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Shishka's Guide to Easter Eggs *long, imgs*
Posted By: Shishka <shishka@shishka.net>	Date: 3/23/03 5:31 p.m.
So, you're playing Halo, one day, cutting a swath through a group of Flood like any other battle, when all of a sudden, you see it. It catches your eye and you are drawn to it. You stare at it for hours, looking at it from every possible angle. War is raging behind you, and the Flood have successfully repaird the 'Autumn and are headed for Earth, but you're oblivious because you have found it. Your priority is no longer to save the human race, but to report "it" to HBO. In a daze from your incredible finding, you type as quickly as you can. Satisfied that you're about to begin a revolution on the forum, you click "post message." You have just posted your easter egg discovery to the forum. You wait for a few minutes, reloading the forum page a few times, until finally, people start responding. Excited, you click on your responses. But what's this? They say it's not an egg! Some people are even making fun of you! And to top it off, someone apparently posted this exact same find a year ago!. Dejected, you go back to Halo. How could they not believe in your egg? It has to be an egg! What else could it be? After all, you know what an egg is when you see it... ...Or do you? With the passing interest of cheats, and the lack of interesting glitches or tricks being discovered, forum goers are turning their eyes towards the more elusive easter egg. A day doesn't go by, now, without someone posting what they believe is an egg to hbo. And one-hundred percent of the time, they're wrong. This is a guide to easter egg hunting in Halo, designed not only to define the eggs, but refine your searching skills, and how you should post a discovery. So, without further ado... Shishka's guide to Easter Eggs 1. The Egg Defined What is an easter egg? What isn't an easter egg? 2. The Hunt Begins Where do I look? What should I look for? 3. The Discovery Announced What should I do before I post? What should I do when I post? 4. The Conclusion When Forums Attack The Last Egg The Egg Defined What is an Egg? An easter egg, simply put, is something hidden within an application. This is rather broad, but we can refine the definition for games. From Shishka's Guide For Newcomers: "...an easter egg is anything hidden within the game, that is not related to the game directly, nor does it in anyway affect gameplay." That defines what an egg is pretty well. An egg is something hidden, often in plain sight. Often, it's some kind of in-joke. Either with Bungie in general, or that particular mapper or programmer or texture artist or whatever. Easter eggs can be as obvious as the bulletin board in the Pillar of Autumn: Or as vague as a birthdate: Also, easter eggs do not have to be well placed words. In fact, they don't have to be visual at all. "The Siege of Madrigal" egg is a perfect example of the fact that an egg can be just about anything. Note the fact that I said "just about." This is my segue to... What isn't an Egg? This is the part most people have too much trouble gripping, and in fact the reason this guide exists. All too often, people look too much into something they see during their egg hunt, and accept their finding as something it's not. Please read this part carefully, as this may or may not save you from potential flaming when you post your egg discoveries. The Marathon Logo: The logo scene on Keyes' uniform, and on the side of the pillar of autumn, is the same logo that Bungie used for their cult classic games, the Marathon series. Why then, is this not an egg? In Marathon, the logo was representative of the Marathon itself. Which is to say, a "world within a world" of sorts. In Halo, the symbol's representation has changed, and is no longer connected to Marathon. Instead, it represents the human forces, and is a story detail. As we know from the definition, easter eggs are not directly related to the game, so the Marathon symbol is not an egg. Minute Details: Bungie went all out for Halo, putting some incredible details into the game. From the shovel near the tread on the Scorpion, to the numbers stenciled onto grenades, Bungie went all out with the game design. However, just because there are numbers or letters somewhere doesn't necessarily mean that they are an egg. Some of these things, when you think about it, make sense. The military really does stencil serial numbers on grenades. A speedometer in a vehicle like the warthog makes sense. However, if you're able to connect the image or phrase with something Bungie-related, that's when it becomes an egg. For example, the texture artist responsible for Master Chief's texture put his initials on the soles of MC's boots. The trick is to be able to make a connection. If no connection can be made, then it's not an egg. And yes, you're expected to research your egg. Texture abnormalities: This is the biggest, most often mistaken find when people search for eggs. People get so into their search that as soon as their eye catches a vague image, they complete the shape in their minds, and then post their revolutionary discovery. If you have to look hard in order to see an image, then you're seeing things that aren't intentionally there. Look at it this way, if you have to outline it with your fingers or your hands to get other people to see it, then you're seeing things. No one would go through that much trouble to hide an egg. Before you declare your discovery to be an egg, you should look at the texture closely. Often, people are seeing shapes on the seam of a texture that's reflected. Grunt Rocks: Right up there with the texture abnormalities, the rocks people swear to god look like grunts are really just hallucinations. And besides, even if they were really grunt-shaped rocks, they would draw connections between the Covenant and the Forerunner, and as a story element could not be an easter egg. The important thing to remember when egg hunting is to use common sense. If you have to strain to prove its an egg, it probably isn't an egg. Are those numbers representative, or are they just detail? Don't just convince yourself of something and post, that'll just get you in trouble. The Hunt Begins Where do I look? Anywhere, and everywhere. Eggs can be anywhere, and getting to them may be part of the fun of finding them. Ferrex's signature in the maw is the perfect example: You pass the secret room as you rush through the Maw, but it requires a little trickery if you want to find it for yourself. The Food Nipple Grunt is another prime example, you have to take a moment from your busy schedule (ie, running for your life) in order to find him. What should I look for? Bungie Mythos: This is part of the reason why people fail to discover eggs. A lot of you came to the community because of Halo, and really have no feeling for how or why things are the way they are. Understanding Bungieisms is a step in the right direction. B.org is here for you. Read up on your heroes. Maybe even get ahold of some of their older games and play them through. The More You Know™. Nooks and Crannies: Most eggs aren't going to simply present themselves to you. Some require a bit of journeying to reach. Egg hunting requires going off the beaten path. Though no eggs have been discovered by going to the "out of bounds" areas of levels, yet, it's still a possibility. Any area that doesn't follow the basic flow of the game should be suspect. The Discovery Announced What should I do before I post? Research! If you think you've discovered an egg, but aren't sure, don't just post "OMG I FUND N EG MB!!11" Not only will that annoy the hell out of some of us, it'll make you look like a lazy jerk who's just trying to get credit for something. If it were my world, posts that say "This might be an egg, someone else go find it and prove it" would be deleted, even if it ended up being an egg. If you're not willing to look to see if your discovery is really an egg, then don't waste our time with reports from your egg hunt. You can find out just about anything you want to know about Bungie by looking through B.Org. Yes, it might take some work, but if you can confirm for yourself that you really do have an egg, then you can post with confidence, and you won't be flamed for your work. In fact, you'll earn quite a bit of respect for going the extra mile. Also, make sure your egg meets the "egg guidelines." If my definition wasn't enough for you, Louis has written up a lovely FAQ on the subject, available here. Check the forum archives! This cannot be stressed enough. Keep in mind that this forum sees a thousand posts a day, easily. You're not the only person out there looking for eggs, you know. Check the forum archives (yes, all of them) for your egg. If you don't find it, feel free to post. If you're just going to post without looking, then you're lazy or you're a jerk, and you're not going to be taken seriously. What should I do when I post? Be Descriptive: It's extremely important that if you want other people to see your discovery, you must be able to describe where it is, and how to get there. Lay it out for us, step by step. If you can, provide pictures and/or movies. The better you document how to approach your discovery the more likely someone will be able to help you confirm it. Use English! If you want to communicate an idea, you should make an effort to communicate it clearly. If you haven't noticed, there are plenty of people around here who'd be more than happy to jump on your post and ridicule you because you write like a little child. Use grammar. Consider writing your post into Word, spellchecking, and then pasting into the field. Use white space and paragraphs to seperate thoughts and ideas. A little effort goes a long way if you want to be taken seriously around here. The Conclusion When Forums Attack If it turns out that you're not looking at an egg, expect some criticsm. If it turns out that you're looking at something that's not an egg that has been posted about in the past, expect a LOT of criticism. If you make no effort in your post whatsoever, expecting to get some kind of credit for your childish drivel about something you're sure is an egg, while we can't hardly read what your saying, expect to recieve no respect at all. If you won't make an effort in your post, we won't make an effort to take you seriously. At the same time, some things should be taken in stride. Don't look at flames as a reason to give up and go home, look at them as a reason to improve your posting skills, and let them drive you on in your egg hunt. The Last Egg Something very important to keep in mind is that there are two types of easter eggs. Those that are meant to be found, and those that are not. It's quite possible that we may never find all of Halo's easter eggs. But that's no reason to announce the hunt as dead, now is it? I realize this is kind of wordy, but I hope it helps some of you out. It seems a lot of people want to participate in the hunt, but really don't have a clue as to what they're looking for. I figure a very specific forum post on the subject should help since most of you seem to completely miss Louis' well written egg FAQ. Happy Hunting! -S

Message Index

Shishka's Guide to Easter Eggs *long, imgs*	Shishka	3/23/03 5:31 p.m.
Re: Shishka's Guide to Easter Eggs *long, imgs*	Konrad9	3/23/03 5:36 p.m.
Nice.	Louis Wu	3/23/03 6:20 p.m.
Good call! *NM*	Shishka	3/23/03 6:30 p.m.
Re: Nice.	opie301	3/23/03 7:03 p.m.
Re: Nice.	Louis Wu	3/23/03 7:28 p.m.
Yay!	PanZer	3/23/03 6:24 p.m.
Very nice	P_40E	3/23/03 6:28 p.m.
Re: Very nice	Louis Wu	3/23/03 6:30 p.m.
Re: Very nice	P_40E	3/23/03 6:44 p.m.
play halo! *NM*	oddworld18	3/23/03 6:46 p.m.
Re: play halo!	P_40E	3/23/03 6:50 p.m.
Re: play halo!	Red Loser	3/23/03 7:00 p.m.
Re: play halo!	Lion	3/23/03 8:54 p.m.
Re: Very nice	P_40E	3/23/03 8:22 p.m.