Story Arc Hunt
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A Story Arc Hunt is a puzzle hunt in which a full story is explored from beginning to end over the course of the hunt. This may be in the form of an overarching plot that gets progressed with each meta solve, or several smaller storylines the come together to contribute to a larger, framing plot.
Hunt Application[edit | edit source]
Story Arc Hunts are best appreciated when compared to hunts that are simply 'themed after X'. In the latter, metapuzzles and rounds don't necessarily serve a purpose, instead just fitting a concept without the solvers' actions affecting the world in which the hunt resides. Comparatively, Story Arc Hunts have feedback in some way that indicates that what the solvers are doing is accomplishing something towards an ultimate goal.
TO DO
Notable Examples[edit | edit source]
- MIT Mystery Hunt 2008 (web) - In this hunt, solvers are tasked with solving the murder of one of the hunt creators, Dr. Otto Awkward. In order to do this, they end up having to rifle through his book of contacts in order to find 'witnesses', who, upon fulfilling a particular task, give solvers a dossier on a suspect with more puzzles to solve (that eventually give a motive for that suspect). The whole set-up from start to finish managed to capture the feel of an immersive murder mystery, making it an excellent example of a Story Arc Hunt.
- MIT Mystery Hunt 2022 (web) - Since this hunt has multiple notable 'stages', the story ends up having some major twists and turns. Solvers first must explore a rift that occurs on MIT campus, which results in them being sucked into the world of Bookspace. There, they experience an entire plot relating to a creature causing havoc in the area. Once they solve they, teams will have technically experienced a valid Story Arc hunt, but the hunt keeps going, providing more rounds, each with their own subplots that contribute to the overall plot about returning home to the real world.
