Notpron
{{Short description|2004 online puzzle game}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox video game
| collapsible =
| state =
| italic title =
| title = Notpron
| image = Notpron.png
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| developer = David Münnich
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| platforms = Browser based
| released = {{Video game release|WW|2004}}
| genre = Puzzle game
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Notpron (originally stylized as Not Pr0n{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/11-years-later-only-34-people-have-solved-the-not-pron-internet-puzzle/|title=Eleven Years Later, Only 34 People Have Solved the 'Not Pron' Internet Puzzle - Vice|last=Nguyen|first=Clinton|date=November 14, 2015|language=English|access-date=March 25, 2020}}) is an online puzzle game and internet riddle created in 2004 by German game developer David Münnich.{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-the-hardest-riddle-of-all-time-2014-9|title=What Is The Hardest Riddle Of All Time? - Business Insider|last=Tweedie|first=Stephen|website=Business Insider |date=September 21, 2014|language=English|accessdate=14 November 2014}} It has been named as "the hardest riddle available on the internet".{{cite news |url=http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/abgesurft-grosse-laender-grosse-ideen-grosse-augen-a-394831.html |language=German |title=Abgesurft: Große Länder, große Ideen, große Augen |newspaper=Der Spiegel |date=12 January 2006 |archive-date=23 June 2023 |access-date=25 March 2020 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230623221524/https://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/abgesurft-grosse-laender-grosse-ideen-grosse-augen-a-394831.html |url-status=live }} Launched in mid-2004, it describes itself as the "hardest riddle available on the internet" and has developed a reputation for its high level of difficulty.
Regarded as one of the first of the online puzzle game genre, Notpron follows a standard puzzle game layout, where the player is presented with a webpage containing a riddle and must find the answer to the riddle in order to proceed to the next webpage.
History
File:Notpron Level 1 Image.jpg for clues.]]
Inspired by a game he played online entitled "This is not Porn", Münnich created the first five levels in 2004, put them in a folder temporarily called "notpron", and posted it on his website. Soon thousands of people showed up to play the game and, by then, it was too late to change the name.{{cite web |last=Grothaus |first=Michael |date=October 10, 2014 |title=The Story Behind The Web’s Weirdest, Hardest Riddle |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3036599/the-story-behind-the-webs-weirdest-hardest-riddle |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216140848/https://www.fastcompany.com/3036599/the-story-behind-the-webs-weirdest-hardest-riddle |archive-date=16 December 2014 |accessdate=14 November 2014 |work=Fast Company |language=English}} According to Münnich, he was not originally a puzzle enthusiast; the game began as a simple idea and gradually expanded in complexity as more levels were added. As of October 2020, only 100 people have completed the game, out of 20 million visitors since August 2004.{{cite web |title=Notpron by David Münnich - The Hardest Riddle Available on the Internet |url=http://deathball.net/notpron/notpron.htm |website=notpron.com}}
Gameplay
The game had a total of 140 "levels", ranging from 82 "positive" levels, a level "zero", 44 "negative" levels, and 13 "Greek" levels (Ranging from "Alpha" to "Nu"). A couple of the final levels that required interaction with the game creator have since been removed.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} These three level groups do not differ from each other, apart from having different names, though each consecutive level increases in difficulty. Levels consist of finding either a password (known as a "UN/PW" by the game's community) or finding a URL to use in order to proceed to the next level. Passwords do not require a player to create an account but instead are given to a player once they have found the answer to a level's riddle. Each level answer or solution is unique, often requiring specific skills such as decoding ciphers, image editing, musical knowledge, and formerly, remote viewing.
Reception
Kashann Kilson of Inverse called the game "the perfect combination of a logic puzzle and an online scavenger hunt."{{cite web|url=https://www.inverse.com/article/12811-5-browser-based-online-riddles-that-will-tease-your-brain-and-blow-your-mind|title=5 Browser-Based Online Riddles That Will Tease Your Brain and Blow Your Mind|last=Kilson|first=Kashann|date=14 March 2016|publisher=Inverse|accessdate=12 July 2016|archive-date=25 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325081131/https://www.inverse.com/article/12811-5-browser-based-online-riddles-that-will-tease-your-brain-and-blow-your-mind|url-status=live}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://notpron.com/notpron/ Official website]