unforum

[Geppetto]

 In cryptology, how complex is too complex?

[Daeld]

Re: In cryptology, how complex is too complex?

[Geppetto]

Daeld,

Your response has been enormously helpful! The breakdown of codes into three categories was particularly enlightening - I'd never heard it explained in that way, but that makes a great deal of sense.

We had wondered about the issue of wheel positions for the Enigma, and are entertaining the idea of using a guessable (we think) combination of letters, so that then it would simply be an issue of selecting the right wheels.

Would a reference such as this be obvious enough, too obvious, or too subtle?:
"At the risk of sounding enigmatic, we think you'll find the initial answer to be rather odd."

Tr: Enigma code, using the initials of the encrypter, using wheels I, III, & V.

[Daeld]

[MotaHed]

I think the key here is context. If the character is using [cipher X], why on earth are they doing that? There needs to be some story element that would explain why [cipher X] is the right cipher to use. It needs to be in character, just like any other kind of dialog. A random cipher has no purpose in storytelling other than to annoy the player. There should always be some kind of rosetta stone somewhere, which, in turn, will enrich the story.

Another thing along these lines: PLEASE don't use common or well-known ciphers. It's just lame. Why would anyone ever send anyone anything in Binary, or Base64, or Hex, or ROT-13 (xvyy zr abj).

There needs to be an in-game reason WHY the message is encrypted, and some kind of reason that [cipher x] is used. Using a one-time keyword to encrypt text is a great tool for doing this.

[Geppetto]

Thank you!

While we'd given a little thought to the idea of trying to ensure a believable fit the between code/cipher and the story, your comment has given us a lot of food for thought. We'll give everything a thorough re-examination to see if any of the few occasions when we use ciphers violate the guidelines you've offered.

In your opinion, do you feel that Enigma is too common? I know that it's fairly well known, but had hoped that the difficulty of the cipher - combined with the fact that we're only using it for one specific purpose on a single occasion - would make up for that fact.

[MotaHed]

I think enigma is fine to use, as long as it's in-character. Any relation to WW2, history, historical ciphers, or Germany? The only problem I see with Enigma is the simple question of "Why would the character choose that cipher?" I always think "If the char WANTS me to have this info, why encrypt it?".

The answer is usually "To keep it away from the other guy." Which means that *I* should already have or be given some knowledge that the other guy couldn't possibly have in order to solve it.

Since almost all of our actual encrypting/decrypting is done online, the task usually amounts to simply determining WHICH cipher to use, and has nothing to do with solving the actual cipher.

I think about those old LucasArts games. You need to get the papaya monkey down from the tree, and you have a million things in the inventory. BUT you have the mirror, which Esmerelda wants, and you heard the Chef say that Mangoes are so much sweeter than papayas, so you give the mirror to Esmerelda in exchange for the Mangoes, which you use to lure the monkey down. PROBLEM SOLVED!

And it's much more fulfilling than saying "Hey, that looks like a vignere cipher!"

[Daeld]

Totally agree with MotaHed.

Like I said before, I personally love Enigma codes, but like the MotaHed said, it is far more interesting to have it in context.

For example, [Fiction]I was researching clues as to the last known location to the arc of the covenant, which a group of German elites found in Africa during WWI. During WWII, seeing that the war was almost lost, they gestapo was entrusted with hiding it. A series of clues were left and I found the first in my german grandfather's old bible. I remember that he was the last surviving member of the Gestapo... Stuck to the page which has Exodus 20, I found a strip of paper with what looks like old type-writer print on it: