! I hadn't seen this before, and it's nice surprise to see Amanita behind it.. The Samorost games are very cool.
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Yep, what Quintin said. I'm doing science, and my plant is dead.
Steam ID: http://steamcommunity.com/id/nyles
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Favorite puzzle: Grim Fandango -- the metal detector
But did you discover anything for the plants that are still alive?
muttonchop wrote:
I want this game's soundtrack.
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What a neat little game with marvelous style that is! Thank you Nyles.
A bit tough at times indeed. (paraphrased) "If you replace a thick short wire with a longer, coiled, thick wire, will an attached light bulb: 1)be dimmer, 2)brighter or 3)remain unchanged?" Not sure I could have answered that at age 11.
Hypatian wrote:
Unless you were observant enough to realize the puzzle they had you solve was the answer to that exact question. I wasn't observant enough by the way and got the question wrong because I am stupid!
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Great, yet another way for me to feel stupid today.
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I got kilograms vs Newtons wrong.
I got "punctuation around quotes" wrong. Inverted commas? Reverse commas? Are these Britishisms?
Certis wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:
I was asked something about a toy sledge. I thought it was a sledgehammer, but it turns out I was wrong.
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I think the British put punctuation quotation marks, much like a programming language, as opposed to the "American way."
Steam ID: http://steamcommunity.com/id/nyles
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Favorite puzzle: Grim Fandango -- the metal detector
My choices were commas, inverted commas, or reverse commas.
Certis wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:
One of the questions I received was about the "magic e." Easy to figure out in context, but I suppose it is a British thing, it's always been the "silent e" to me.
Edit: Cute.
Oh, well, I have no idea what those second two mean. I think the first one is the dangly thing I put in, when I want to keep the sentence going, that is.
Steam ID: http://steamcommunity.com/id/nyles
Website: http://banditosbanditosbanditos.typepad.com
Favorite puzzle: Grim Fandango -- the metal detector
Inverted commas are simply quotation marks, and I think reverse commas is simply a nonsense answer. I'm not sure if "inverted commas" is a Britishism or just an obscure usage, I've heard it before though.
I think that Inverted commas would be considered the correct name for what you call quotation marks. These are the fancier ones that are rotated and elevated commas at the start of the quotation and elevated commas at the end of a sentence:
I mean these boys:
I've always called the straight versions "quote marks" but I don't know if that's standard usage here.
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Okay, Wikipedia confirms. Here we call them quotation marks or quotes. There's single quotes and double quotes, whether or not they're curly or straight. (Typically I hear curly ones referred to as "smart quotes", since they're not a standard keyboard key and MS Word converts straight to curly by trying to be smart about it.)
Certis wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:
Ah, I see. Now I know what to say if I get that one.
Steam ID: http://steamcommunity.com/id/nyles
Website: http://banditosbanditosbanditos.typepad.com
Favorite puzzle: Grim Fandango -- the metal detector
No, another way to feel stupid compared to 11 year olds.
me too...
I am finding that the Act Casual Posts are quickly becoming my favorites. Keep up the good work, this is a real gem. Reminds me of one of the first games I ever played, The Incredible Machine. God Bless you Sierra.
The art style is amazing. Sort of a Where the Wild Things Are vibe.
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