Haiku Hide-and-Seek - Every second Saturday

The next Hide and Seek Haiku session is scheduled for: <never, it has stopped>





Game 1 - Bringer of Carling
Game 2 - Angelof The Scythe
Game 3 - Countess Reapera
Game 4 - Crusader Astinos
Game 5 - Countess Reapera
Game 6 - Erica Bloodaxe
Game 7 - Phrodo P








Exploration-related games, usually called Hide-and-Seek, have been popular for a long time within Guild Wars communities around the globe. When Nicholas the Traveller was announced, I was expecting a similar minigame. I don't want to sound sour, but it turned out that Nicholas is more about farming than anything else, so I set out to find a new way to look at the existing places in the game world.




Enter Haiku Hide-and-Seek. Every other Saturday at 2 pm PST / 5 pm EST / 10 pm GMT, a haiku - short poem - will be posted in this topic. The poems are riddles which give clues about my "traveller" character, Vilag Jaro's whereabouts. The solution is a Guild Wars PvE outpost, and Vilag Jaro will appear in that outpost a few seconds after the haiku is posted, in the International district. I will stay there for 15 minutes or until someone finds me, whichever comes first. Your task is to solve the riddle as fast as possible, and come to that outpost and trade me. The first character to trade me will get a month's worth of Traveller's Gifts (20 pieces), a heartfelt congratulations, and a mention in this topic. The solution will then be posted, and everyone who didn't win is welcome to QQ about it.






About 15 minutes before starting the game, Vilag Jaro's online status becomes a status indicator for the game.


Do not disturb - The game has not started yet.

Online - The game is on!

Away - We have a winner, the game is finished.




++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++

* I will bump this topic a few hours before the event with a reminder. So, when the time comes, ready your wits and race for the prize!

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NORTH AMERICA


Hawaii (HADT) - 12 am

Alaska (AKDT) - 1 pm

Pacific (PDT) - 2 pm

Mountain (MDT) - 3 pm

Central (CDT) - 4 pm

Eastern (PDT) - 5 pm

Atlantic (ADT) - 6 pm



+++++++++++++
GMT/UTC - 9 pm
+++++++++++++



EUROPE

Western (IST/BST/WEST) - 10 pm

Central (CEST) - 11 pm

Eastern (EEST, USZ1) - 12 midnight

Moscow (MSD, USZ2) - 1 am next day




ASIA

Samara, Izhevsk (USZ3) - 2 am next day

Ekaterinburg, Perm (USZ4) - 3 am next day

New Delhi, Calcutta (IST) - 2:30 am next day

Novosibirsk, Omsk, Tomsk (USZ5) - 4 am next day

Jakarta, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), Phnom Penh, Bangkok (UTC+7) - 4 am next day

Krasnoyarsk, Kemerovo (USZ6) - 5 am next day

Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Manila, Singapore, Taipei (UTC+8) - 5 am next day

Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude (USZ7) - 6 am next day

Tokyo, Seoul (UTC+9) - 6 am next day

Chita, Yakutsk (USZ8) - 7 am next day




AUSTRALIA

Perth (WST) - 5 am next day

Adelaide (CST) - 6:30 am next day

Sydney (EST) - 7 am next day






Tiny fangs, huge fangs
Vines creep on the dancing cubes
The stone comes alive


The first line refers to the tiny fangs of the asura and the huge fangs of the big dinos in asura lands. It also rules out Umbral Grotto, which doesn't have dinos around it. The second line depicts architecture and flora typical to that area. This rules out Gadd's Encampment and Tarnished Haven, as those don't have those "magic cubes" (Vlox Falls does have one, but it's behind a wall, not immediately apparent). The third line refers to the G.O.L.E.M. project, which takes place in Riven Earth, near Rata Sum. That's the place.

Example haiku - pic



Note that, like in this example, the haiku may refer to sceneries, events, mobs, NPCs, etc, near the outpost, not just in the outpost itself. Also note that this one was pretty easy, and future haikus may contain references to places only true explorers have seen.





Haikus are a short, usually rhymeless form of Japanese poetry, having a 5-7-5 format. Unlike Western poetry, they try to suppress the writer himself, and just depict places, natural phenomenons, people, etc. "as they are now" ("sono-mama" in Japanese). Haikus usually contain strong impressions without evaluations, and very little, if any, action. They are the perfect container for riddles about places. If you want to know more about haikus, I suggest Wikipedia's entry as your starting point.




This game is dedicated to the legacy and memory of Matsuo Basho, who is one of the originators of the haiku format. During his lifetime, he travelled all over Japan. He wrote several travelling diaries, containing beautiful poems in-between daily entries, to reflect upon his experiences. One of these diaries, Narrow Roads to the Interior , was translated into many languages (several times into English), and is one of the classic pieces of Japanese literature. Recommended reading for people who are either travellers-at-heart in real life, or just enjoy fine poetry. The fact that Vilag Jaro is Canthan-born and is a ritualist also pays tribute to him.

Now this sounds like a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to the 1st!

Ooo. Im interested. Im starting to move away from farming Nicholas items, so this could be an easy way for me to get them. Good luck, and have fun everyone!

I'm quite excited about this! I'm keeping an eye on this topic

Sounds a bit hard (sometimes) but yea it is a good idea and keeps the GW community alive. Now you say first person finds you when figured out the puzzle. Will that be in American districts or European or maybe a different one?

Quote from the OP>

"and Vilag Jaro will appear in that outpost a few seconds after the haiku is posted, in the International district. "

I thought of that one.

Very cool idea! I'll try it if I can find the time.

One small question. You say "...Vilag Jaro will appear in that outpost a few seconds after the haiku is posted,...". Does Vilag Jaro only stay for a few seconds, and then disappear or move?

I have something slightly related to this in the works, from what I can see your Haiku Hide-And-Seek activity looks to be really fun!

What a great idea Endrosz! Sounds fun. I'll make sure and do a news announcement on it.

Great idea. Looking forward to play Endrosz

LOL yea I just now saw that sorry

Whoa, the game is Hide and Seek, not Catch Me If You Can. But you're right, I will specify a duration: Vilag Jaro will remain in that outpost for 15 minutes or until someone finds him, whichever comes first. In the first case, no one wins the game. Take note that 15 minutes is probably enough to hop around the entire world of GW, so if anyone plays the game, they should find me. Hopping around is not exactly solving the riddle, but I'm fine with rewarding stubbornness (or a combination of riddle-solving and stubbornness). The 15 minutes limit will be added to the OP.

---

Ohh... I was aware of the Guru news offer that was in the Stickies, but I didn't think this game was front page worthy on the almighty Guru. Thank you so much. (PS. Try not to win this first one, or else everyone will cry foul, rigging, etc. )

When I finally get around to reading this. This looks great, that example actually had me stumped as I didn't get the first line. >_> *Was able to figure out "jungle/forest area" >_>*

So first go is the 8th of August I take it? Sounds like fun. *makes post-it*

I am now prepared to copy and paste your name, and zone to every possible outpost EVER! !
But, nah!
This does sound like a lot of fun, though. I'm a huge fan of the Haikus, and looking forward to this.
Good luck, everyone!

Ahh, ok. Thanks for specifying.

No, the first is on August the 1st... It's bolded in the last part of the OP.

Great idea, thanks for doing this Endrosz!

Misunderstood the title. Read it as every second saturday of the month.

Sounds awesome, good luck everyone!

so true~! I can just picture fiendish Nic idly plotting with the Prof: "well, Professor, which species shall we place on the endangered list this week~?"


*one teensy suggestion: if you'd like to make this more about puzzle-solving and exploration, than the flurry of townhopping + Tabbing that is more likely to ensue, do not appear until 15min after you post the haiku, and stay till the 30min mark ~
this will allow peeps to suss the outposts, figure out the more likely candidates and camp in an intelligent fashion.


hm, Sat 10pm GMT=early morning Canthan time, on a Sunday, so Ala is unlikely to participate, she is a verybusypixy~!
But if you'd can use donations, hit her up sometime beforehand, she has plenty of spare Gifts which you can give as 2nd or 3rd prizes ~

We're nearing the first game, and I've decided to "knock it up a notch" (line courtesy of Elzar from Futurama). All haiku solutions, including the example, will have an accompanying picture, pieced together from screenshots, to show you the meaning of the riddle. "A picture is worth a thousand words", so they say. Check the OP for the first picture!

And there is now a gallery on my Picasa account to showcase past riddles:

http://picasaweb.google.hu/endrosz/HaikuHideAndSeek#

Nothing new to see there right now, but late-comers will enjoy browsing through it, hopefully.

---
I appreciate your concern, but I think that way the gameplay would be worse. See, the winner would be someone who is near me when Vilag Jaro enters the outpost, or someone who clicks faster than anyone else... I don't want to reward faster clicking. Also, the game would take longer, much longer for most people, without being more fun. Providing a fun little game that only takes a few minutes of your life was one of my goals.

It was actually mild sarcasm when I said "I'm fine with rewarding stubbornness". If there are at least a dozen people playing this game by straining their mental muscles, there's no way hoppers will get to me faster. Racking up three-four good guesses and then trying each of them in quick succession will be much faster than random hopping.

There is also the possibility of playing this game cooperatively. A group of people activate their Hivemind, come up with a list, then each of them tries one place, poof, one of them wins. I thought of this playstyle, too, and I see nothing wrong with it. Guild Wars is an MMO, so an "all for one, one for all" attitude is perfectly fitting.

I'm sad to hear that. See, I had to choose a time which favors the majority of the players - from the US West to EU East. Tell me, what time would be okay with you, GMT-wise?

You're either a mind reader, or a very generous person - or both. I thought of accepting donations, but first I wanted the game to prove itself. If later this day the topic will be flooded with messages like:

"ohh #$@$!#, someone figured it out faster, but I had fun, thanks!"

- then, and only then, will I announce the donation thing, and also a fair system of handing out 2nd, 3rd, etc. prizes.

---

The first haiku is coming 10:45 after this post!

I think the picture makes it too easy, in my opinion, make people think more. And you did mix up the two fangs in the pic.

The pics will only be posted with the solution! It's just an "extra feature", I won't make the riddles easier, no-no!

aha, sounds like you've thought about more exigencies than I have~!


oh, the time you have selected is excellent, I think that covers the majority of GW players .. actually I wish that time was chosen more often for major events, than the 7pm GMT (4am here) that is more popular for community events
even had you chosen something better for my own zone, I'd still not likely make it ~ am on-call for work and family most of my waking hours (and all of my sleeping ones~!)

Regardless, I'll enjoy trying to puzzle out the location, much like the "what scenery is that" thread elsewhere in this forum

and am still good for donating spare Gifts

The first one is as follows:

Breeze rests on the sand
Bees have flown to a new hive
The king stays on guard

The game is on!

The winner is:

Bringer of Carling

Congratulations! Thanks to the donation by Smilin Assassin, the prize went up to 10 Gifts! In later games, prizes might be even higher, and there will be 2nd, 3rd place prizes, depending upon donations.

---

Sand, that could be one of the numerous deserts throughout the the world of GW. But cool, refreshing breezes are not usually associated with deserts. We tend to think of long beaches, where you can take a walk with your fiancee, and finally gather your courage to make that proposal of a lifetime... wait, where am I? This isn't an ad for Sioux Travels?

The breeze - pic



Bees, that was a rather obscure clue, but it's special, too, not many events in the GW storylines could be described like that. It refers to the flight of Ascalonians, mostly farmers and crafters, led by the ill-fated Prince Rurik, over the Northern Shiverpeaks. Upon their arrival in Kryta, they settled in North Kryta Province. The settlement is closest to Bergen Hot Springs, but that place doesn't have beaches. It could be D'Alessio Seaboard, but we have one clue left...

The word stays is very important, as opposed to simply saying "the king is on guard" or "the king stands on guard". Although the White Mantle gained control over most of Kryta, the Lionguard retained control of Lion's Arch. The lion is called the "king of the animals". The pic shows the Lionguard Barrack with Firstwatch Sergio posing for a sexy, muscle-showing ad for Sioux Travels... err, where am I again? Another interpretation: There is Princess Salma, who was featured in a few Prophecies quests, and later, in the M.O.X. adventure, who is the hope of the secret royalist opposition all over Kryta - including the Lionguard.


Bees and guard - pic



Lion's Arch was the solution. Good ol' bustling town of Prophecies times.

(PS. If you're wondering about the whole Sioux Travels joking, here's the story. My second PvE character was a ranger, and I made a lot of running with him to make money for GH NPCs. I chose my character names from a name dictionary called Onomastikon. I named my ranger Kohana Hunkpapa, which means "Fast as the wind, from the Hunkpapa tribe" in some Sioux dialect (there were many). I came to love playing a ranger, and especially running, so much that I began telling my clients after finishing a run: "Thank you for choosing Sioux Travels!". Usually, that line gathered a few "lol"s and sometimes even bonuses, which is a good thing when you're in a saturated business sector. At that time, running was a saturated business.)

Bah><Started off there, didn't bother looking
Couldn't get my head around it, kept focusing on the king and sand.
bone Palace, ToPK, and 2 missions in kryta
Was thinking maybe pre also, left it tough, was fun

MAybe next week:P

Ahahaha! I slept through it! Darn my sleep-in habit.

This made my day
Took me a while to realise where it was though, thought Amnoon First, then re-read it. Long may this continue, and a special thanks to those who donated Gifts(and the organiser of course).

I saw Carling in many of my stops, we apparently thought alike - tis a shame I had to go do the dishes otherwise I might have beaten him.

Congratulations!

This was a lot of fun, I'm looking forward to the next one.

Yes, nasty, evil Endrosz chose a place like LA because he expected people to go like: "Nah, it can't be LA, it's too obvious."

Thanks to everyone who participated! See you in two weeks, on August the 15th!

Woops, I missed it. Congrats Carling.

yay to bad i only got proph and factions..but ill hunt u down!

EDIT: being the smart person i am.. wut do u mean every second saturday? like every other saturday?

It is every other Saturday.

Its ppl like you that keep me playing ty very much for this i might solve riddles just for fun to.

Also is the time going to be the same every Saturday or will you switch it up?

@SleepyD:

The time will remain the same. Nobody complained (except for Ala, but we worked it out), so I see no reason to change.

---

<HAL DOUGLAS VOICE>
This week, another mystery enters the world of Guild Wars... A mystery that will shake the very foundations of plant fiber farming.
</VOICE>

Welcome back travellers, the second game is shaping up. There will be a few improvements - I hope you'll like them.

- The prize will be 20 Gifts of the Traveller. Please, donate a few Gifts if you like this game and have some to spare, so that I can sustain this generous amount in later games!

- Vilag Jaro's online status will become a status indicator for the game. With this, you don't have to visit this forum or PM me in-game to check whether the game has started or finished yet. You still have to read the haiku here, but that's only one visit.

• Do not disturb - The game has not started yet.
• Online - The game is on!
• Away - We have a winner, the game is finished.

Two more days, and the hunt will begin anew.

6 hours, 20 minutes left.

15 minutes to go.

The second haiku is as follows:

Slate weave pierced by light
Metal pierced by thousand stings
Peace's heart pierced by greed