Haiku Quest

[Discoalucard]

This isn't an article, technically, but everyone should check out Haiku Quest:

blog.hardcoregaming101.net/2010/08/haiku-quest-rpg-featuring-haiku-poetry.html

The game was inspired my experiences with the haiku mini-game in Boku no Natsuyasumi 3. This was in Japanese though, and I wanted something analogous in English for western players to appreciate.

The game features:
* A JRPG style of design
* A large overworld to explore
* Villages to visit
* NPCs to speak with
* Stores and inns to stop by
* Unique “instant-time” battle system
* Five different monsters to fight
* Streamlined inventory system
* 125 different poems to compose
* 5 true haiku to decipher
* A special "hidden secret" from the gods of haiku
* An incredible ending which will leave you floored
* The voice work of Christopher Walken

[Sketcz-1000]

Hoho! Thanks for the topic. I'll probably make a follow-up blog post at some point explaining all the thinking behind the game. A Making Of feature if you will.

I'll post a guide to see the ending, since some people are having trouble even reaching the second day to compose the haiku. TIP: go to town and run into the old man until time dwindles to only a short bar, then go sleep.

[derboo]

Oh, wow. It's already become controversial.

[Sketcz-1000]

I know. I'm utterly astounded that news sites reported it as fact without checking - you don't even need to play the game. The WAVs are right there to hear it. And I'm not even sorry. I had thought everyone would realise I was quite obviously being satirical as a result of not getting any volunteers actors - and not even convincingly either.

I'll put a big explanation up in a couple of days, but honestly, I think this says something about the internet. Still, I chuckled.

[Shellshock]

Aug 31, 2010 13:32:27 GMT -5 Sketcz-1000 said:

I had thought everyone would realise I was quite obviously being satirical as a result of not getting any volunteers actors - and not even convincingly either.

Except in your "release" blog post you emphasized Walken's involvement to no end yet hid the fact that it was "satire", as you call it, behind other posts and nebulous deduction. So it wasn't obvious at all.


If you wanted your game to spread around as much as possible, I think you took the wrong approach. Because now everybody outside the HG101 blog that gets handed out a link to it has no reason to believe it's just a joke, and will probably say you are just looking for attention.

Now, if the whole thing is just a prank or just a disposable game you wanted to share with your HG101 friends only, then you must be having a good laugh at all this.

Either way, you can't just say "I'm utterly astounded that news sites reported it as fact without checking - you don't even need to play the game. The WAVs are right there to hear it.", because in your release post you specifically imply that the WAVs aren't of the best quality since they were done in a hastily manner and without professional equipment. Do you expect the media to hire sound engineers to inspect your sound files to see if Walken's voice is really there?