easter egg
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YouTube easter egg lets you play Snake while clips load (video)
No, not Metal Gear Solid's Snake. We're talking about the Snake that was popular before the smartphone was a twinkle in the industry's eye. Google has imbued YouTube videos with an engaging new easter egg that lets you play the apple-chasing game while your video stream buffers -- simply mash your keyboard's up and down arrow keys during most any clip to increase YouTube's time-wasting potential tenfold. What's that you say -- your internet connection is so ludicrously fast that videos play instantly? Ah, my lucky friend, let us introduce you to YouTube's 4K mode. Or, for a special treat, hijack the footage we've provided after the break to get your meta-giggles going. [Thanks, Alan]
Crackdown 2 save unlocks Agent 4 in Perfect Dark multiplayer
We're now only days away from the release of Crackdown 2, and in a stroke of corporate synergy, Microsoft Game Studios has hatched a cross-game promotion between Ruffian's impending sandbox shooter and the recent HD remake of Perfect Dark for Xbox Live Arcade. With a Crackdown 2 save on your console, you can unlock a new playable character in Perfect Dark: Agent 4. No codes, no impossible speed runs -- Agent 4 is unlocked in Perfect Dark's Combat Simulator (multiplayer mode) as soon as your Crackdown 2 save is detected. Happy hunting, agents! %Gallery-96777%
Mabinogi's Easter Egg-scavation
If Easter has taught us anything, it's that chicken eggs are an odd but reliable source of candy. This is generally not good press for chickens, as they already suffer from being tasty and associated with cowardice. Nexon's Mabinogi hopes that your Easter egg hunting skills are strong and sharp, as they invite players to participate in an egg hunt to end all egg hunts. It turns out that these aren't ordinary eggs, either. Laid by the fabled hens of Erinn, their eggs occasionally come out (why not) fossilized. It's these fresh-yet-ancient eggs that demand attention, as players will extract their stony yolk in search of an iconic Easter Egg Capsule. These capsules contain (why not) candy, which, when eaten, bestows the adventurous eater with various stat bonuses and unanswered questions as to which came first: the chicken or the petrified egg. Start your egg-scavating by heading over to the Mabinogi website and firing up this colorful MMO.
One Shots: Ewwww
We've had many readers send in easter eggs from their favorite games, but this is quite possibly one of the strangest ones we've seen to date, courtesy of The Don of the dead (@Muroshi) from Champions Online. Of course, we're not entirely certain what the inspiration behind this could be, really. If you haven't quite figured out what that thing is in the image above, be sure to click to the gallery and look at it full size -- or you could just read the note we got with this strange Champions Online shot: The Don of the dead found this toilet on one of the smokestacks in Millennium City Westside. Guess now we know where all that brown smog comes from. If you've found something incredibly strange in your favorite MMO, we'd love to see a screenshot of it. Just snag it and send it in to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a brief description. We'll post it out here for everyone to check out and give you the credit for finding it and sending it in to us first! %Gallery-85937%
BioShock 2 special edition posters have hidden messages
[BioshockFan52] Those of us who have played BioShock 2 likely don't see anything out of the ordinary in the above image. Almost all of Rapture's propoganda has been smeared by Sophia Lamb and her followers in-game, so it only makes sense that 2K would do as much with the game's real world promotional items. And according to this thread on the 2K Games site, a black light is all you need to unlock this "hidden" feature in those neat posters you got with your Special Edition. The forums users in the thread aren't yanking The Great Chain here, folks. Our sister site Big Download confirms the Easter egg in its Special Edition poster, as well -- there's even a gallery showing off all of the hidden messages to be found. Remember: a man chooses to display his BioShock 2 posters under a black light, a parasite complains about the increased electric bill. [Thanks, Alex]
RE5 'Lost in Nightmares' Easter egg: the classic cam
There's a neat throwback to the first time Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield went stomping around a creepy old mansion in "Lost in Nightmares," the new DLC episode for Resident Evil 5. By going to the front door of the mansion and attempting to open it a few times (remember what happened the first time you tried that?), you'll eventually get a "?" message and the camera will shift to Resident Evil's classic, isolated point of view. More than anything, the Easter egg is a nostalgic reminder of the olden days of survival horror, before Chris Redfield had to juice up just to get out of bed in the morning.
One Shots: Tilting at snowmen
While many living up north enjoyed their white Christmas, many others are ready for all the snow to go away already. In the Lord of the Rings Online, it would appear that this Dwarf is either well into his holiday cups, or just feels like attacking snowmen to take his frustration out against the winter. This fun little snowman was found by Florin E., who writes in to tell us about it: I just saw the easter egg "little castle of sand" and I am really excited. I'm going to find it by myself, I love this. I do not know if you have already published this easter egg. Long time ago I was farming ore near Thorin's Gate and I found this snowman. Note: you can [also] see a little snowman in the Matthom house in the Shire. It's not too late to find those wintry holiday pictures and get those in to us! if you'd like to show off your favorite game's holiday celebration, just email your picture to us here at oneshots [at] massively [dot] com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. We'll post it out here and give you the nod for sending it in!%Gallery-9798%
Breakfast Topic: They just don't get it...
Geekdom is much like any other group of people. There are movies, music, and literature which are considered classics and are generally accepted as having been seen, heard, or read by everyone at one point or another. Some of these are so accepted as classics that the idea someone is unfamiliar with them is simply "inconceivable" and we are left shocked when this occurs. Unfortunately, one of our own staff seems uninitiated in such classics.While discussing some of the quests coming up in patch 3.3, we'd made a joke referencing the Knights who say "Ni!" from Monty Python's Holy Grail. Our own Matt Low mentioned that he didn't get whatever inside joke we were making. Much to our dismay, he had never seen the movie or any Monty Python for that matter. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords for daily quests wouldn't get a chuckle from him. Terry Palin in Elwynn Forest quoting the lumberjack song is also lost on him. He wouldn't even be that concerned about eating the Crunchy Frog available from Darkmoon Faire because he wouldn't know that it contained crunchy, raw, unboned, real, dead frog instead of an almond whirl.With the vast number of pop culture references scattered in World of Warcraft, it's sad when any are lost on its players. What obscure references have you found in the game that you've enjoyed or other people have completely missed?
One Shots: And you thought gatecamps were bad
If you're crazy enough to fly through 0.0 space in EVE Online, you'd better be prepared for the trouble that awaits you. Landing in a bubble, getting jammed, blown to heck, with only your frozen corpse floating in space... well, that's just how the game is. With that said, there are those other, unheralded dangers that so many who haven't spent time in EVE Online don't know about. Take, for example, today's One Shots sent in to us by Piero D. He writes in to explain: Deep in the depths of 0.0 Deadspace there is a warning sign that reads: "This is a sign, it has very sharp edges"! I knew deadspace is dangerous, but hey! Kids may get hurt while they drift along the vacuum.If you've found a silly easter egg in your favorite MMO, we want to see a screenshot of it! Just email those to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a brief description. We'll post them the image and give you credit for sending it in. %Gallery-9798%
Google artist sneaks Triforce into logo, Google removes it [update]
Well that was quick! just as soon as the Internet caught The Legend of Zelda's Triforce in a handful of Google homepage logo designs, Google has altered said images, removing the easter egg. It appears as though the images were created for Google by artist Susie Sahim -- a woman whose personal blog contains a picture of her dressed up as LoZ's Link, might we add ... which is awesome. We've contacted both Ms. Sahim and Google for comment, but, well, it's Sunday. Sunday evening. People gotta rest sometimes. With any luck, we'll have any update for you early this week. For now, peep all the original images over on Blogoscoped.Update: Google got back to us about the existence, and subsequent disappearance, of the symbols, saying, "Our doodles aim to celebrate interesting events and anniversaries around the world that reflect Google's playful personality and love of innovation. As for our Triforce Easter egg, we're glad people discovered it and enjoyed it before it vanished back into the Zeldasphere. We appreciate people around the world looking into our artwork so closely!" Now, just to find that Zeldasphere ...[Thanks, Matt M.!]
Donkey Kong Easter egg cracked 26 years late
Who knew? You can put a price on obscure video game secrets, after all. Buried in 25,000-odd lines of game code for twenty-six years, an ancient "Easter egg" has been uncovered -- thanks to a modest cash reward -- from the Atari 8-bit port of Donkey Kong. Hint: You're looking at it (pictured above). Don't see it? It's the initials: LMD. Yeah, that's it.Last year, in an unabridged blog post about early-80s programming for Atari, celebrated coder Landon M. Dyer offhandedly remarked, "There's an Easter egg [in the Donkey Kong port], but it's totally not worth it, and I don't remember how to bring it up anyway." Still, game databaser Digital Press thought it worth it enough to offer up a $75 reward for discovering the hidden treasure; or, more accurately, a reward for discovering the process by which the Easter egg is triggered, as it was known that the bonus itself was simply the programmer's initials displayed on the title screen. In turn, the seventy-five bucks was worth it enough to a Mr. Don Hodges to scour the game code and dig up the dusty trail to the Easter egg. There are plenty of eggs left to crack, too, if you're looking for adventure that pays.Head past the break for the suspenseful reveal. The video's got quite the build-up. Be patient.
Twinked-out NPCs in patch 3.2 thrill twinks
As expected, the twink enthusiasts over at TwinkInfo are supremely excited about that experience switch coming in patch 3.2 -- not only are they finally getting to stop XP gains on demand, but Blizzard has given them their own little easter egg in the game. We already knew the two NPCs with the switch for each faction were called Behsten in Stormwin and Slahtz in Orgrimmar (get it? "Best in slots?"), but now that the PTR is open, they've discovered something else: the NPCs themselves are twinked out with classic Rogue twink gear. From the Blackened Defias Chest to the Feet of the Lynx (and dual Assassin's Blades with Lifestealing), Blizzard went all out on these guys. As Drayner says, the only thing missing is a 'chanted Fishing Hat.Not everybody is big on twinking -- lots of people think it's annoying to duck into the BGs for the first time and get rolled by an alt who's got a lot of money and time behind them. Fortunately, though, this XP change will not only legitimize twinking even more, but it'll get it out of our way as well, as players with XP turned off will only face other players with XP turned off (other twinks, essentially). Throw in that it's something twinks have been asking for a long time, and it's a win-win for everybody.Patch 3.2 will bring about a new 5, 10, and 25 man instance to WoW, and usher in a new 40-man battleground called the Isle of Conquest. WoW.com will have you covered every step of the way, from extensive PTR coverage through the official live release. Check out WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.2 for all the latest!
One Shots: Obvious statement is obvious
We love easter eggs and other strange little things from various video games. Today's One Shots showing one off from EVE Online is pretty fun - and thankfully more OK with the GMs than some of the can art we've had sent in to us. This particular shot was sent in to us by Nicholas J, who also sent the following note: [Here's] a little easter egg that you can occasionally find in a few places. Of course, if you want to see the obvious statement, you'll have to click on through to the full-size image to see it; it just doesn't work when the image is small.If you've found something strange, unusual, or just easter-eggish on your recent journeys in MMOdom, we'd love to see a screenshot. Just email it to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the game it's from, and a brief description. We'll post it up and give you the nod for pointing it out. %Gallery-9798%
[1.Local]: Questions, answers from our readers
Reader comments – ahh, yes, the juicy goodness following a meaty post. [1.Local] ducks past the swinging doors to see what readers have been chatting about in the back room over the past week.The comments section is usually a cacophony of voices seeking to agree or disagree with the main post, discredit previous commentors or make some pointless point ("first" -- /facepalm). This week, readers pulled together in a more truly interactive relationship, offering up questions, tips, insights and well thought-out suggestions and ideas. Take a trip through the pickings this week on ways to make professions more interesting, more Star Trek Easter eggs, getting real about DPS, copyright issues, snappier headlines ... and even a post devoted exclusively to guild and player recruitment notices.
Konami Code Easter eggs dug up across the web
Remember the short-lived Unicornification of ESPN.com which could be viewed by entering in the Konami Code? Turns out that's not the only site that can be modified by entering in everyone's favorite sequence of keystrokes. Check out the extremely aptly named KonamiCodeSites.com to see a list of pages that respond in various ways to the familiar tune of Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start (or Enter).For instance, Facebook adds a lens flare effect once the code is entered. AdventureQuest Worlds shows a short flash clip featuring ... unicorns! (We're beginning to see a pattern here.) The best we've seen? The official site of jQuery, a JavaScript library program, loads up a Java-based Guitar Hero game when you input the code. Oh, and Joystiq? Every time you enter the code here, an angel gets its wings.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Sly Cooper 4 spotted in inFamous demo
Those who have access to the early inFamous demo will want to go Empire City's cinema. At the top of the list of fictional titles on display is Sly Cooper 4. This where you scream "OMG!" and run around like a man on fire. We'll wait. Done? Good. Of course, this tease may be a simple Easter egg, placed to simply stir up fanboy passions. Or, it could be a hint at what's to come ... We'll let you decide in the comments. [Thanks, Noshino! Via TAWKN]
Valve jokingly drops MMO code into latest Team Fortress 2 patch
If you needed further proof that the folks over at Valve are cheeky, cheeky scoundrels, you need not look further than a recent piece of code in the latest patch for Team Fortress 2: // TF2 MMO "TF_MMO_LFG" "Looking For Group" "TF_MMO_Quest1" "You must kill %s1 %s2 to complete this quest." "TF_MMO_Monster1" "Boars" "TF_MMO_Monster2" "Rats" "TF_MMO_Monster3" "Bats" "TF_MMO_Monster4" "Wolves" "TF_MMO_Monster5" "Spiders" Great, Valve. That's really great. Now we can't stop thinking about how much we want to play an MMO'd version of TF2. We've already got a debilitating addiction to WoW. Now we're addicted to the idea of a spy-checking, sentry-sapping, rocket-jumping, chaingun-toting MMO. That's just what we needed.
WoW reference found in Wolverine game
X-Men Origins: Wolverine came out in theaters yesterday, to fairly dismal reviews, and like any good summer movie, it has a tie-in video game. Why are we talking about it here? Because the game contains a hidden nod to our own favorite digital pastime, WoW. I'll put specifics (and a screenshot) behind the cut, in case you don't want to be spoiled for the Wolverine game.
Konami Code turns ESPN.com into a Lisa Frank wonderland [update]
Update: ESPN got wise, and removed the mysterious Unicornification ability reported below. It was fun while it lasted!You need to stop what you're doing right now, and go to ESPN's Web site, because something magical is going on, and we don't know how long it will last. Once the front page loads, enter in the Konami Code (which we shouldn't have to tell you by now, but just in case -- Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A). Then start pressing Enter on your keyboard. Something will happen that isn't even remotely sports related. Is it an Easter egg? A well-executed hack? A hilarious practical joke from a disgruntled ESPN web programmer? We don't know, but we offer an enthusiastic Kudos to whoever pulled this one off.[Via FourZeroTwo's Twitter]
FF7's Cloud spotted in BSG spin-off, Caprica
Battlestar Galactica and gaming culture seem to go together like carrots, celery and onion (what, mirepoix too fancy for ya?). And so it's with little shock that we bring you the screen you see above from the upcoming Battlestar Galactica spin-off series, Caprica, captured by a gracious Joystiq reader. Is that ... Cloud? Cloud Strife? It is! Well, sorta, kinda.Though the show isn't set to air until the beginning of next year on the Sci-Fi Syfy Channel, the two-hour pilot premiered via DVD and non-analog download this past week. Clearly the show's writers and/or set designers ... err ... someone on the set, decided to show their love for the critically acclaimed game and drop an Easter egg into the pilot in the form of Final Fantasy VII's protagonist. And while the image is a cartoony representation of the sharp-haired young gentleman, we'd be hard-pressed to not recognize that stance anywhere.[Thanks, Thomas P.!]
