Morphing Game Rules

I would like to give "tcandkk" a well deserved "Thank you!" for creating a new Daily Rager's Discussion Forum. Many of the Daily Rage regular players have joined after several weeks apart. You can find the forum at: http://www.kismetdesigns.com/drforum/index.php

Some interesting information has been reported on the board about prize winning in the MTV version of the game. After reading the "fine print" tcandkk posted the following quote from the "official rules" of the game:

GAME DESCRIPTION: Each player who refers another player who accurately registers their Account Information (?Referred Player?) will receive one (1) entry into the MGPD for each such Referred Player during the applicable MCP as set forth more fully below.

WINNER SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION: A random drawing for the "Monthly" Grand Prize will be held within one (1) business day after the last Daily Entry Period of the applicable month in each instance. Drawings will include only those players who have provided Referred Player(s) during the applicable month's Daily Entry Periods for the drawing in question and will be conducted by Sponsor user randomization methods selected in its sole and absolute discretion.

This differs from the old game in that the monthly winners were chosen from the pool of daily winners. Also, the total amount awarded in the monthly game accrued according to the number of daily entries. According to the latest rules post, the monthly grand prize is limited to $5ooo.oo despite a monthly prize total which accrues at the bottom right hand screen.

FIRST PRIZE: One (1) First Prize is available each Daily Entry Period. First Prize for current Daily Entry Period will be posted on the Website but in no event shall exceed $5,000.

Other interesting pieces of information gleaned from the "Official Rules":

If a prize winner makes any false statement in any document related to DRC, or if it is discovered that a winner has registered for DRC online simultaneously using more than one account, the winner will be required to promptly return to Sponsor upon demand her or his prize(s) or, at Sponsor's option, the cash equivalent of the prize(s) based on the ARV published on the Website.

I think that the "false statement" clause is interesting, given the discord among the beta players and the winners of past games who have not received their prize money as of yet.

Anyone who plays Daily Rage with regularity would do well to read the rules carefully. No mention is made of the fact that users on the Leader Board also gain entries into the monthly grand prize drawing. Interesting. There is a quandary here: use your gems to gain more entries into the daily game - or save them for more chances in the monthly game.

Are Your Pockets full of Gems?

I would like to give tcandkk a hearty thanks for the screen enlargement info on the previous post's comment page. Refreshing after F11 does enlarge the screen. However, I'm still trapped in slow-mo clicking.

You can tell by today's game that Nathan is putting his whole heart into the endeavor. Despite the wonderful artwork and design, the slowmotion play forced me to totally abandon the game.
I shot literally 20 aliens, althought I don't know if I actually clicked on anything. Some of them disappeared.

I do know, however that I DID click on the greater valued "pink" gem with nothing happening.
Those gems are jumping around on the screen like Rice Krispies on a snare drum and clicking on them really doesn't produce immediate results.

Let's see. So far in this reincarnation of Daily Rage, we've seen a "rerun" of sorts of the Paris Hilton birthday theme (albeit one for the dudes) and a rerun of the Wide World of Nasty Wrestling.

I must say, these DR games are much faster. Faster in the fact that I usually quit after getting the gears. Uh, except for today. There is only so much slow-mo clicking that I can tolerate.

I still miss the original game, the original format. I would imagine that the MTV players wouldn't have the same appreciation or the same loyalty to the game as the beta testers. My own boys were bored quickly with the slowness of the game.

As you can see this post is rather short. Not much to talk about. Not much has changed since this latest incarnation of the game.

This gives me an idea., in a previous post in the SA/DR, I began a thread on interesting games to play. Games with rewards and those that do require a bit of brain power. Nathan's game today reminded me a bit of another alien fellow, Wogger.

Here is the link: http://www.wogger.de/

There is a bit of a challenge to the game, but no herky-jerky slo-mo. Enjoy this game, and post your own in the comments section.
-LG

Gems Galore and Not a Prize in Sight

I've continued to venture over to the DR/MTV site. Like Greyfriar's Bobby, loyalty is hard to shake off and I am still at heart, a loyal Daily Rage fan.

Do I think that Riddle Productions will miraculously insert our favorite, and really the best version of the game? Well, no. But, then I wasn't expecting this bastardized version either. So who knows what can happen?

I will elaborate on some of the problems that I have encountered with this shark-jumping version of the game. First of all, the main problem is the size. Even when I hit F11, the game still maintains that same, tiny screen size. I don't know if there is a clause in the flaming contract between MTV and Riddle that orders them to maintain some sort of Hock the Loogie -Daily Rage screen ratio, but no matter what I do, the game screen remains the same.

Now back in the days of the Beta version, screen size could make a huge difference because then we were looking for the elusive treasure chests and sapphire Easter eggs. (By the way, who didn't notice the homage to them in Nathan's game a few days back?). Now, I can just click mindlessly around the page and Voila! I find the "gears." It's all a little too easy. I don't know exactly what the marketing plan is behind this. I suspect that they want to make the game play so boring that all the game players will decide to try their hands (or lungs) to hocking loogies with the Beave and Butthead.

The next problem that I encountered is the gem-clicking part of the game. Those herky-jerky gems are so, well, herky-jerky. I think I could just play the game by finding the gears and doing nothing else. I really don't think that my gem-shooting/clicking/ skills are actually that good. At first I tried to click on the gear because that is the all-important piece to gaining access to Willy Wonka's Golden Ticket. But, I found that you automatically get that piece. Next, I thought that I would try the pink gems because they have the highest point value. By that reason, I should go for the green gems next then the blue ones last because the are only worth one point. Funny thing is, I can hardly click on any of them and before I know it I have on average 290 points. Wow. Off to Casinoland I go.

Now this part of the game is probably the most irritating. We have three "chances" to arrange our numbers in a certain order to gain access to where? Another gem-shooting/clicking opportunity. Wow! What an incentive, more mind-numbing game play. I can only hope that this dumbing down of the game play has allowed the programmers at Riddle some extra time off. There has to be much more free time around the office without all that research do to that made up the Beta version. No more moons of Uranus to count, let's go surfing Dude!

So, If I am not too sleepy from all the previous Space Invaders' style gem-shooting, I get to randomly order numbers. Due to my lack of any real interest or hope for a real win, I usually just drop the gears straight in. Surprisingly, I get about one right which is about the same percentage as when I come up with my own initial rearrangement. Of late, however, I don't even bother with the gears. I have my Willy Wonka ticket. I just watch my gems accumulate.

Next, the mysterious gem count - what's it for? Who will benefit? I've visited the "leader board" to see if I recognize any familiar names. A few are there. I am assuming that the reason for the board is to award those with the highest points. Maybe they will get a Beavis and Butthead DVD or Season One DVD of Southpark?

Certainly Riddle Productions has no trademark or copyright on the "King's Parque" puzzle. Perhaps someone will see the need for an intelligent game site for the thinking man and woman.

Nancy Kerrigan said it the best way: "Why?.......why?"

Daily Rage Jumps the Shark

If you are reading this post, perhaps you are a former Daily Rage player. If so, this post is for you.

Each day, since mid-summer 2006, I played a quick, smart and fun game called The Daily Rage. Created by Riddle Productions, the game built up a loyal and devoted fan base with its Beta and Beta 2.0 versions. It was sort of a graphic scavenger hunt/game of chance.

Sure, there were some kinks along the way -- along with players winning daily cash prizes and monthly prizes in the thousands of dollars. Not me, however. Despite being the "Queen of Losers" I was happy to pluck along, immersed in the art of Nathan Ratcliff, The Lion, Mary Baker and the creative forces at Riddle Productions.

Riddle quietly emerged last year with an ingenious game, delivered over a week in daily doses of videos and emails urging you, the player, to help a stranger. With the creation of Stranger Adventures, Riddle Productions was nominated for two Emmy Awards in 2006. Players in those games researched clues from the videos and emails in order to develop a 10-digit pass code with a chance to win up to $25,000.

The game was inventive and original. The smaller-scaled Daily Rage was based upon the same number puzzle used in Stranger Adventures, the King's Parquet puzzle, only modified for the smaller daily dose. The players searched for Easter eggs and treasure chests; each with a clue that would lead the players zipping across the Internet looking for numerical answers. Each day the puzzles centered around various themes from Gangsters to UFOs on Easter Island. The diversity and creativeness of the puzzles were addictive and a delight to regular ragers.

Daily Rage went off the "air" so to speak, or off the Internet to be more accurate, much like the television series Lost. The ardent fan base waited patiently and even created their own fan fiction within the games' forum sites. There a small community was built with loyal fans who shared puzzles, links to other games, critiqued each game and speculated about upcoming games. They were supportive of the games, of Riddle Productions, and of each other. In explaining why they were drawn to the games, many reported that it was the challenge of the game, the knowledge gained, and the community that kept them playing. For them, the Daily Rage had become an Internet addiction, like the morning crossword puzzle.

But on March 5th, after an email announcing the new Daily Rage, I was excited to get back in the game. I eagerly hit my "favorites" on my browser toolbar and clicked on my bookmark for Daily Rage, sixth one down from the top.

To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. Crushed was more like it. Not only was the game not better, it was worse, much worse. Gone was the King's Parque design to the game. In amongst some ads for Beavis and Butthead's "Hock the Loogie" and "Click on the Nerd." Sadly, our wonderful gem of a game was now reduced to a sad, herky-jerky version of Bejeweled meets Pac Mac. Apparently the magna cum laude at MTV decided that their youthful demographic wouldn't be interested in actual mental stimulation. I actually wonder what they were thinking. Meanwhile Riddle Productions has sacrificed uniqueness, which made their company an Emmy contender last year, to provide a simple point and click game to a cable network that, well, lost it's originality long ago.

I think a proper description would be that the Daily Rage has jumped the shark while chasing a gravy train called MTV. I only hope that it isn't a great white towing a boat called Stranger Adventures along with it.