<i>RIVEN SPOILERS</i><p>I actually didn't play Riven until about 5 years ago, when it came out on iOS (I played Myst on CD as a kid). Learning the game's number system was a fascinating exercise that I don't think I've ever had in any other game.<p>Basically, in your explorations you eventually happen upon a small empty one-room building, which (if you look at the arrangement of desks) you can deduce is some sort of schoolhouse. In that room you'll find a mechanical wooden-and-string toy on a table. If you interact with it, the symbol on the base changes, and the toy performs some sort of action (I think dropping a weight) some number of times. From that you can deduce that the symbols are numbers, and the toy is for teaching what number each of the symbols represents.<p>If you're playing correctly, you've got some scratch paper handy (I used a drawing app) and you can write down each symbol and what number it corresponds to. And you'd better do this, because you're going to see a lot of important numbers in the game, and this is the only way they are written.<p>Towards the end of the game, you find a journal from one of the characters, which is written in English. However, when referring to the Age (the game's term for different worlds) that they've gone to, they use these numerals. If you've done your homework, you'll know that they've named their new world "The 233rd Age".
Sort of side note, but some IT systems do in fact need to deal with 25 hour days, due to daylight savings time. If your system deals with schedueling electricity production, you may need to accept that one day a year may only have 23 hours while another have 25.
That is absolutely beautiful and one of the kinds of things I'd love to have for my Shelf of Interesting Items.<p>I have two older brothers so growing up I was exposed to a ton of stuff way outside my age range (but I credit a lot of my success to this). I played countless hours of Riven when I was 9 or 10. I really didn't get far at all. But I am still wildly proud of figuring out their numerical system using the fish game. Watching your clock flooded back deep memories about that.<p>I continue to crave games that make me feel that way. Outer Wilds (not Outer Worlds) is the closest since.
> <i>Oh and before I forget – don’t ever give up on your electronics projects just because they seem too hard. I started trying to build this clock</i> nineteen years ago [...]<p>Wow. That's motivating!
As an aside, this is the best explanation I've seen for what numbering systems are:<p>> First up, a little primer – the digits used in the Myst games, aka D’ni digits, are a base-25 numbering system. This means they count up using symbols like [1], [2], [3], [4] … [22], [23], [24], [1][0]. That is, what they call “10”, we call “25”
Hackaday did a "Tell Time Contest" that ended today, featuring this and other devices: <a href="https://hackaday.io/contest/168639-tell-time-contest" rel="nofollow">https://hackaday.io/contest/168639-tell-time-contest</a>
Sort of related question. I have an old clock with a 3 inch clock face that I want to change to be digital.<p>Does anyone know where to get a 3 inch round led/lcd display (ideally that can be attached to a Raspberry Pi)? I've looked online and they are either crazy expensive, a round display on a square back, or I have to buy 1000 of them.<p>I assume I'm just not googling right.