You've all seen them, the "puzzle" games. Myst was the trailbreaker, leading to a mess of other titles. Some of them are very good and some stink on ice. They all shared one factor tho, namely that they were applications, and therefore a bit complex to create.

This had the effect of restricting the pool of talent that could be applied to the art. Well, those days are over. Thanks to the spread of Flash, huge numbers of folks may now turn their hand to the interactive puzzle format. Things are starting to happen in a big way.

Maybe you have seen "The Crimson Room" and other similar escape room puzzles. Those are great, but some truly insane artist/fiends have recently begun to produce exceptional work that goes way beyond mere "rooms".

Take for instance Hapland and Hapland 2, created by a nameless Brit maniac. This twisted individual seems to understand what puzzle people really like, and has created two games with only that stuff. These are really hard! Oy.

In a more artistic vein (but not an easier one) is The Archipelago, an amazing example of how rich Flash can get. Jonathan May is the author, and he's also got "The Dark Room" in there, but it's nothing like the other room puzzles. There's a "Return to the Archipelago" too, which has unique and superb visuals along with infuriating puzzles to solve. Very nice sound effects and music too!

I am definitely looking forward to an explosion in this genre, or should I say "dreading?" Hrmmmmmm...

Designed by Fireworks expert Linda Rathgeber-Stewart and coded by CSS guru Stephanie Sullivan, the new CMX JumpStart Vegas is sure to please with its long list of features, including sIFR and a Flash Slide Show. Originally created for TODcon attendees at the recent conference in Las Vegas, we are now making it available to CMX subscribers, as well as for independent purchase.

Having just attended TODcon in Vegas, I think I can accurately call Vegas a paragon of excess and glitz. Keeping that in mind, we created a JumpStart that is crammed with features: Flash slideshow, FlashObjects, sIFR, a complex form, the glitter of a golden design--it's all there, ready for you to adapt for your own sites. You can see my own adaption of the template for the redesign of the Stein Opera site, which follows and catalogs the creation of an opera based on the life of Gertrude Stein. "Gertrude Stein Gets a Jump Early On" premieres in New York City this month. Stein Opera Images

Like all of the CMX JumpStarts, the pages are constructed using valid XHTML 1.0 markup and formatted using valid CSS 2.1 styling. Vegas also follows the WAI and Section 508 accessibility guidelines to provide you with a solid foundation for your work.