Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Note
To this end, I'd like to take a moment to point
you toward one of the programs available on
the companion CD. Sherlock is a game that
trains your mind to see even the most seem-
ingly complex tasks as
simply a process of
elimination
.
“...When you have eliminated the impossi-
ble, whatever remains, however improbable,
must be the truth...” — Sherlock Holmes
(or as little) help and as many (or as few)
hints as you need.
I hesitate to call Sherlock a game, even
though it is a fun and rewarding way to pass
the time. Part of this is that often in computer
games, from the moment you click “Go,” the
computer will do everything in its power to
keep you from reaching your goal, whatever
it happens to be — and I, for one, find this to
be a waste of my time. Sherlock, on the other
hand, gives you all the resources
you need to solve the puzzle — and
unlike solitaire, your winning is
not
dependent upon chance. Your suc-
cess, or lack thereof, rides entirely
upon your shoulders (think about it).
Success in Sherlock, as in Light-
Wave, feels like an
achievement
, not
a fight.
The other reason I hesitate to call
Sherlock a game is that it is much
more
than just an enjoyable way to
pass the time. It is
training
for your
mind. (“Use it or lose it.”) Exploring
this kind of training, you begin to
become accustomed to seeing the
whole picture as patterns of interre-
lated subsets and steps. When
temporarily stumped in either LightWave or
Sherlock (or life), you become able to take a
step back and see the
next step
toward the
solution, sometimes just sitting there in plain
sight, patiently waiting for you to take notice
of it.
Figure 3-90: Sherlock
Sherlock (PC only) by Everett Kaser
(http://www.kaser.com) is a “game” where,
like LightWave, you are given all the clues
you need to do what you need to do. In this
case, it is to find the locations for each icon
within a grid from 3x3 to 8x8, with as much
