MAZE in Games Magazine, February 1986

I was hoping for a longer write-up from Games Magazine but it looks like this is all they have on MAZE.

Interview with Tonda Ros

Tonda Ros is the visual artist, filmmaker and game developer at the helm of DOGUBOMB, a film and video game studio located in Los Angeles. For the past eight years, Tonda has been working on the studio’s debut game, Blue Prince: a first-person atmospheric strategy puzzle game inspired by MAZE. If this all sounds familiar, it might be because you read about this game eight years ago on Into the Abyss. 

Blue Prince is launching on April 10th and DOGUBOMB has officially confirmed Christopher Manson’s involvement in the project.

ARIA: When did you first encounter MAZE? Can you talk about your experience with MAZE then and now?

TONDA: My first encounter with MAZE was in a Target store over thirty years ago, somewhere between the ages of seven and nine. I remember first seeing the book on an endcap shelf featuring books for children. Amid the colorful caterpillars and Berenstain Bears, MAZE stood out. The tone of the illustrated cover was unmistakably dark, yet the open door seemed inviting. I was immediately drawn to the book and I remember my mother having the good sense to leave me to my own devices in the book aisle while she continued shopping. Having been an avid reader of the Choose Your Own Adventure series, I instantly understood the rules that govern the MAZE. And I suspect my first-ever journey into its mysterious rooms was completed sitting cross-legged on the cold floor of Target. 

I don’t remember much of that first journey, save one mental image of ending my session in a room with a broken-down brick wall and a caged bird. Which was, without a doubt, Room 32, despite its not having the cage from my memory. It’s not the easiest room to reach, so I do have some doubts that I reached it authentically. Perhaps as I heard my mother return, I flipped to a random page in a desperate attempt to glean more of the house. 

Regardless, I was absolutely determined to leave the store with the book on that very day. I do not recall whether I had to make a deal with my mother, whether I employed the use of my child-sized allowance, or threw a strategic tantrum to get my way. But leave with the book I did. And with it, my life was forever changed. 

ARIA: How has MAZE influenced your artistic goals and outlook?

TONDA: In the years that followed, MAZE became a full-blown obsession, which blossomed into a wellspring of creativity, and eventually settled as the primary influence of my latest work and the foundational core of my own artistic taste. It is still to this day my favorite work of art.

Like many of us, I see the world through the lens of MAZE. I cannot see a ladder in a room, or a statue in a courtyard, or a bumbershoot leaning against a wall without immediately thinking of Christopher Manson’s work.

ARIA: What other works, by Christopher Manson or other creators, have influenced you?

TR: Manson’s “big three” all have a special place in my heart, starting with MAZE, of course. That goes without saying. The Practical Alchemist, while lacking the narrative elements and mysteries of MAZE, more than compensates with its equally amazing illustrations and, in my opinion, the best puzzle of all time. I love that the book is actually, secretly, a maze of a different nature, and one that is somehow twenty times larger than its predecessor. I think it’s fair to say MAZE occupied much of my childhood, and The Practical Alchemist has occupied much of my adulthood. 

My estimations of these two books are much, much closer than I would imagine they are for most MAZE fans. This leaves The Rails I Tote, a book that I absolutely adore, but one that is destined to stand in the shadow of the aforementioned first and second titles of this spiritual trilogy. I do, however, consider all three books masterpieces and, in descending amounts, all have contributed to the profound influence Christopher Manson has had on my life and my work.

ARIA: From your beautiful Word Sculpture animation, you are clearly a fan of wordplay. Are you a regular solver of traditional puzzles? What types of puzzles do you enjoy?

TONDA: For me, wordplay was a huge part of growing up. My father, an ambigramist in his own right, first introduced me to the world of palindromes, anagrams, acrostics, and ambigrams. Oh, and word squares. Oh god, so many word squares. So yes, I have a particular fondness for word puzzles. But my taste leans a little away from knowledge-based, trivia-centric puzzles like crosswords, and more toward creative puzzles utilizing letters and words. Puzzles that don’t necessarily require outside knowledge, other than, of course, a robust vocabulary. 

To conjure up some examples, the work in recreational linguistics of Dmitri Borgmann and the logic puzzles of Raymond Smullyan are among some of my favorites. Speaking of logic, I do enjoy the intersection of mathematics and language. For example, the children’s book Sideways Arithmetic from Wayside School was a favorite of mine as a child.

However, as one might guess with my current occupation, the majority of puzzle games I now play are ones found in the digital space, starting of course with my love of Myst and Riven, representing the true beginning of discovery-based games and foundational entries in the first-person puzzle game genre. A genre that I now find myself working within. 

These games, including my own, have players exploring a world, observing, finding clues, drawing their own conclusions and making their own discoveries. These are the types of puzzles and games that I enjoy the most.

ARIA: The MAZE community first heard about Blue Prince in 2016 when some teaser images were posted on the fansite Into the Abyss. Based on the trailer and from beta tester reports, it has changed a lot since then. Can you talk a bit about how the project has evolved?

TONDA: In 2016, the project was known as Bequest. This early prototype of the game was created using store-bought assets and 3D models. By the end of 2016, I was experimenting with different art styles, including some of those you can see in those early screenshots previewed on Into the Abyss. 

By the autumn of 2017, I had scrapped the prototype version of the game, including all the stock models and code. I wanted to start over from scratch. Our art director, Davide Pellino, joined the team and together we developed a brand-new style and vision for the game’s visuals. The game was then built back up, brick by brick and room by room. It took us several years to design and model the world of Blue Prince.

Though the game’s visuals have changed since that first year, the core gameplay has remained unchanged. You, as a player, are still exploring a house of shifting rooms. The game still involves strategic planning, a lot of secrets, and a bit of resource management. And of course, puzzles of all variety.

ARIA: Based on the trailer, Blue Prince looks dark, mysterious, and deliciously MAZE-like. What type of experience are you hoping to create for players with Blue Prince? How is it like and unlike MAZE?

TONDA: MAZE and Blue Prince share a few striking similarities and many superficial ones. They both involve exploring a large estate of forty-five rooms. They both center around the player choosing doors and exploring rooms. The game and the book both feature many hidden secrets and cryptic clues. Observation and discovery are the core experience of both titles and they both have an underlying logic in the way the rooms connect. I think that’s where the similarities end, and while, yes, Blue Prince is certainly inspired by MAZE and The Practical Alchemist, I never set out to make something that felt derivative.  

The gameplay is heavily inspired by board games, and involves a fair bit of strategy as you choose rooms, because each one has its own unique effect on the house. Some provide you with useful items to help in your exploration, while others give you gold that you may spend in shops you find on the estate. In addition, each time you play the game, the house is a little bit different. You should not expect to find the same room behind any particular door from one day to the next. 

ARIA: “It changes--sometimes slowly, imperceptibly… sometimes suddenly.” Another similarity to the House that Christopher Manson imagined, even though he could only provide us with a static version in book form. Speaking of Mr. Manson, I understand that he himself had some involvement with Blue Prince. Can you tell me a bit about working with him? 

TONDA: I first spoke with Christopher Manson in 2016 and was beyond honored when he agreed to work on Blue Prince. I don’t want to completely spoil the contributions he made to the game, but I will say that he worked for several months on the project, and designed four illustrations/puzzles for the game, over which he was given full creative control. But rest assured, even without specific details, you will know with certainty when you discover the area of the game that he contributed to. Though you may not come across that area until you are well into your adventure. 

Being able to work on a project with Mr. Manson and speaking with him about his work and process is an experience I will always cherish. I’m not sure he expected the project to take eight years to reach completion, but I am super proud of the finished product. In many ways the house in which the game takes place is a tribute to MAZE, and the game is, in fact, dedicated to Christopher Manson.

ARIA: Is there anything else you’d like to share with the Mazecast audience?

TONDA: Eight years ago, the very first preview of this game was shared with the MAZE community. It therefore feels fitting, at the end of this long development process, to celebrate the impending launch of the game by sharing one last preview with that same community. (You may have noticed some similarities in the screenshots previewed in this interview and our original preview.)

In addition to the eternal thanks I owe Christopher Manson, I would like to thank a few people from the MAZE community who contributed to this project: first, White Raven, for creating Into the Abyss, rekindling the world’s passion for MAZE, and putting me in touch with the aforementioned author, architect, and guide of MAZE. To Diane (Factitious) and Vincent (vewatkin), who were both playtesters for the game, my eternal gratitude for the time and insights you gifted to this project over many, many months. I’ve been a fan of Mazecast since the earliest days of my project, and so I must thank Alex (sp) for keeping that flame alive and maintaining the channel and this site for future generations to discover. Lastly, to Sara (Aria) for being patient with me as I finished up my game, and for conducting this interview, allowing me to close the loop.

Blue Prince will be available April 10th, 2025, on Steam, Windows, PS5, PS+, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox Game Pass.

The Rails I Tote

In this video I talk about how we can learn what Christopher Manson considers acceptable solutions from his second puzzle book The Rails I Tote, where the answers are given in the back. My analysis is that it's hit-or-miss, some of the puzzles are rock solid, others use kooky words that has one second guessing. Despite these hickups this book is still thoroughly enjoyable.

Rebuses and Room 33

I'm not falling on my sword for these, I just find them cute and interesting:

ROOM 7: Field = I Fled
ROOM 33: Seal Ring = Real Sign

Mazecast Remastered

I managed to get a 10 day free trial for a podcast mastering suite so I put it to use on the Mazecast series, and here's the result with much improved sound, and less so improved video, but ultimately much more tolerable.

Room 27: The Hermit's Suit

Room 27 is somewhere you go if you screwed up. Will the cards and a beardless hermit show you the way? Was a grave being exhumed?

Maze review by Angus Stewart, John Bailey, UK Cover Art

For better or worse, Angus Stewart speaks on Maze but also its woefully named "eternally ensnared". He doesn't spare White Raven, either, though. This is a well articulated article that accurately depicts the state of Maze solving as time goes by.

PETER GOODFELLOW'S ILLUSTRATIONS: petergoodfellow.com

JOHN BAILEY ON QUORA: quora.com/What-is-the-hardest-riddle-youve-ever-found-and-its-almost-impossible-to-understand

Room 34: Hurricanes, needles, and potatoes

Room 34 is probably more straight forward than people make it out to be.

Room 10: Blinding Light Shone Through The Portals

Room 10, that which most reminds me of the TV show The Lost Room because of it's extradimensional powers. Hate it or love it, it's a forgiving room that lets you back to the beginning, or if you're careless, straight into the trap.

Fan Mail and Maze Sequel

I read some fan mail dating back to 2020 to present day; discussion about the Maze sequel; discussion about Daedalian Depths and Rami Hansenne's other two books available all on Amazon.

Fallacies of The Abyss - The Nature of The Maze

Maze is confusing enough as it is. We are truly not in need of a world building philosophy around a chose-your-own-adventure book. I'm not trying to shatter anyone's dreams here, I just have an issue with false pretenses.

Songs To Maze By - Room 27

In the hayday of my quest for new music, I acquired a white label CD with the sticker 52 Card Pick Up. It wasn't specified whether that was the artist or the EP name, but I promptly lost it years later. Not before backing it up though, so here are two of the elusive tracks from 52 Card Pick Up. Since Room 27 has a card themed riddle, it's only appropriate to add it to the curated collection we call SONGS TO MAZE BY.





BONUS TRACK
BIG SUGAR - DIGGIN A HOLE

Any Generation X or Generation Y (what they were called before 'millennial' kicked in) will remember the saturation of Canadian content (CanCon) on the likes of MuchMusic and CoolTV, with this little diddy from 1996 by Big Sugar, a bluesy rock band from Toronto. The heavily saturated CanCon over Canadian TV and radio probably contributed to Big Sugar's huge success in becoming one of the top 25 best-selling bands in the country, because I know they were never that popular, even in their home town. As far as singles are concerned, If I Had My Way is better song by a long stretch. Well, no matter, next time you're at the Horseshoe Tavern, play this on the jukebox or request it from whatever band is playing, and think of digging a hole in the Maze.

Interview with Rami Hansenne on Daedalian Depths

---

DAEDALIAN DEPTHS is available on Amazon and other retailers.

This interview with Rami Hansenne, author of the wonderful MAZE-inspired Daedalian Depths, was originally posted in June 2021. Thanks very much to Rami for sharing his thoughts and insights with Mazecast! After reading the interview, check out this review by Andrew Plotkin.

Letters from Christopher Manson

About two years ago I wrote a letter to Christopher Manson. I was feeling sad that with White Raven's departure from Into the Abyss there was no way to speak to MAZE's author. What I wrote was a gushy fan letter that was mostly about how much enjoyment I’d gotten from MAZE over the years, and how it had enriched my life through friendships and by revitalizing and deepening my interest in puzzles. I couldn’t resist talking about some of my ideas about MAZE, but I did say I didn’t expect him to respond to those or answer questions. I've felt strange about sharing these letters because they are private correspondence, but I did ask him in a second letter if I could share what he wrote and he agreed, only asking that I not share his address. So, finally, here they are. I have lots to say about what he wrote but for now I will leave it at that.

Raven's White

Lyrics by Vewatkin, apologies to MJ

My mom was itching for a taurean bang
Boy, are you the outcome? Yes, I’m one and the same

Now I believe in punishment
And Poseidon’s wrath was burning that night

But if you’re thinking about my labyrinth it don’t matter if your raven’s white

I print a message saying “seabag ok”
I want to tell you this is not the right way

And I warned you of duplicity
And in truth my clues are wrong when they’re right

But if you’re thinking about my labyrinth it don’t matter if your raven’s white

I’m ignoring that devil
I’m ignoring those stars
I’m ignoring that bullhorn
Lies so you’ll never get far
I’m miscounting the doorways
I’m miscounting on dice
I’m miscounting the trefoils
Boy, finding one would be nice

Directions
For doors, rooms, and riddles,
Causing trouble finding the middle,
It’s escape rooms on a titan’s scale
I’m gonna go through the door marked TALE
See, it’s not about thinking
Just stinking
Drinking
When you’re solving it
Your brain is shrinking
Sara, this junk don’t faze her
I’m not going to spend my life being a mazer

Don’t tell me that the room is solved
When you think the answer’s needles and eyes

But if you’re [etc]

You’re trapped, no light
It’s tough but Dave can get out

You’re trapped, no light
It’s tough but Dave can get out

You’re trapped, no light
It’s tough but Dave can get out…

A Conversation with Owen Hammer

VINCENT
Ok, well, here we go, I'll say something introductory and then we can assume that whatever we're saying, or a cleaned up version of what we're saying, will end up reproduced on MazeCast. Or maybe that was the introductory statement. In any case, I have a hard time making it to MazeCast episodes nowadays, and I missed the last one, in which you had a good, long conversation with Sara. That was the most enjoyable episode I've watched in as long as I can remember, and I was sorry to have missed it.

OWEN
Next time!

VINCENT
Hopefully! I think you wanted to talk to me about my one blog post on MazeCast.com, and…well, I'm not sure I had that much to ask you that you didn't get around to with Sara, though I can obviously talk general Maze stuff with just about anybody forever.

OWEN
Can you summarize your method for determining if the solution to a puzzle (and the puzzle itself) is valid?

VINCENT
I don't think I had a method for determining whether a solution is valid; what I suggested in that blog post was more of a way of thinking about them than a clear cut test for solutions. But the main idea is that people are too willing to embrace wacky interpretations of Maze, and justify them as plausible because the publisher-verified solutions to Maze are wacky; the problem is that Manson's puzzles are wacky in a particular way that's different from the way that users' wacky solutions are.

OWEN
Very true.

VINCENT
Namely, that in the main puzzles of the book, Manson takes a desired message/solution, and puts it through comprehensible transformations, but ends up with something you can't effectively backtrack from, which leaves the puzzle practically unsolvable. But what users typically do is create puzzles that require wacky leaps of logic to go from the desired solution to the puzzle.

OWEN
I agree.

VINCENT
So what I suggested was starting with what you think Manson was trying to say, and then detailing the steps he would have gone through to arrive at the puzzle. And if it involves some kind of really bizarre or metaphorical moon logic, then I would be very suspicious of its authenticity.

OWEN
I think I'm in the minority, but I am POSITIVE that there isn't a distinct puzzle in every room cluing you into the "correct" room.

VINCENT
I certainly think you're correct about that, and I don't think you'd have many dissenters but for White Raven's claims to the contrary.

OWEN
Tell me about White Raven. Was he just a liar?

VINCENT
I don't think so, and I hate to keep railing on my disagreements with him because I feel like I just keep heaping criticism on this guy who worked very hard to drum up interest in Maze, and is responsible for us having this little community, and he did some amazing things. And he certainly had contact with Manson. But, without doing a deep dive through his messages and the whole history of our interactions with the Abyss, I think it's overwhelmingly likely that White Raven thought that Manson had confirmed aspects of his Maze interpretations that Manson did not mean to confirm. And, to put it plainly, that were wrong.

OWEN
I thought so. I may have lost my Manson letters. If so, I can't imagine how as I am very organized.

VINCENT
Maybe they were stolen by a burglar with great taste.

OWEN
That's a very focused burglar. Do we know for sure that the "second" puzzle is the identity of the guide?

VINCENT
No. We don't know much of anything, but, well, keeping in mind that I think White Raven is honest but mistaken, I'm willing to believe that unambiguous statements he claims Manson made are probably correct. Manson did say that there was another large-scale puzzle in the book that no one to his knowledge had discovered. WR did not think this was the Guide puzzle, because he thought he had found the Guide puzzle. But given that WR's Guide puzzle is almost certainly a bit of gobbledygook mixed with some interesting observations, there could still be a Guide Puzzle in here on the scale of the Riddle of the Path. But it could be anything!

OWEN
Do you think that "in sly" directing you to the face with a bull in it is intended?

VINCENT
No. Those letters in the title page image are real, and have to mean something, but I don't think it makes sense that Manson would use "in sly" to direct us to a room that uses the word "sly" in the text. There may be some correspondence there, but I don't think that's a solved puzzle. I also don't think that face has a bull in it.

OWEN
I agree. I think that if there was a face with a bull it would larger and more conspicuous.

VINCENT
More conspicuous at least! Some people see the bull there, some people don't. I've shown it to a number of people who have no knowledge of Maze and the majority of them think it's crazy to say that's a bull's head.

OWEN
I wrote to Manson's physical address via snail mail. Do you think that there is another way to get a hold of him?

VINCENT
Yes, but not that we have. David Gentile used to email with Manson until Manson told him to ask his questions through White Raven, and White Raven used to talk to him on the phone. I think we may have sleuthed up his phone number at some point, but I don't think Manson would appreciate a phone call out of the blue.

OWEN
Understandable. I recently wrote him again. We'll see. Any hypothesises on the true nature of the second puzzle?

VINCENT
Not really! If I had to just nakedly speculate, I'd at least guess that it's in the Trap. There's not much worth telling the reader at that point other than that they're trapped, and we've found a lot of clues that say just that, but there's a lot of other stuff in there that I don't think is all just reiterating that you're trapped–and I'm not sure what else they might be saying.

OWEN
I think that a lot of the smaller puzzles are designed to distract the reader from the real solution. For example, all the rooms with objects starting with the same letter are to make you less suspicious of Room 15.

VINCENT
That could be true…it's also extraordinarily unfair!

OWEN
I STILL cannot figure out the PUNCH/STETHOSCOPE thing. Maybe it's just random.

VINCENT
I doubt that much is actually random, just because the way that Manson generates imagery from phrases is so easy to do, and could be so hard to decode, that I'm more inclined to think he chose his images for reasons that are just inscrutable.

OWEN
Here's a big one. In the text, the guide says that there are 190 rooms, but I count 188 (even counting the hidden door to Room 17). Is my count right? If so, should we be looking for the hidden room?

VINCENT
Oh, right, you asked about that before and I still haven't bothered to recount. You want me to take a minute to do that now?

OWEN
Now, or, if it takes too long, later.

VINCENT
Already started! Give me a few minutes ... I get 190 not counting the gate.

OWEN
The gate is supposed to be one of the 190. Are you saying that you get 192 and I get 188?

VINCENT
That sounds like where we are! By the way, this was something we asked Manson about during one of the sessions where White Raven took questions from us to Manson. Well, I guess that means White Raven asked Manson about it, then. But anyway, WR's summary of Manson's answer is on the Abyss. Let me try to dig it up here. Man, it's so hard to find anything you want in the comments on the Abyss

OWEN
This is why I suggested the wiki!

VINCENT
Yeah, although, the Abyss should probably have Manson's (summarized) remarks displayed more prominently. Now I'm all invested in finding this thing! I guess I should probably just give it up.

OWEN
We can come back to it.

VINCENT
Let me ask you this: What do you think is the most productive thing we could do to find out any more real things in Maze? I hate to say "solutions" or "puzzles" because I'm not sure the messages in there are exactly that I'm not even sure they're messages necessarily. So I just say "things".

OWEN
The wiki is a big help. We can filter out the noise. One thing I need to add to the wiki is sub-category “Puzzle Type.” Perhaps if we are thinking about the tools that Manson uses we can better find the remaining puzzles. Also, I am trying to reach the man himself.

VINCENT
I'm skeptical that Manson is going to give out information as freely as he did the last time you got a letter from him, but it would be nice if he at least clarified that the general Abyss outlook is not accurate. What do you see the wiki leading to, though? I think it's kind of interesting to catalog recurring themes and objects and whatnot, but I don't know how that's going to ultimately lead to a new insight. Though it could; again, we just know too little about what's going on in the book to say what might be meaningful. And maybe there is just a pattern to where things appear.

OWEN
I need to get going, so we'll end it there.

VINCENT
Ok. Well, thank you for your time!

Click here for the conversation between Christopher Manson and White Raven.

I Tried To Hide My Smile

There has been some skepticism about the inclusion of a bull’s head within the sly face in 43. Did Manson really intend it? We’ll assume for the moment that he did. There are plenty of examples of hidden images within images, some of the most classic being Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s heads composed of fruits, or a librarian made of books, etc.

Everyone's familiar with Al Jaffee from Mad Magazine and his fold-in back covers.

The most common (and boring) example is the old/young woman trompe-d'ouei used in 1950's TIME LIFE books on visual psychology.

Maze Fan Fiction? Eidophusikon

The inventive and engrossing novel Eidophusikon has recently come to our attention here at MazeCast. And, OK, MAZE fanfiction may not the best way to describe it, but author Jack Masters is clearly a fan of MAZE and Christopher Manson. (For proof, skip to the excerpt at the end of this post.)

It's hard to describe Eidophusikon, and it probably ruins the (seemingly intentionally) disorienting experience of reading it to try to explain too much about it, so I'll keep the spoilers to a minimum. The author seems to feel the same way: the book's online description reads only, "A private investigator disappears, leaving behind a cryptic text that leads her brother on a strange and perilous search." The brother in question is John Tanis, whose attempts to find out what happened to his sister quickly land him at the centre of a weird web of events and characters, some straight out of myth and fairy tale.

It sounds like a fantasy detective story, but that kind of label doesn't really explain what this book is. The perspective shifts, the chronology is unpredictable, and the story (stories?) are woven through with diverse references-folk music, The Bible, video games, fairy tales, films-and of course, MAZE. There are puzzles, too-although it's hard to tell which might be fairly solvable. Eidophusikon plays with the conventions of fiction and your expectations as a reader, making it a challenging but exciting read. If you are a fan of House of Leaves or The Raw Shark Texts you will probably enjoy this book.

Fair warning, though. I will say that Eidophusikon is not for the faint of heart. It has violent and frightening bits and it is definitely not for kids.

In the end, the best way to explain the book is to let you read it, so I'm including an excerpt from Part 3, De Vega's Run. Here's the setup: private detective Danielle Tanis has entered an impossible, mazelike edifice-The Lab-and is trying to make her way to the centre with the questionable aid of a guide with oddly formal demeanour and speech. Along the way Danielle faces riddles that, if solved, can help her decide which way to go.

Eidophusikon is available to download for pay-what-you-want at Smashwords. Or you can buy it for $0.99 at Amazon.

To accompany you on your foray into The Lab (excerpt below), please enjoy this selection from Beck-another artist Masters seems to like.

"That arena," Danielle started, "does that mean-?"

"Not here," I said. "No metaphors yet."

We were coming close, though, to the end of this cycle.

"I think the sage is next," I said, changing the subject. "It knows all. You could begin thinking of questions, if you like."

"Will it answer?"

"Every question will receive an answer, though fools often doubt the sage's response."

"And the wise?"

"They don't waste time talking to plants."

"Plants?"

"Salvia divinorum, sage of seers."

The hallway opened up onto a subway station. A train was waiting for us. Before it, on the platform, was the sage plant. It was massive, the size of a banana tree, with flowers and leaves of every color.

"Does it truly know all?" Danielle asked me.

"Why don't you find out?"

She approached the plant.

"What is happening on the Moon?" she asked.

The sage shook softly. A leaf detached and floated to the floor. Danielle picked it up.

Written on the leaf was, "The Moon is moot. Most must be dust."

Danielle showed me the leaf. "This can't be right. Not yet."

I nodded. "You may be correct. But enough foolishness. Ask the real question."

Danielle didn't approve of my authoritarian tone, but she grudgingly complied.

"Alright, plant," she said. "Which way to the center?"

The sage shook, much more violently this time. Danielle stepped back a few feet. When its convulsions ceased, the sage had dropped seven leaves.

Danielle collected the leaves and arranged them on the floor. We sat next to them, and studied the phrases written on them:

"ye bold and brazen slaves"

"tether ye boat and crew"

"the rat-catching minions that Satan shat and birthed"

"gold ye gather"

"beside the galliers do seat themselves"

"the desolate winds beat torment in your sails"

"do seethe among us, as they shit upon us still"

Even after Danielle understood what the sage was telling us, she wasn't sure what to do with the information. Eventually, we decided to board the train.

We entered the first car. The doors opened and closed of their own volition.

There were no seats or handrails, no windows, no graffiti, and no other passengers. There were only buttons and plates.

Each button was placed on a one-inch-by-three-inch steel plate. Each plate had one word written on it. Every square inch of the walls and ceiling was coated with plates. It did not take a second for us to realize that every word began with an A; it took not much longer to understand that the words were arranged in alphabetical order.

Danielle followed the words to the back, and then pushed through a doorway into the next car. I followed.

There seemed to be no rationale for the inclusion or exclusion of particular words. I located (through personal curiosity) "alisfakia," "ārstniecības salvija," and "adaçayı"; but common words such as "akha" and "al-waqi" were conspicuously absent.

We passed through many cars before we found the words beginning with B.

I didn't count the cars we traversed before Danielle found the correct button. It was a long walk, but the time seemed to fly by, perhaps due to the inherent entertainment of the situation.

When she pushed the button, the train sprang forward. As we were thrown to the back of the car, lightning began to flash between the ceiling and floor.

-Jack Masters, Eidophusikon

Maze and The Piano Story Book

A while ago, Vincent and I contributed to a Kickstarter campaign called the Piano Storybook, started by a guy who goes by Shnabubula, a name I seem unable to type without whispering it quietly to myself. (Try it: Shnabubula. Shnabubula. You won’t be able to stop.) The idea was that 100 people would each send an image or series of images to him, and he would improvise 100 piano songs inspired by the images.

Vincent sent Shnabubula a copy of MAZE and asked him to “improvise a song based on the images from the series of rooms you choose to move through. While it’s hypothetically possible to wander around the Maze indefinitely, unless you’re deliberately going in circles it won’t take long before your journey comes to an end.”

Supporters of the Piano Storybook had the option to request what kind of song they wanted (in terms of tempo, melodic style, etc) and Vincent made this request, after giving Shnabubula time to experience the book: “Ok, so by now I trust you’ve made your way to Room 24, to spend eternity in the infinite blackness with the Looney Tunes eyeballs. My specific request relates only to the end of the song, which reflects your experience ending up in this room. I’m a big fan of long songs with endings that just repeat over and over and over, much longer than intuition tells you they should. Hey Jude-type endings. The thing is, those are almost always jubilant songs with joyous music that slowly fades away. Here, I would like it if your improvisation ended with a more grim and menacing line, one that repeats an absurd number of times, and that grows in intensity and volume as it progresses instead of diminishing. How you actually end the song I don’t really know, but I’m sure you’ll come up with something.”

Meanwhile, I sent in a hastily-thrown-together composite image of faces of MazeCasters and screenshots from the Abyss, together with a sappy but heartfelt letter with a description of the community and how it has evolved, and also how important it has been to me over the past few years.

Here’s what we got from Shnabubula:

“Vincent, I tried to follow the instructions in your text-file as closely as possible, it was quite a fascinating suggestion and one that I fully embraced.

“For your song, Sara, I decided to take a slightly meta-approach to the interpretation of your story in finding the Maze community, and turn it into a larger narrative arc relating to the Maze itself. I imagined a single person, lost in the Abyss for eternity, that is the end point of Vincent’s song, and then yours is a kind of sequel with that same person, first in a position of isolation, eventually within that darkness finds this community. There are still the undertones of darkness on the fringes and there is even a specific moment meant to represent when people had become disillusioned with some of the solutions. At 15:19 of the video I’m sending you two, the motif from Vincent’s Abyss ‘Hey Jude’ finale is briefly recalled to represent that, but then it leads to the final portion which is still, this beautiful community forming around this strange mysterious thing.”

The full Piano Storybook will be released soon, but meanwhile Shnabubula gave me permission to share this video he made with the two MAZE songs. Hope you enjoy!

Teaser: There’s more to this story. Inspired by his experience with MAZE, Shnabubula created a musical puzzle! Details to come with the public release.

Let's Decorate... with MAZE!

I wanted to spruce up my "home office" (corner of the basement) a little, and occurred to me that I already have 45 pictures that I love, all ready to be framed and hung! Here’s how you can do the same thing.

You will need:

• a new backup copy of MAZE (If you don’t already have a backup copy, order two copies. What’s wrong with you.)
• 8″ x 10″ frames (up to 45)
• scissors
• white paper

What to do:

1. Check to make sure you have three copies of MAZE. Put two of them in a safe place and take a deep breath. Yes, you are going to be cutting up a book! And not just any book – MAZE! It’s okay, you’re allowed. I give you permission.
2. Decide which rooms you want to frame. I chose 19 because I liked the idea of having Manson yelling at me to get out of the way while I’m working and 35 because it’s spoooooky.
3. Carefully cut the pages out. Stay as close to the gutter as you can. You may prefer to rip the pages out as I did. If you do this, make sure there’s a good crease so the page will rip cleanly. Then you can use the scissors to clean up the ripped edge.
4. Put the pages in your frames. The pages don’t fit an 8″ x 10″ frame perfectly, so you will need to cut a piece of white paper to go behind the MAZE page. My frames came with inserts with white backs and I used those. You may need to fiddle a bit to make sure the room is centred in the frame.
5. Close up your frames and hang your pics. Enjoy!