The video game designer who created a massive real-world treasure hunt by hiding a gold statue on a forest floor has revealed the biggest clue yet: It’s in Massachusetts.
The game, called Project Skydrop, was created by Jason Rohrer, a man from Dover, New Hampshire, who has been labeled “the most interesting video game designer in the world,” the Boston Globe reported.
The search was first announced on September 19 and the prize was a 10-ounce, 24-karat gold statue valued at more than $26,000.
And as of today, the cash prize along with the statue has approached the total of $83,000.
Each day, Rohrer shrinks the map and sends an aerial photo of the prize on the ground to those who registered to play.
On Monday, the radius was narrowed to just 35 miles and the circle highlighting the potential search area was seen almost entirely in Massachusetts.
The game, called Project Skydrop, was created by New Hampshire man Jason Rohrer, a video game designer.
On Monday, the map was finally narrowed to a 35-mile radius, and the circle is entirely in Massachusetts.
The radius focuses on the I-91 corridor in the Pioneer Valley, including the college-heavy area around Amherst, Northampton and South Hadley, the Boston Globe added.
It also includes a good amount of forested areas.
The map initially showed the potential search area as a 500-mile-radius circle stretching from New England to Philadelphia and Washington, DC.
Hunters who participated in the search received a photograph taken just a foot off the ground on the first day.
The image rose above the treetops on Monday, the twelfth day of hunting.
But even then, not much was revealed.
And now, there are only nine more days of treasure hunting left, the Skydrop Project website revealed.
The prize is a gold trophy-like statue, a 24-karat, 10-ounce gold statue valued at more than $26,000 along with an escalating cash prize currently standing at $83,000.
Each day, Rohrer shrinks the map and sends an aerial photo of the prize on the ground to those who registered to play.
Rohrer said the photographic clues will eventually reach a height where they will reveal geographic details that will allow searchers to locate the prize.
On the final day of the search, which is scheduled for October 10, the map will be reduced to a single square foot, essentially pointing participants directly to the location.
But Rohrer has faith in the players and hopes the gold statue will be found sometime in week three, which begins Thursday, the Boston Globe reported.
For just $20, hunters get access to daily clues and can discuss them in a members-only group chat, according to C.B.S..
The website offers a live webcam view of the gold trophy along with screenshots of when motion is detected nearby.
So far, the only movement detected has been that of squirrels and other wildlife that seem curious about the statue.
The Project Skydrop website offers a live webcam view of the gold trophy along with screenshots of when motion is detected nearby, which until now has only been wildlife interested in the statue.
The new radius focuses on the I-91 corridor in the Pioneer Valley, including the college-heavy area around Amherst, Northampton and South Hadley and heavily forested areas.
Jason Rohrer has been in the video game business for over two decades, creating games for specific audiences.
One of his creations, a game called One Hour, One Life, is a philosophical meditation game.
Even though the game was a hit in the eyes of critics, he admitted that “my friends and family never played it because they were too esoteric,” the Boston Globe added.
But he wanted to create something even bigger and began to wonder how he could create the world’s largest treasure hunt.
Rohrer likes hiking with her three children and said the goal of Project Skydrop was to get people off their screens and into the woods, exploring and taking time to be in nature. I wanted it to be accessible enough for anyone to play.
‘This is out there, in the forest, in real time, and it’s accessible. You don’t have to be a player,” Rohrer told Boston Globe.
‘It’s about treasures, hiking and outdoor activities, things that are interesting to parents, children and grandparents. And even if you can’t go out, you can participate from your couch, looking at Google Maps, following the game, trying to narrow it down.’
The website also contains an image of the gold treasure appraisal.
Rohrer collaborated for three years with Tom Bailey, a musician and author, who helped create the game, the prize and the music featured in the announcement video.
The goal of the scavenger hunt was to create an accessible game that anyone could play by putting away their electronic devices and heading out into nature to explore.
He worked on the project for three years in collaboration with Tom Bailey, a musician, who helped create the game, as well as the music featured in the announcement video.
Rohrer said he was inspired by other treasure hunt games, including Fenn Treasure, a quest to find a stash of gold and jewels that an art dealer and author, Forrest Fenn, hid in the Rocky Mountains.
The prize, estimated to be worth at least one million dollars, took ten years to find and five participants died in the process.
But he wanted to put a twist on previous hunts and created a scavenger hunt with an end date.
With fall quickly approaching, a walk in the woods surrounded by autumn leaves and the chance to find a golden trophy may not be such a bad idea.