Survivor XV, Challenge 4: Rewrite

We were given three horribly written stories, tasked with rewriting one of them into a good story, keeping all of the original ideas intact. 150 word limit. Here’s the story I chose to tackle:

I got out of the shower, took a good look in the mirror and thought, this would be the best night ever! I put on the only clothes worthy of the occasion and thought long and hard about the kind of fun I’d be having and the attention I’d get. Perfect! With my preparations in order, I was ready to head to the party!

And here’s the rewrite:

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Scratches

Publisher: Got Game Entertainment
Developer: Nucleosys
Year: 2006
Platform: Windows

Horror is my favorite fictional medium, and I think there’s a simple reason why. I have virtually nothing in my wonderful life to fear, and thus it is an emotion I rarely feel. Additionally, it is an adrenaline-inducing intense feeling with the security of fiction laced around it, making it very attractive. And when I mention horror, I refer to the suspense of the unknown, not hack’n’slash gore. True horror allows the imagination to create feelings of terror. Bad horror has a cat jump out of the cupboard, coupled with disproportionately loud noises, jarring the senses.

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Survivor XV, Challenge 3: 20 Questions

This week our team had to answer questions and compete with the other three teams for the judge’s affections (e.g. Give me the tagline of a season of America’s Got Talent where all the contestants are from New Jersey). A few of my suggestions were used, but none of them won any points from the judges. As lot of the answers are in-jokes, I won’t be posting any of them here. Just know David Copperfield became sort of a running gag.

Thankfully, our team scored just enough with the judges to avoid having to send anyone off the island. There are now 25 players left, and Liam Neeson’s Walrus still has all seven of its members.

Safecracker: The Ultimate Puzzle Adventure

Publisher: The Adventure Company
Developer: Kheops Studio
Year: 2006
Platform: Windows; Wii; DS

A non-sequel to the original Safecracker (though somewhat similar in style), this puzzlefest has a pretty simple premise: you’ve been hired by a wealthy family to break through all of the safes in the eccentric patriarch’s mansion and get to his last will and testament.

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Survivor XV, Challenge 1: First Meeting

I’m back playing another Survivor-themed writing contest at Spookymilk’s blog. This time around we have twenty-eight contestants, a rather intimidating number. There are four teams of seven. My team (chosen by anonymous draft) call themselves Liam Neeson’s Walrus. The other team names are Miranda Priestly’s Unholy Sweater Crisis, Freshly Ruptured Hymen, and Big Brass…Band. My teammates are as follows:

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Ripper

Publisher: Take-Two Interactive
Developer: Take-Two Interactive
Year: 1996
Platform: DOS; Mac

Take 2 Interactive’s first FMV adventure was highly touted and had a high-profile cast as one of its selling points. Scott Cohen stars in this cyberpunk thriller as Jake Quinlan, a reporter for a virtual tabloid in 2040 New York City. A mastermind has been committing gruesome murders in the vein of Jack the Ripper, and has been anonymously contacting you in order to get himself some attention in the papers. Your girlfriend and fellow reporter has become the fourth victim. Luckily, she managed to survive the attack and is resting in a coma. Now the case has become personal. You must seek out the Ripper in order to help to save your girlfriend and prevent more pointless murders.

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Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!: The Riddle Of Master Lu

Publisher: Sanctuary Woods
Developer: Sanctuary Woods
Year: 1995
Platform: DOS; Mac

A rare adventure game by Sanctuary Woods, The Riddle Of Master Lu does a decent job of capturing atmosphere and flavor while sadly being mediocre in many game elements. You play as Robert Ripley, the real-life entrepreneur and collector of oddities. Chinese terrorists are on your heels to stop you from discovering the secrets of Master Lu (and also use those secrets to take over the world, naturally). You’ll travel to many exotic locales, including Peiping, Easter Island, and Sikkim trying to unravel the mystery, save the world, and save your neck. All the while, of course, collecting rare artifacts to help profits for your Odditorium back in New York.

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