Difference between revisions of "Eye Sigil ARG/Kingdom of Loathing"

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[[Main Page]] > [[List of Investigations]] > [[Eye Sigil ARG]]
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{{ArgHeader|arg=Eye Sigil ARG}}
  
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[[File:Kolsigil.png|thumb|This was probably the first time public has seen the sigil]]
  
[[File:Kolsigil.png|thumb]]
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'''Kingdom of Loathing''' is a browser-based, multiplayer role-playing game designed and operated by Asymmetric Publications, LLC. It exists since 02.10.2003 and has a long history of weird secret in-game and partially out-of-game puzzles.
  
==Summary==
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The Sigil was added on 03.10.2014 as a part of the October 2014 item-of-the-month content drop.
'''Release Date''': 10/2/2003
 
  
'''Status''': Sigil found, Piece not found
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The game's puzzle has stayed unbeated from the discovery on 24.01.2016 to 26.07.2016, when [[User:DukeBG]] figured it out.
  
'''Video''': Incomplete
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=Sigil=
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The sigil can be seen in the '''Conspiracy Island''' content, by going into ''The Secret Government Laboratory'' adventure zone. There, as the first adventure of the zone, the player encounters a weird door (image filename weirddoor.gif) in ''See What's on the Slab''.
  
'''Synopsis''':
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[[Image:KoL_screen.png|300px]]
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=Piece=
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The monsters in the zone have a limitation on the amount of item drops for a player per day (10), so the the information about them was intended to be gathered by the community over time. Each monster has a common potion/food drop, a rare equipment drop and a special drop that has to be activated by using ''A Mysterious Control Panel'' on the Conspiracy Island. Additionally there is one extra special drop that is activated there and drops from all the monsters.
  
Kingdom of Loathing is a browser-based, multiplayer role-playing game designed and operated by Asymmetric Publications.
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Common drops: delicious candy, experimental serum G-9, limp broccoli, ice-cold Cloaca Zero
  
The sigil can be seen on Conspiracy Island, by going into the Government Lab. There, the player encounters a weird door. Despite extensive searching, a puzzle piece has not yet been discovered.
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Rare equipment drops: jangly bracelet, heavy-duty clipboard, giant yellow hat, first-aid pouch
  
Ungawa wrote [https://www.reddit.com/r/kol/comments/46y41h/arg_23_minutes_in_devs_directly_reference_the_arg/d08p0vv a short guide] about how to get from level 1 to 11 instantaneously with 1 fight, which is necessary to be able to survive on Conspiracy Island to solve the game for the sigil ARG.
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Unlockable drops: cuddly teddy bear, battery-powered drill, monkey barf, khaki duffel bag
  
After hitting 11, you still need a bunch of buffs to be able to survive well. [http://kol.obeliks.de/buffbot/ Get them here.]
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Extra unlockable drop: airborne mutagen
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Monster Manual drops (added after the 03.10.2014 release): nursery rhyme, grimy lab coat, iron torso box. Bounty-Hunter's drop (added after the 03.10.2014 release): vivisected hair.
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As it's possible to notice, these drops (excluding the extra ones added later) have different first letter. In fact, their first letters are from the set from A to M. If ordered alphabetically and the last letters extracted from the list, you get '''nlry9htdotgif'''. This refers to the puzzle piece [http://images.kingdomofloathing.com/nlry9ht.gif nlry9ht.gif] on the image server.
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[[Image:Nlry9ht.gif|300px]]
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=Hints=
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Over the time the sigil was unsolved, people have wrote in with questions to the podcast that KoL devs make about the game. The developers acknowledged the existance of the overall ARG and gave very minor hints:
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* The puzzle can be solved without a one-day pass, i.e. without access to the adventuring zone at all;
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* Everything needed to solve came into existence with the initial content drop;
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* There is something to notice about a certain ''list'' of things;
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* The puzzle was unintentionally confounded by something added later;
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* The puzzle somehow relates to something Jick (main dev) often complains about.
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The relevant snippents of the podcasts are available below:
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* 2016/02/21 http://duke.a-comics.ru/dump/kol-arg-podcast_20160221.mp3
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* 2016/04/07 http://duke.a-comics.ru/dump/kol-arg-podcast_20160407.mp3
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* 2016/06/23 http://duke.a-comics.ru/dump/kol-arg-podcast_20160623.mp3
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A day before the puzzle was solved Discord user TheSparrowHunter contacted Jick by email, clarifying things, including asking if the images are involved in the puzzle and recieved an answer "no".

Revision as of 15:23, 15 August 2016

Main Page > List of Investigations > Eye Sigil ARG > Kingdom of Loathing
This was probably the first time public has seen the sigil

Kingdom of Loathing is a browser-based, multiplayer role-playing game designed and operated by Asymmetric Publications, LLC. It exists since 02.10.2003 and has a long history of weird secret in-game and partially out-of-game puzzles.

The Sigil was added on 03.10.2014 as a part of the October 2014 item-of-the-month content drop.

The game's puzzle has stayed unbeated from the discovery on 24.01.2016 to 26.07.2016, when User:DukeBG figured it out.

Sigil

The sigil can be seen in the Conspiracy Island content, by going into The Secret Government Laboratory adventure zone. There, as the first adventure of the zone, the player encounters a weird door (image filename weirddoor.gif) in See What's on the Slab.

KoL screen.png

Piece

The monsters in the zone have a limitation on the amount of item drops for a player per day (10), so the the information about them was intended to be gathered by the community over time. Each monster has a common potion/food drop, a rare equipment drop and a special drop that has to be activated by using A Mysterious Control Panel on the Conspiracy Island. Additionally there is one extra special drop that is activated there and drops from all the monsters.

Common drops: delicious candy, experimental serum G-9, limp broccoli, ice-cold Cloaca Zero

Rare equipment drops: jangly bracelet, heavy-duty clipboard, giant yellow hat, first-aid pouch

Unlockable drops: cuddly teddy bear, battery-powered drill, monkey barf, khaki duffel bag

Extra unlockable drop: airborne mutagen

Monster Manual drops (added after the 03.10.2014 release): nursery rhyme, grimy lab coat, iron torso box. Bounty-Hunter's drop (added after the 03.10.2014 release): vivisected hair.

As it's possible to notice, these drops (excluding the extra ones added later) have different first letter. In fact, their first letters are from the set from A to M. If ordered alphabetically and the last letters extracted from the list, you get nlry9htdotgif. This refers to the puzzle piece nlry9ht.gif on the image server.

Nlry9ht.gif

Hints

Over the time the sigil was unsolved, people have wrote in with questions to the podcast that KoL devs make about the game. The developers acknowledged the existance of the overall ARG and gave very minor hints:

  • The puzzle can be solved without a one-day pass, i.e. without access to the adventuring zone at all;
  • Everything needed to solve came into existence with the initial content drop;
  • There is something to notice about a certain list of things;
  • The puzzle was unintentionally confounded by something added later;
  • The puzzle somehow relates to something Jick (main dev) often complains about.

The relevant snippents of the podcasts are available below:

A day before the puzzle was solved Discord user TheSparrowHunter contacted Jick by email, clarifying things, including asking if the images are involved in the puzzle and recieved an answer "no".