Please post suggestions for new game questions under the SUGGESTED QUESTIONS heading at the bottom of this page. Thanks!
Summary
Odin's Challenge is an interactive flash application (game) that tests and builds your knowledge of Norse mythology, Icelandic sagas, Viking history, and modern Viking representations in pop culture. It is styled in the fashion of a wisdom contest, with Odin asking questions or riddles and the opponent (player) answering. The style of the questions is modeled after the Vafthruthnismol in the Poetic Edda. Source material for each question/answer is cited and linked. Questions are randomized so that the experience is different every time you play. The application is intended to be educational, not a time-wasting trivia game; by including the source material and linking to external resources, users can explore the topics they find interesting.
Development Status
To Do Next:
Add more questions.
Animate the question source information panel so it slides out, clean up the graphics.
Get rid of the ugly radio buttons and instead make the entire answer choice clickable so that it highlights when clicked.
Randomize multiple choice answer order.
2009-12-18: v0.2 released. Added 5 new questions with source material. The application now resizes itself to fit the window if the user's screen resolution is too low. Fixed minor text display issues. Revised existing questions. The start page now displays the version number in the lower right corner.
2009-12-16: v0.1 released. Graphics redone. There are only 5 questions so far, and a lot aesthetic and functional issues still need to be addressed. No scoreboard as of yet; that will be the last thing I do, when I get time. I'll be adding many questions over the coming days, because the question-adding process is now highly automated. Also, the filesize is too large and there is no loading screen, so please be patient if you have a slow connection.
Features
Easy to add additional questions (not yet implemented)
Questions are categorized by topic and difficulty, both of which can be controlled in the Options menu
Difficulty: 1-4
Categories: Eddas, Egil's Saga, Volsunga Saga, Other Sagas, Modern Representations/Pop Culture, History
Time limit on questions prevents cheating
After a question has been answered, source material and supplementary resources are provided
Quotes from the source material (i.e. Poetic Edda)
Link to full source material online
Related media and pictures with links back to their sources (not yet implemented)
Short explanations of the question/answers where appropriate
Links to relevant pages on The Viking World Wiki (partially implemented)
Players are ranked on a scoreboard, scored based on quantity and difficulty of questions answered (not yet implemented)
Original Concept Screenshots
Screenshot 1: Title Screen.
Screenshot 2: Odin asks a question, user answers correctly, supplemental information is displayed on the right frame. Clicking the title of the supplemental information, namely Prose Edda, links to the Havamal online. Clicking the picture in the lower right links to the Creative Commons version, available in higher resolution. The number 8 is the timer; you only have a set amount of seconds to answer, in order to thwart cheaters.
Sample Questions
Q: Where was Egil Skallagrimsson born and raised?(ADDED)
Choices: Fenrir/Managarm will slay him; The midgard serpent will slay him; Thor's belt makes him invulnerable; Thor is a god and thus cannot be destroyed.
Category: Eddas
Difficulty: 2
Q: According to Monty Python, do Vikings like SPAM?(ADDED)
Choices: Very much so; Not at all; Only when eaten with fish; Vikings never experienced SPAM because it was invented in 1937, long after the Viking Age.
Q: Who gave Sigmund Volsungsson the sword which brought about Volsung's death by jealousy?
Choices: You; Loki; Volsung; Siggeir of Gautland.
Category: Volsunga Saga
Difficulty: 2
Q: How will the rainbow bridge Bifrost be destroyed?
Choices: Loki and the giants will break it; Emir's skull will fall from the sky and crush it; Charlie will dynamite it; Thor will shatter it with his hammer.
Category: Eddas
Difficulty: 2
Q: What is the name of the Marvel comic series featuring a Norse god?(ADDED)
Choices: The Wise Odin; The Lecherous Loki; The Fertile Freya; The Mighty Thor.
Comments (3)
Örn Ironfist said
at 4:39 pm on Dec 17, 2009
Or, What is the name of the Eagle which taunts the serpent who gnaws Yggdrasil's roots?
Skallagrimssonr said
at 3:03 pm on Dec 13, 2009
Good idea, I'll definitely include a question or two about our furry little friend.
Andrew said
at 12:05 pm on Dec 12, 2009
Possible Question: What is the name of the squirrel that lives in Yggdrasil?
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