Zest is back!
zestriddle.oz.plzestriddle.oz.plzestriddle.oz.plzestriddle.oz.pl---My suggestions on Starting---First of all, read these pages:
Here and
here.
You'll need your basic tools: Web browser, text editor, image editor,
patience,
calmness and
time.
Zest can and probably will become challenging but don't let that stop you, it's a very rewarding experience to know you got through it.
Second - I suggest you get together with a group of people who are also just starting with you or are within 5ish riddles of where you are (The guild is a good place to start!). Pool your thoughts together, and you basically become a super-brain that can get you through more riddles than you may think.
-Not every one person will know everything the other people do, and a riddle can ask for all sorts of knowledge.
-An
IMing program where you can all get together in a chat room helps infinitely.
When Da and I first started, we were in a group of about 6 people and we'd go into AIM chat rooms to bounce ideas off eachother's heads to get through each riddle together. Eventually it was just Da and I left, but I don't think either of us could've gotten as far as we did without the other person. Our techniques were so different that one of us would be stumped while the other was powering through the riddle.
Third - DON'T be afraid to think outside the box, no observation is "stupid" and shouldn't be treated as "stupidity". Rather, it should be
validated or
eliminated.
Too many times have I seen someone discard an idea only to have it be the right path later on in the riddle.
Fourth - The music and theming might be a little creepy. If it helps, you can turn off the music in your browser and it wont effect your ability to solve a riddle (Though there's one much later on that does need sound enabled).
To disable sound:
In
Internet explorer, Tools > Internet Options > Advanced Tab > [Multimedia section] *Un-check* Play sounds in webpages.
That should cut the creepiness level (and also make it so it wont disrupt your music.) Having friends to talk to always helps too.
Otherwise, you might just have to get used to it. Zest is a mad man, and he knows how to make things pretty dark. But don't worry, there are none of those "Jump out and scare you" pages or extremely gory images or anything like that.
Fifth - Don't go in thinking you'll be spending 10 minutes staring at a riddle before you get it. This is where patience comes in, it's taken Da and I days to complete some of the riddles; but after much dissecting, observing, resting, and guessing (sometimes it can devolve to this! xD) we got through them.
-
Resting/Breaking is always a good thing. We've had moments when one of us literally just got back from taking a break, and noticed something crucial as they were sitting back down.
-It's also when you're
not looking at it that you start letting your mind take over your thought process instead of your eyes, this could be important in riddles where the image may throw you off.
Sixth and finally - Not to be corny or cliche, but you should have fun! I've spent late nights working on riddles with my friends and we often started goofing off. I wish I could relive it with you guys, but I know all the answers and it would be cheating!
-Also, it should never be a match of who's smarter than who.
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-------Don't be afraid to ask questions in this forum!-------
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