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#PotatoFoolsDay ARG

Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 10:37 am
by Masakari
So, apparently ValVe may have struck again with a large metagame inside of the apparent April Fools Day joke. I, probably like most of you, assumed it was just a hilarious joke for the first of April, but PC Gamer states otherwise All of the games in the Potato Sack were updated with various things that seem to point to something larger, notably something relating to Portal 2. There's a wiki set up with all the clues already, so it will be interesting to see what comes out of it.

I have no puzzle skill for this kind of stuff, so I'll probably just be on the side watching. :)

Re: #PotatoFoolsDay ARG

Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 10:54 am
by TheCarpe
Diabolical. With Portal 2 looming it would seem to be the ideal candidate to receive something like this, and Valve loves screwing with it's fans.

This has actually got me considering picking up the pack, as I hadn't really intended to.

I'm looking forward to watching it unfold.

Re: #PotatoFoolsDay ARG

Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 11:05 am
by Will T.
At first I thought this whole thing was gonna be just another Stop 'n' Swop (i.e. another dead-end that people are obsessing over) ... until I fired up Toki Tori and took a look at the hidden "TEST" levels. Now I too am convinced that something's up.

Spoilarz:
VIEW CONTENT:
There's apparently an achievement in Portal 2 called "Tater Tote" ... which somebody on SPUF noticed is another term for a Potato Sack. Although, looking at the description for the achievement, it looks more like a Companion Cube-esque challenge involving carrying a potato. But then, who knows at this point...
I'm just hoping we don't have to buy that Potato pack to do something in Portal 2. I'm out of moneys! :(

Re: #PotatoFoolsDay ARG

Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 11:12 am
by Zork Nemesis
Creepy, it's like overanalyzing Wizard of Oz, but much more interesting and cryptic, it's making me wonder if that extra TF2 hat will do something for this.

If this is indeed a major development, Defense Grid probably holds the biggest clue, given that this update added in a bonus level that's acctually a QR Code (http://valvearg.info/wiki/File:DGridLevel.gif), which I didn't even realise until I saw this.

Re: #PotatoFoolsDay ARG

Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 12:35 pm
by Plinko
I was wondering why there are potatoes all over my BIT.TRIP.BEAT menu screen. . .

Re: #PotatoFoolsDay ARG

Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 12:40 pm
by MrBlah
It is a mistake to think any major problem can be solved with just potatoes.

Re: #PotatoFoolsDay ARG

Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 1:27 pm
by metacide
MrBlah wrote:It is a mistake to think any major problem can't be solved with just potatoes.
FTFY.
World hunger? Answer: Potatoes.
Fuel Crisis? Answer: Potatoes.
Peace in the Middle East? Answer: Lots and lots of potatoes.
Crazy next door neighbor? Answer: Bury the house in potatoes.
Need Cheap Alcohol? Answer: Potatoes.

Re: #PotatoFoolsDay ARG

Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 6:35 pm
by Ixtab
POTATOES SOLVE EVERYTHING! also.... YUM!

Re: #PotatoFoolsDay ARG

Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 11:13 am
by TheCarpe
The latest Aperture video has a little easter egg in it.
VIEW CONTENT:
Image
Someone has decoded the cipher in it to:
VIEW CONTENT:
Here's Da Beens, Dougtato: You found many. Find the rest. MiKaxsUs FTW
The plot thickens.

Re: #PotatoFoolsDay ARG

Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 11:29 am
by Zork Nemesis
TheCarpe wrote:The latest Aperture video has a little easter egg in it.
VIEW CONTENT:
Image
Someone has decoded the cipher in it to:
VIEW CONTENT:
Here's Da Beens, Dougtato: You found many. Find the rest. MiKaxsUs FTW
The plot thickens.
There's another snipit in the split second it transfers away from the various colored models, the second one states: Also... superdinoman's mom

These clues might be Valve telling the people that they're close, but not quite there, this page has more info: http://valvearg.info/wiki/Portal_2

Re: #PotatoFoolsDay ARG

Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 11:47 am
by TheCarpe

Re: #PotatoFoolsDay ARG

Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 12:04 pm
by Masakari
Apparently a trusted source claimed this isn't a Portal 2 ARG, so the video may just be them updating everyone on how well they're doing.

Time can only tell, I think.

Re: #PotatoFoolsDay ARG

Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 12:12 pm
by MrBlah
lol, Dougtato. He reminds me of Beartato.

Re: #PotatoFoolsDay ARG

Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 12:32 pm
by Buzzy Beetle
dougtato, MiKaxsUs, and superdino are all users, so these are messages to them. All of the glyphs seem to symbolise the next game in a sort of a chain... if it is a direct chain then it has a beginning and an end, if all the games reference another game then perhaps there's a patten to it. Like, the glyph in Super Meat Boy references Audiosurf (it's the view you have of your character, looks like a Mono character) and then the glyph from Audiosurf looks like... the ball? I'm trying to make heads or tails of them. Anyone else?

Re: #PotatoFoolsDay ARG

Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 12:41 pm
by TheCarpe
From what I've read the Audiosurf glyph refers to RUSH.