Admittedly when I heard about World Emoji Day, I was skeptical. There are days such as Black Cat Appreciation Day which promotes the adoption of black cats as they find themselves in fostering-limbo the longest compared to other cats. There's World Book Day which promotes the importance and encourages children (and generally people) to read more. I can even get behind Cherry Pie Day" Who doesn't like pie? But... Emoji Day?
It's official date is 17th July, and it's been a thing since 2014. I don't know if "celebrated" is the right term, but it's definitely been around and adopted by various international brands and game studios. It's also apparently a British creation so... you're welcome? The origins of it are slightly weird, and much like Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding, it's a thing that somehow happened, now exists, and is a thing?
It is an excuse to switch things up a little on Twitter, so throughout the day, I posted three cyptic brain teasers. The order of emojis would tell a story which in turn would reference a Remedy game and level:
It's Emoji Day (which is apparently a thing?), so to do something a little different we have three little puzzles scheduled throughout the day. Each one will use emojis to describe a level from a Remedy title.— The Sudden Stop (@TheSuddenStop) July 17, 2018
🎟️🌀🏙️🚗🗡️🕵️♂️⚠️💉⬇️🗡️🐰😷🚪👩🦰🚿😷💉🔚🦷📦📞⛔️
This might have been the trickiest out of the three. The first puzzle posted was a reference to Max Payne's 2: The Fall of Max Payne's brilliant fun house level. I have a lot of good memories of playing that part, but I still had to use a let's play just to make sure I got all the aspects right.
Starting from the beginning, you have the entry (in the game you don't have a physical ticket but you do have the barriers), then there's the rotating tunnel. Beyond the tunnel, you're in a city street (Noir York) recreated from painted wooden panels and signs. You follow the street around until you see a red truck which has crashed into the side of a building. You then go upstairs into an apartment where a mysterious man kills a woman in the next room. Dropping back down into the city, you follow the path until you come to a cage where, once inside, the door shut behind you and a large syringe hits the side of the cage. The cage descends, and you're transported into an institution filled with patients holding knifes and toy rabbits. Most of the doors are shut with the exception of the one at the end which leads to a bathroom. In the mirror there's a flamingo which follows your location, (there's no flamingo emoji), the words "she has dyed her hair red" is heard as the shower fills up with blood. Near the end, the room is filled with doctors carrying needles, and after a quick escape, you're back in the city filled with toppling cardboard boxes as the nearby payphone rings. There is no escape.
Our second puzzle was the opening of Quantum Break, as Jack walks into the Meyer Physics Research Center and meets Paul to help him with Project Promenade's unscheduled trial.
Starting from the beginning, we have the Riverport skyline during sunset. The turtle was a reference to a comment a university student makes when Jack asks him for directions, "you mean the big ass metallic turtle behind me". Then we have Amy Ferrero whose protest tent also includes a TV with an Alan Wake cameo. The guard is Liam Burke, standing watch outside the centre. Then we have the hug with Paul, the presentation, the first time travel experiment which succeeds, and the second which doesn't. And the final emoji represents the explosion from the machine which gave Paul and Jack the first dose of Chronon radiation.
The final one was perhaps the most recognisable as the fourth episode of Alan Wake.
Starting from the beginning we have Dr Emil Hartman who tells Wake that his wife is dead and he is at the Cauldron Lake clinic for treatment. They take a walk around the building meeting an artist painting the landscape, and the Anderson brothers. As a storm rolls in, Hartman departs and Tor hands Wake a manuscript page. As the clinic is overtaken by the Dark Presence, Wake is reunited with Barry as they face the remaining Taken on-site and escapes in a nearby pick-up truck. The duo is unlucky as a boulder knocks their truck off the cliff and they are separated again. They decide to meet up again at the Anderson Farm, where the brothers recommended travelling to. After battling through hordes of Taken, Wake gets to the farm to see Barry being outnumbered by them on an open air stage. As Barry takes a dive, Children of the Elder God begins to play on the speakers, accompanied by fireworks, lights and a mechanical dragon. After defeating the Taken and getting to the house, the two relax with some of the Anderson moonshine (made from water from Cauldron Lake, which... sounds a little sketchy), and accompanied with music by Old Gods of Asgard. As they wake up, they see Agent Nightingale standing over them with a gun.
Community Contributions:
The lovely Katerina also tweeted her Remedy-themed emoji contribution for the day including this brilliant recreation of Max Payne, Alan Wake, Quantum Break, and Control.
Starting from the beginning, you have the entry (in the game you don't have a physical ticket but you do have the barriers), then there's the rotating tunnel. Beyond the tunnel, you're in a city street (Noir York) recreated from painted wooden panels and signs. You follow the street around until you see a red truck which has crashed into the side of a building. You then go upstairs into an apartment where a mysterious man kills a woman in the next room. Dropping back down into the city, you follow the path until you come to a cage where, once inside, the door shut behind you and a large syringe hits the side of the cage. The cage descends, and you're transported into an institution filled with patients holding knifes and toy rabbits. Most of the doors are shut with the exception of the one at the end which leads to a bathroom. In the mirror there's a flamingo which follows your location, (there's no flamingo emoji), the words "she has dyed her hair red" is heard as the shower fills up with blood. Near the end, the room is filled with doctors carrying needles, and after a quick escape, you're back in the city filled with toppling cardboard boxes as the nearby payphone rings. There is no escape.
Our second little emoji puzzle. A level from a Remedy title:— The Sudden Stop (@TheSuddenStop) July 17, 2018
🌆🐢👩🎓📰📺💂♂️🤗👨💼⌛️🕑🔴🔑✅🕙🔴🔑⛔️🌀
(Bonus points if you guess what the second icon references, you nerd.)
Our second puzzle was the opening of Quantum Break, as Jack walks into the Meyer Physics Research Center and meets Paul to help him with Project Promenade's unscheduled trial.
Starting from the beginning, we have the Riverport skyline during sunset. The turtle was a reference to a comment a university student makes when Jack asks him for directions, "you mean the big ass metallic turtle behind me". Then we have Amy Ferrero whose protest tent also includes a TV with an Alan Wake cameo. The guard is Liam Burke, standing watch outside the centre. Then we have the hug with Paul, the presentation, the first time travel experiment which succeeds, and the second which doesn't. And the final emoji represents the explosion from the machine which gave Paul and Jack the first dose of Chronon radiation.
Final puzzle! Our last brain teaser today is a fan-favourite Remedy level:— The Sudden Stop (@TheSuddenStop) July 17, 2018
🥼🚶♂️🏞️🎨🔨⛈️📄👨🦲🌑🕵️♂️🚗⚠️🌑🕵️♂️🔦🏃♂️⚠️🎇🤘🕵️♂️🍻💿🚔 I still remember playing this part for the first time. IT'S SO GOOD.
The final one was perhaps the most recognisable as the fourth episode of Alan Wake.
Starting from the beginning we have Dr Emil Hartman who tells Wake that his wife is dead and he is at the Cauldron Lake clinic for treatment. They take a walk around the building meeting an artist painting the landscape, and the Anderson brothers. As a storm rolls in, Hartman departs and Tor hands Wake a manuscript page. As the clinic is overtaken by the Dark Presence, Wake is reunited with Barry as they face the remaining Taken on-site and escapes in a nearby pick-up truck. The duo is unlucky as a boulder knocks their truck off the cliff and they are separated again. They decide to meet up again at the Anderson Farm, where the brothers recommended travelling to. After battling through hordes of Taken, Wake gets to the farm to see Barry being outnumbered by them on an open air stage. As Barry takes a dive, Children of the Elder God begins to play on the speakers, accompanied by fireworks, lights and a mechanical dragon. After defeating the Taken and getting to the house, the two relax with some of the Anderson moonshine (made from water from Cauldron Lake, which... sounds a little sketchy), and accompanied with music by Old Gods of Asgard. As they wake up, they see Agent Nightingale standing over them with a gun.
Community Contributions:
The lovely Katerina also tweeted her Remedy-themed emoji contribution for the day including this brilliant recreation of Max Payne, Alan Wake, Quantum Break, and Control.
— Katerina S. 🔻 (@SeaCat2401) July 17, 2018
