unforum

[krystyn]

[janemcg]

This discussion is pretty ridiculous.

Nowhere on the Latchkey Project website will you find the word "Game" or "puzzle".

I didn't post about it here on ARGN when we launched the project 3 weeks ago.

Sometimes, I like to create things for different audiences.

If you're not that audience, you might respectfully stop griping about how the project doesn't live up to your standards.

I'm on ARGN hiatus for awhile.

[duckiemonster]

I think this is a beautiful idea, and started romanticising on it in #syzygy last night.

Who cares if you ever find the lock that it opens, or even if the lock even exists (which I'm sure it does), that's really not the point. They're meant to be the start of *something*, and half of the fun is not really knowing what that something is.

I like the idea that a random event could just completely change my life. This really isn't something that you have to race to solve, you could be looking for your lock for the rest of your life and it wouldn't matter one little bit if you never get there.

I don't even know if I'd want to find the lock, because that might mean the end of something fantastic.

So I reckon that logic gets tossed to one side. This is one for the poets.

[Varin]

I agree with duckiemonster that this is a beautiful idea. It's probably not for everyone, but that's just fine. Not everyone likes pineapple on their pizza either.

If we hadn't just bought a house and I had the extra cash I would definitely buy one and share it with my daughter. For her it wouldn't be about the physical key. It wouldn't be about whether or not she succeeded in finding her lock. It would be about her experiences, her adventures and the things she imagines. It's the same reason why at Christmas she was more interested in the giant box than the toy that came in it. The box was a house, a train, an igloo, a tent, and so on. Did I waste money on the toy? Maybe. But she got a good 2 weeks of serious play out of that box. That's worth something, isn't it?

[addlepated]

Looking back to my post on the first page about the Pet Rocks, I think it might be taken the wrong way.

I inherited both my Pet Rocks from people who had gotten them as gag gifts and didn't want them. I was a kid, and they were potentially magic. I took 'em out, named them, and followed the instructions in the training manual on how to make them sit. I imagined they were eating the hay in their little carriers.

Nowadays I've probably lost that degree of child-like wonder, which is probably a shame. I don't think I'd buy a key for myself, but if I were given one, I admit I'd probably look for the lock when nobody else was looking.

I like watching my kids play. I'd forgotten about all the sound effects and noises and imagination we used to have when we were young. As you get older, it takes more and more to stimulate your brain's entertainment center. We move from playing with boxes to buying state of the art gaming systems.

[Gupfee]

The simple answer is that anyone who doesn't believe that the Latchkey Project is worthwhile doesn't have to participate.

Jane didn't post about it here. It doesn't need to be held up to ARG/Unfiction standards. It's just an interesting idea that you can choose or choose not to do.

That's why it's in Timewasters and not Potential ARGs.

Discussion over before it gets too hot.

[vpisteve]

Well played, kids.

Big thumbs-up and high-fives from me.