Creating a Mini Game in Rise 360: The Case of the Vanishing Keynote

 

Creating a Mini Game Mystery in Rise 360: Clues, Flip Cards, and a Surprisingly Suspicious Tech Host

I wanted to create a quick, interactive team activity that felt more like a game than a traditional eLearning interaction. The goal was simple: build a 10-minute virtual mystery experience for a small group of learners using Rise 360.

The result was The Case of the Vanishing Keynote, a mini detective challenge where learners review suspects, examine evidence, take notes, and make a final accusation.

The premise is delightfully dramatic: minutes before a big virtual celebration, the keynote presentation disappears from the shared folder. Four people had access. Everyone has a motive. One person knows a little too much. Naturally, chaos ensues.

The Activity

The game is designed for about 20 participants and takes roughly 10 minutes to complete. Learners move through the experience in a short, guided flow:

1. Welcome to the mystery
2. Meet the suspects
3. Examine the evidence
4. Discuss the clues
5. Make an accusation
6. Document a final guess in the Detective Notebook

The suspects include Jordan the Project Lead, Mia the Designer, Sam the Tech Host, and Riley the Presenter. Each character has a motive, an alibi, and one suspicious detail.

Because every good mystery deserves a little flair, each suspect appears on a flip card with a funny 3D-style character image on the front and their case details on the back. The vibe is somewhere between “corporate team-building activity” and “Pixar accidentally wandered into a project kickoff meeting.”

Why Rise 360?

Rise 360 was a great fit because the activity needed to feel polished, easy to access, and lightweight. I wanted learners to be able to jump in quickly without needing a complicated setup.

To make the experience more game-like, I used a custom HTML embed instead of relying only on standard Rise blocks. This allowed for:

• Flip cards
• A guided screen-by-screen flow
• Continue buttons
• A progress bar
• A note-taking area
• A final guess section
• A participant version with no answer reveal
• A facilitator version with the full solution

Basically, Rise handled the clean learning shell, and the custom code handled the mystery mischief.

The Road Bumps

Of course, no good mystery is complete without a few unexpected plot twists. Ours just happened to involve HTML, iframe sizing, and one overly eager answer reveal.

Road Bump #1: The Case of the Disappearing Card Text

At one point, the discussion screen looked great in theory, but some of the text was nearly impossible to read because it was showing as white text on a light background. Very mysterious. Very unhelpful.

The fix was to simplify the styling, force stronger contrast, and make sure key text areas were using readable dark text. Lesson learned: dramatic visuals are fun, but learners should not need night-vision goggles to read the instructions.

Road Bump #2: The Answer Revealed Itself Too Soon

Originally, the final screen revealed the culprit immediately. This was technically functional, but educationally rude.

The whole point of a mystery is the suspense. So we adjusted the flow so learners first make their accusation, then land on a final review screen, and only the facilitator version reveals the correct answer.

The participant version now lets learners document their guess without spoiling the solution. The facilitator can control the big reveal, which is much better for a live group activity.

Road Bump #3: Sam Kept Showing Up Everywhere

In one version, no matter which suspect the learner selected, Sam the Tech Host appeared in the final review.

This was funny for about five seconds because Sam is, in fact, the suspicious one. But if a learner guessed Riley, they should see Riley. If they guessed Mia, they should see Mia. Sam cannot be allowed to photobomb every accusation.

The fix was to make the final review image dynamic so it matches the learner’s selected suspect.

Road Bump #4: Rise 360 and the “Folder in a Folder” Situation

When packaging the activity, the first ZIP file had an extra folder level. Rise did not love that.

The fix was simple but important: the index.html file needed to sit at the root of the ZIP package, with the images folder beside it. Once the structure was cleaned up, the activity was much easier to host and embed.

Road Bump #5: The Notebook That Would Not Forget

We added a Detective Notebook so learners could take notes and record their final guess. Great idea.

Then we discovered that restarting the activity did not fully clear the final guess. The notes cleared. The activity restarted. But the guess was still hanging around like a suspect who refuses to leave the interrogation room.

The fix was to reset the notebook fields, selected suspect, saved local data, and displayed guess state all at once.

The Detective Notebook

One of my favorite additions was the note-taking tool. Learners can jot down evidence, track their thinking, and record their final accusation.

This made the activity feel less like a simple quiz and more like an actual investigation. It also helped support discussion because learners had something concrete to reference when explaining their choice.

The notebook also gives participants a way to download or copy their notes, which is a nice touch if the activity is used as part of a larger workshop or team-building event.

Two Versions: Facilitator and Participant

We ended up creating two versions of the same game:

Facilitator Version
This version includes the full answer reveal and explanation. It is useful for the person leading the session or for reviewing the activity after the group has made their guesses.

Participant Version
This version does not reveal the answer. Learners can review suspects, examine clues, take notes, and submit their final guess, but the solution stays hidden. This keeps the facilitator in control of the reveal.

That split made the experience much more flexible for a live session.

What I’d Do Next

If I continue building this out, I’d love to add:

• A countdown timer
• Team scoring
• More branching clues
• A printable detective worksheet
• Alternate mystery scenarios
• A “red herring” clue or two, because apparently I enjoy making people suspicious of fictional coworkers

Final Thoughts

This was a fun reminder that eLearning interactions do not always need to be long or complicated to be engaging. Sometimes a small, focused activity with a clear goal, a little humor, and a few interactive elements can create a memorable learner experience.

Also, never underestimate the power of a suspicious tech host with backup-folder access.

Case closed.

The Case of the Vanishing Keynote FG

The Case of the Vanishing Keynote PG