Saturday 24 May 2008

Meet Wink

This is the guy that wrote the letter to Nuada. You've all seen him in the trailer, now you can put a name to his face.

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Updated Rune Chart (UPDATED AGAIN)

*UPDATE* - I've now added every letter to the chart, as well as the four numbers I have.

I've just confirmed that the third rune in the Panatrog video is 'V' (I don't know about the others, but I was sent the alphabet in the mail for being in the top 10 of webmasters) - the chart is updated with it, and it means that the book says 'PEVEAL TRAP'. This only strengthens my theory that it's a typo, and is supposed to say 'REVEAL TRAP'. Of course, it might not be a typo, and instead it's an anagram. I couldn't get anything out of it if it is.

Whether this means anything is yet to be seen...

Friday 23 May 2008

Panatrog Vid & The 7th Light

And everything happened while I was asleep again...

Anyway, thanks to Jason and Tasha for dropping me an email about both of these.

First up, we have a new Panatrog video:



There's numbers all over that, but apparently none of them work (according to the guys on the HETFET forums) yet. The big thing for me was the book printed with a few runes, the translation goes as:

PE_EAL TRAP - the third letter is a rune we haven't come across before, but there are only six of those so the word can only be either:

PEFEAL
PEJEAL
PEQEAL
PEVEAL
PEXEAL
or PEZEAL

None of which particularly make sense. It could be a rune typo and it's supposed to say 'REVEAL', but it seems like they'd be more careful than that.

I noticed something else in the video, which I'm sure isn't a big deal, but those headset goggle things could be early designs of the goggles Hellboy and Abe are wearing in the trailer when they come across the cat lady (when Hellboy delivers the soon to be immortal line 'Give it up ugly, I can see ya'.)

TSD has it's 7th light half-lit, so the next code is now out there somewhere (or inbound very soon) - so people (myself included) are poring over the video and previous clues to find that code.

Stay tuned.

p.s. I'm sure many people have done this already, but I've dropped Lexi a message with a link to the vid, hopefully there'll be a response.

Hellboy Board Game (Well, A Sketch Of A Part Of One)

Continuing the steady stream of production sketches, this one is from Mike Mignola, with Hellboy as he was toward the end of the first movie:

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Mignola Devil (Hellboy Icon, Death's House)

Guillermo del Toro: Inside the Angel of Death lair - laid out in a fresco on the floor - there is a game board representing Hellboy's origin and destiny. Mike Mignola based his designs for this on old Zodiac illustrations. This particular one shows Hellboy in his "Apocalyptic" incarnation at the end of days.

New TV Spot!

Thanks to He-Man on the SHH! boards for pointing this out - lots of tasty new footage:

aSmarmyYeti - Up To No Good?

This is a tiny update, but thought it interesting, and possibly a signifier as to where the story is headed.

On Lexi's new video, check out the comments section. The only one she replies to is aSmarmyYeti, who asks an inappropriate question. He/she/it has done this before, so it's worth keeping an eye on aSmarmyYeti.

Whether they are working for Nuada, or are a Trog agent, we can't be sure - but something isn't right.

Thursday 22 May 2008

It's Been A Slow Couple Of Days...

So I thought I'd post these. They're nothing to do with the game, but figured you guys would like them anyway, something to chew on while we wait for the next phase of the game:

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And then there's this picture, just cos I like seeing Liz and Red together:

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It IS Lexi's Dad!

Quick update from Lexi, and she confirms what we all suspected!

Check it out:

Tuesday 20 May 2008

New dutchfelines Video! Panatrog Training Film!

This is a big one - two minutes of training footage for Panatrog members, apparently from the 70's (hence it's a little cheesy and full of moustaches). This is pure speculation, but I believe the blonde guy we see meditating around 34 seconds in looks a lot like the photo we saw of Lexi's dad.

Also, I spotted TWO suspect numbers in there: 411811 & 7.11.71 - but since the 7th code isn't active yet, I guess we have to wait a little while before we know if they work or not.

(The following text comes from the video's description on YouTube)

WARNING: This is a movie that deals with a very strange and disturbing subject matter - it may shock you. However this is not my reason for posting it. I have come across this movie from sources that I am not allowed to disclose. This movie is about just what the title states, that is all I can say. It's strange bizarre footage that seems to delve into the unexplained. This movie shows clips that are REAL. You of course may judge for yourself. I posted this for the people who dare to seek the truth as I do, you know who you are, the open minded folk. I also posted it to show things that are happening around you that you dont know about. Now and in the past. Knowing, understanding, and searching truth is the reason I have taken great risk to show you this.

NOTE to all: I have not filmed these videos myself. I am just exposing the truth and what is real.

The New Panatrog Documents UPDATED

Some of you seem to be having trouble accessing the new documents on Panatrog. I'm not tech-savvy enough to know exactly why, but here's a screen grab to tide you over until it's been figured out:









Sketch-A-Palooza

I posted a wallpaper of this guy already (check out the column on the right for the link to those), but here's a production sketch of it, with a little commentary.

Street Musician {Francisco} This is one of Wayne Barlowe's sketches. It is a creature for the Troll Market. GDT: Each artist was free to bring forth as many sketches of creatures as they wanted. The only condition was to veer away from "movie monsters" and make the creatures more surreal and exotic, reference things other than film: Engravings from the Middle Ages, Hieronymus Bosch, The Arabian Tales, etc, etc Barlowe had the best batting average... 8 out of 10 of his designs made it to the screen. But we treated these creatures like extras. We SELDOM, if ever showcased them- I felt this was crucial to treat the market like you would any other location... to make it real...

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And then there's this - not really relevant to anything going on in the game at the minute, but who doesn't love the Big Baby?

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Working Ringtones Link

Apparently I'm still perfecting my ability to blog and post working links...

Here, you'll find the post that links to the HB2 ringtones, and it actually works this time!

Thanks to thebruce for hosting these on his wiki.

Troll Abuse On The Rise?!


A new HETFET story thinks so! Notice the link to a real life 'troll'...


TROLL ABUSE ON THE RISE
BOULDER, CO
Troll abuse in Colorado is on the rise, according to a recent HETFET report. This follows a startling trend that, unfortunately, the organization has seen before.
Studies show that during times of economic decline, reports of troll abuse tend to go up, according to HETFET spokesman Elizabeth Moora. Nationwide troll cruelty complaints have climbed 235% according to recent estimations. Said Moora, “When the economy is in a slump, when people are in debt or having a rough go, they’re more likely to take out their frustrations on other groups such as mystical creatures and fairie folk. Unfortunately, (trolls) are typically easy targets.”
Beyond economic factors, Moora also maintains that troll abuse is systemic in nature, as evidenced by the recent “Bridge Troll” incident involving an off duty Sheriff’s Deputy.
“The fear and loathing that trolls face should not be dismissed or wiped under the rug. Unless we educate the public about these badly misunderstood creatures, the cycle of violence will continue against them, with or without problems in the economy…” said Moora. “That cycle must end! And here at HETFET we give people the tools and the knowledge to overcome their fears and suspicions.”

Lexi & Panatrog Updates

Lexi posted another vlog with another poem, and Panatrog updated with a third document, subject: Troll Population Control Update - I've just woken up so I'll update with any other info as soon as I have it...


Monday 19 May 2008

Rune-Alphabet Conversion Chart

Just got done making this for all of us - hopefully it'll come in useful in future. There's a permanent link to this in the right hand column, for easy reference in future.

(click it for a bigger version)








Hidden Runes

Laurabelle and OogieBoogie pointed out something on the HETFET forums that looks like it will be important later on.

On the last three TSD codes, unlocking them reveals whatever they reveal, but also something else. The titular hidden runes. The first rune (on the 4th code) was noticed pretty much straight away by everyone, but no-one seemed to know what to make of it. Unbeknownst to me (as I didn't look very hard), the next two codes also feature hidden runes, much harder to spot, but if you scour the ornamental frame of the Troll Market guide, you will find them.

After translating the Wink/Nuada letter, we've got an alphabet to work with to help us, and so far the letters are:

4th Code: U
5th Code: N
6th Code: L

I'll keep an updated track of these in the column on the right.

Poster Boy (And Girl. And Angel Of Death. And Whatever Abe Is.)

These were just posted on Empire, and are very cool.




Avatars

The game has been barrelling along recently but, since it's stopped for a little breather, here're some avatars to pretty up the forums and such with.

Sunday 18 May 2008

O Me Of Little Faith

Apparently I like to jump to conclusions before getting the whole story.

You'll see in my previous post that I assumed that people had gotten the sixth code through less than honorable means.

That's simply not the case. Two people deserve very honorable mentions here: Laurabelle at the HETFET forums for figuring it out, and Alison, who's been commenting on this blog, and has repeatedly suggested there might be something in the fact that 'silver nitrate' has been popping up a lot lately. In this post she actually gave us the key to the sixth code, and I brushed it off.

Alison, I apologise for my ignorance, I underestimated the game :)

So, to the solution. Silver nitrate popped up in the latest news story from HETFET, but in more than one way. You'll notice the name of a woman - District Attorney AGatha N. Olan. I originally dismissed this as a sly reference to The Dark Knight viral ARG (Harvey Dent is a DA, Christopher Nolan the director). Maybe it still is - but it's predominantly a clue. Her initials.

The story also links to Uthyntrol where those with a keen eye (i.e. not me) will see that in the bottom right of the screen, the website has been updated so that the active ingredient reads 'SILVER NITRATE' rather than 'pending FDA aproval'.

Longer story short, the chemical compound for Silver Nitrate is AgNO3.

A periodic table will give you the answer you want.

Ag = 47
N = 7
O3 = (8 x 3) 24

And there you have it - 47-7-24

Take that to The Secret Device and reap the rewards.

Keep Your Eyes Open

It seems a couple of people have figured out the 6th code but, since it looks like that was done purely through perseverance (i.e. manually trying thousands of combinations) rather than waiting for the game to lead us to it, I won't post it here yet.

Anyway, here's a couple of pieces of production art that will appear relevant when we do get the code:

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Fish Monger Francisco Ruiz Velasco: Guillermo likes to bounce ideas from one artist to another and in the end you have a mix of ideas and styles. The original idea of this character came from the genius of Wayne Barlowe; it's a beautiful pencil sketch. I was asked to render the same drawing in color - my only addition is the tank on his back. Guillermo del Toro: My proclivity to cephalopods is too intense to resist. This guy did get a close-up in the film...

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Limb vendor {Francisco} This is also based on Wayne Barlow’s design. I was asked to remove all the skin parts and replace them with more costumes. (I love that big hand on his back)within the chamber: "Seventy times seventy soldiers".

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