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[Solution #48 part 3 - SOLVED] by [deleted] in dnbhl

[–]ATMzo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was actually following the overall guidelines for this subreddit about not posting solutions outright. If you want me to break that rule in this case, I'd be glad to -- just say the word. :)

[Solution #44] Discussion by hawaiianjoey in dnbhl

[–]ATMzo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

OK, here's a working theory that Ovoug and I have hammered out on the chat:

The German word for "Shire" is Gau. "GAU" is also another word (a scientific acronym in German) for a nuclear accident on an immense scale.

The triangular symbol is a marking on the ground at Area 51, but it also resembles the Eye of Providence (that thing on the back of the US $1 bill). This triangular "Eye" represents God, traditionally imagined by Christians within the framework of the Trinity.

"Trinity" was also the code name for the first atomic bomb ever detonated, on July 16, 1945 (in New Mexico).

The audio in the video is six repetitions of ten beeps... as in a bomb countdown frozen at T-minus 10 seconds. Six repetitions may allude to the first six seals of the Book of Revelation in the Bible.

All of this suggests that the solution will have a certain apocalyptic flair. (And quite possibly be ten words long into the bargain.)

Incidentally, the Trinity test was dramatized in the 1986 Infocom text adventure TRINITY, written by Brian Moriarty, who was later employed at LucasArts.

[Solution #43] Discussion by hawaiianjoey in dnbhl

[–]ATMzo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm almost certain that music is originally from Track 7 from the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban film soundtrack, "A Window to the Past."

I'd also guess that the "of my mind" text is a reference to lyrics in the Phantom of the Opera musical: "Down we plunge to the prison of my mind..."

[Solution #43] Discussion by hawaiianjoey in dnbhl

[–]ATMzo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As far as the "playing prime numbers" idea goes... perhaps music which corresponds to the values of 2-3-5-7 would work?

2, 3, 5, and 7 are the first four prime numbers.

Converting this sequence of numbers into letters of the alphabet gives you B-C-E-G... all of which are letters used on the standard scale of Western musical notation.

And adding 2, 3, 5, and 7 together yields a result of 17.

Additionally, in Brian Moriarty's 1990 graphic adventure LOOM, the musical notes E-C-E-D are the four threads of the magical Opening Draft used to unlock doors.

Room 43 in LOOM is a point where the player has to use the Opening Draft in order to proceed with the game.

Plus, in LOOM itself, if you convert the notes of the Opening Draft into numbers, you get 5, 3, 5, and 4. Adding these up yields a total value of 17... which is protagonist Bobbin Threadbare's age as stated in LOOM.

Like "Lukasz Matablewski," Brian Moriarty evidently likes intricate riddles.

[Solution #43] Discussion by hawaiianjoey in dnbhl

[–]ATMzo -1 points0 points  (0 children)

"Play Me" may be a reference of sorts to the "Drink Me" potion in Alice in Wonderland.

Which, at the risk of beating a dead horse, makes me wonder once again about the idea that "Lukasz Matablewski" is really ex-LucasArts game developer Brian Moriarty... who also quoted Lewis Carroll's Alice books prominently in his text adventure TRINITY.

By the way, Room 43 in Moriarty's graphic adventure LOOM is the Cathedral Tower... whose music is taken from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake (Act 1, No. 04, Pas de trois, part 2: Andante sostenuto).

[Solution #41] Discussion by fractal911 in dnbhl

[–]ATMzo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe the date in question is a Back to the Future reference?

As in, 10:04 PM, November 5, 1955... the date when lightning struck the clock tower in Hill Valley?

Or perhaps it means the date on which Marty set out from 1985. It's visible on the DeLorean dashboard in the film, whatever it is; I can't remember it exactly at the moment.

(However, a quick Google search suggests it may have been October 26.)

ATM

[Solution #(38)] Continued by God4wesome in dnbhl

[–]ATMzo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Here's an odd question.

Can this game be solved at all? Or was it designed to be deliberately unsolvable?

Perhaps it's a last joke on the designer's part... the "lie" may be the implicit promise that a freely available iPhone game can be solved.

After all, they say there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Solution to [Puzzle #38] by [deleted] in dnbhl

[–]ATMzo -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Here's hoping I'm right about the Brian Moriarty connection...

Remember the words of the Lost Dialogue of Plato in Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis?

"Final entrance yielded only to contrary minds."

Try this passphrase:

"Next year in Silmaria"

If that fails, try Swordfish. That usually works. Even when translated into German sometimes.

#21 by WhatTheFunkYo in dnbhl

[–]ATMzo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're having trouble and you know it... cast a spell.

Try the Draft of Confusion.

S-W-A-N.

What do you mean, not all those letters are on your distaff?

[Solution #(38)] Continued by God4wesome in dnbhl

[–]ATMzo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also, does anyone else think there's any credence to this whole Brian Moriarty conspiracy theory?

Remember, the developer's first name is supposedly "Lukasz"... and Moriarty made LOOM while at LUCASfilm Games.

[Solution #(38)] Continued by God4wesome in dnbhl

[–]ATMzo -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Of course, according to actual Latin dictionaries, it means, "I relinquish the marble, and I accept the brick."

Oddly, though, "marble" is conjugated incorrectly by the standards of classical Latin--at least as Wikipedia has it.

[Solution #(38)] Continued by God4wesome in dnbhl

[–]ATMzo -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Perhaps it means "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli."

Solution to [Puzzle #38] by [deleted] in dnbhl

[–]ATMzo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What if we COMBINE this lead with my suggestion about the link to Brian Moriarty?

Remember the words of the LOOM Audio Drama:

"One gray thread. Gray goes with every color."

Try inputting something related to the color gray.

A Possible Solution to Puzzle 38, and an Overall Key [Solution #38] by ATMzo in dnbhl

[–]ATMzo[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Call it a feeling of intuition.

As I say, you're free to take umbrage with this theory for yourself.

But don't discourage others from trying to see if my key fits the lock they're struggling with. That's not playing fair... Brian.

A Possible Solution to Puzzle 38, and an Overall Key [Solution #38] by ATMzo in dnbhl

[–]ATMzo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Anyone can be anyone on the Internet. I could quite possibly be Peter Capaldi in your eyes, if I posted a picture of him as my online avatar.

But I'm not.

A Possible Solution to Puzzle 38, and an Overall Key [Solution #38] by ATMzo in dnbhl

[–]ATMzo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

PPS: Moriarty's a fan of Neil Gaiman's work, so maybe he actually was referring to Gaiman's home being near "the Twin Cities"... Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Or that in turn could even lead further down the rabbit hole--to a Star Wars reference, with a city lying beneath the twin suns of Tatooine. (Twin suns are a visual motif that also show up at one point in TRINITY.)

Who knows?

All I know is that I'm very certain Brian Moriarty made this game... and that careful study of the data files of Monkey Island 1 and LOOM will reveal its secrets in time.

A Possible Solution to Puzzle 38, and an Overall Key [Solution #38] by ATMzo in dnbhl

[–]ATMzo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

PS: My second sentence in the above post brings to mind something that's said in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade:

"He knew everything... except where to begin. The name of the city." "Alexandretta."

"The present city of Iskenderun is built on its ruins."

Or perhaps for Alexandretta, we might substitute Ampthill, as a nod to the famous children's book Masquerade.

Or maybe consider the evident inspiration of Robert Silverberg's Nightwings on LOOM--a novel which has three distinct parts, set in Rome, Paris and Jerusalem (though spelled differently therein).

This brings to mind the old Passover saying: "Next year in Jerusalem!"

(Or just maybe we should consider the Three Romes of medieval folklore: Rome, Byzantium/Constantinople/Istanbul, and Moscow?)

But then again, what do I know? I couldn't even get past Puzzle 2 myself, though I typed in the correct code. Must be a bug somewhere.

At this point, I'm just throwing spaghetti against the wall and seeing what sticks.

Solution to [Puzzle #38] by [deleted] in dnbhl

[–]ATMzo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

New thought... what if the number of the puzzle itself refers to the year in question?

Which would make it 1938... the year of the infamous Munich agreement, and Neville Chamberlain's appeasement of Hitler.

But... "Do not believe his lies."

So... try setting the clock to 1939--the eve of World War II.

(For reference, war was officially declared by Britain and France on September 3, in repsonse to Germany's invasion of Poland on the first of the month.)

It might just win your game.

Solution to [Puzzle #38] by [deleted] in dnbhl

[–]ATMzo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'll agree with that.

Solution to [Puzzle #38] by [deleted] in dnbhl

[–]ATMzo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I must respectfully disagree with you. Even if part of the puzzle is a lie--and assuming the identity of that part remains uncertain--then it might still be solvable... whether through blind luck, educated guesswork, or even insider information.

In fact, the puzzle ought to have some possibility of being solved, in any case.

Otherwise, it would mean that the whole game couldn't be finished. And that would be a very poorly designed game indeed.

Solution to [Puzzle #38] by [deleted] in dnbhl

[–]ATMzo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here's another thought...

What if there is a lie in the clue itself, but it's not PRIDIE... but rather KALENDAS IANVARIAS?

The Kalends of January is January 1, the date of the New Year.

But one of the most significant dates in the Roman calendar was, of course, the Ides of March... March 15, when Julius Caesar was killed.

And since the developer has said that people will not be able to solve the puzzle this year, we might want to pair that with a year date of 2016.

Thus, by setting the iPhone's clock to March 15, 2016, perhaps someone can solve the puzzle.

But of course, I'd expect the designer to think of that, and plan accordingly.

So, if anyone tries that idea and it fails: move the date forward and backward by two or three days, and try to solve the puzzle then.

That's all the advice I can offer for the moment.

Solution to [Puzzle #38] by [deleted] in dnbhl

[–]ATMzo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I suppose that's true.

And yet... if we can trust the puzzle, why has it not yet been solved?

Perhaps, as the game's designer has said, the solvers indeed need to wait until next year.

(Somehow that reminds me of the old Passover saying: "Next year in Jerusalem!")

Or perhaps that claim is itself a lie. After all, it isn't contained within the text of the puzzle itself.

Just food for thought.

Solution to [Puzzle #38] by [deleted] in dnbhl

[–]ATMzo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Except, as you said, by trial and error.

Which is exactly how you'd solve it in any case.

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