Audio (Puzzle Presentation)
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Audio files are a type of alternate media often found in hunt puzzles. Audio files are often involved in music-based puzzles, but can also extend to things like spoken homophones and clips from movies and television.
Background
Audio as a medium for puzzles and games is very common, particularly in popular culture. Identification of well-known music/voices and transcription/repetition of notes from audio have become mainstays of modern game shows and literary/video game puzzles over the years.
A prominent version of audio identification puzzles in mainstream culture is the game show Name That Tune, which originally premiered in
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Puzzle Application
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Strategy
Depending on the type of audio (music, voices, general sound) and the reason audio is being used (identification, unique presentation, technological), certain skills may be required to solve an audio-based puzzle.
Music identification is a very difficult task without any clues as to what the original tracks are, even for people who feel comfortable with the task. One of the only ways to improve one's ability is to listen to a wide variety of music, as lyric-lookup and reverse-audio searching can only get you so far. Having a large range of audio to recall from is important, but not everyone is capable of this level of recall. As a result, it's wise to keep someone who is able to do this kind of solving on your team for special occasions.
Similarly, identification of movies or TV shows from audio can be a difficult task, but one that is greatly helped by databases like IMDb that collect quotes. Dialogue in audio form is more searchable, and with the help of scripts uploaded to the internet, even partial quotes are likely to get results. The difficulty often comes when a clip does not focus on dialogue, and instead features music or sound effects, which can be difficult if you haven't seen that particular movie or show.
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Notable Examples
- Radio Alphabet (MITMH 2017) (web) - Music ID. This puzzle is helped by additional clues, but the fact that all of the audio is the word 'Radio' from different songs makes for an interesting (if repetitive and slightly hypnotic) puzzling experience.
- best song ev-er (MITMH 2020) (web) - Audio Manipulation. Presented as an audio file of the song 'It's A Small Word After All' on loop, this puzzle actually dives deep into audio manipulation, requiring solvers to both do amplification analysis and some serious audio steganography.
- High Noon Duel (MITMH 2020) (web) - Movie ID. Presented with audio of people talking, solvers have to either identify the movies the lines come from and then ID the speaker, or just recognize a particular actor's voice and skip that first step.
- Fret Not! (MITMH 2021) (web) - Spoken Clues/Note ID. A double-dose of audio fun, this puzzle plays with spoken crossword clues in a way that forces solvers to consider the possibility of homophones (is it 'partner of locks' or 'partner of lox'?). It also requires solvers to have a keen musical ear in order to figure out the frets being played before each clue.
