Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Photography
  3. Social Media
  4. Web
  5. News

Put your Photoshop skills to work in Adobe’s #PsMystery Halloween game

Add as a preferred source on Google

The year is 2398. The place is deep outer space. After completing its mission to collect organic matter from Ceres, the IXS FarStar prepares to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere on October 31. However, there’s trouble on the horizon as Commander Nova Ryder informs you that Pilot Maladie Harbinger has suddenly come down with a mysterious illness. Your mission is to collect clues to diagnose and cure the condition so that the IXS FarStar and its crew members can return to Earth safely. The twist? This mission requires your Photoshop skills.

No, it’s not the opening to a Choose Your Own Adventure book, but part of Adobe’s #PsMystery challenge, a Halloween-related game where you’re given clues on various platforms to help the IXS FarStar’s crew diagnose and cure the pilot. Hints, such as the first Photoshop PSD file clue shared recently on the Photoshop Facebook Page, will appear each day of Halloween week, encouraging fans, sleuths, and Photoshop pros to flex their PS skills in uncovering the clues buried in the layers. In addition to the multi-layered PSD files being presented as clues, updates provide a closer look at the crew’s quarters, the ship itself, and additional crew member information.

Recommended Videos

According to the Photoshop blog, another clue is scheduled to be revealed at “17:00 Zulu Time tomorrow.” But, based on the most current update revealing an exceedingly dire situation aboard the IXS FarStar, you might want to hurry and get to work sooner. Three crew members, including Commander Nova Ryder and Mission Specialist-Medic Spike Arashi, now suffer from the mysterious illness,  and to make matters worse, Pilot Maladie Harbinger has somehow gone missing. There is currently only one healthy crew member, Raz Kalinkov, who is available today to answer your questions on the Photoshop Facebook page.

The space puzzle follows last year’s Clue-like murder mystery game. Make sure you keep an eye on the Photoshop blog and Facebook page for comments, theories, and clues to help solve the #PsMystery. After all, the IXS FarStar, its crew, and all of humanity are counting on you (and your Photoshop skills).

Christina Majaski
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Christina has written for print and online publications since 2003. In her spare time, she wastes an exorbitant amount of…
The FCC’s latest crackdown could put more than DJI drones at risk in the US
Robot, Person, Face

DJI may have found creative ways to keep some of its products flowing into the US, but those efforts are now drawing increased attention from regulators. According to The Verge, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has started cracking down on several companies it believes could be helping DJI continue selling products in the country. These businesses have been described by industry observers as "DJI front companies" because they market or import products that appear to be closely tied to the Chinese drone maker while operating under different brand names.

DJI's alleged back door may be closing

Read more
I bought Kodak’s viral keychain camera, and the bad photos are part of its charm
The Kodak Charmera is barely a camera, and I still keep using it
Machine, Wheel, Camera

I bought the Kodak Charmera partly because I wanted a portable digital camera, and partly because I wanted a pretty little collectible. The Charmera is sold as a blind box, so you do not know which version you are getting until the box is opened. There are multiple retro Kodak-style designs, plus a transparent secret edition that looks like the one everyone would want.

I had the shopkeeper pick my box for better luck, and it worked out. I got the yellow variant, which is inspired by Kodak's original 80s disposable camera. The transparent one is definitely the fun collector’s piece, but the yellow model feels like the proper Kodak version. It looks like a tiny toy camera that escaped from a souvenir shop, found a keyring, and now hangs around wherever you go.

Read more
This new $30 keychain camera is coming for Kodak Charmera with a flip screen for selfies
Yashica's new camera makes toy photography more fun
YASHICA Funtastic Keychain Camera in multiple variants

Tiny digital cameras are all the rage, and Yashica is now offering a very cute toy photography experience of its own. The company’s new Funtastic Keychain Camera is exactly what the name suggests, a miniature digital camera small enough to clip onto your keys, bag, or lanyard. The popular Kodak Charmera is the obvious comparison, which brings a tiny blind-box keychain camera that became a viral collectible.

Now, Yashica's version lands in the same novelty-camera lane, but adds one very useful trick, which is a 180-degree flip screen.

Read more