[WikiX-l] Quick recap of WikiX event in Cambridge

[Samuel Klein]

We held a short, sweet birthday for Wikipedia at MIT.  Kat, the
Cunctator (carrying the torch of Year One editors), and advisors Mako
and Jing Wang showed up.  It took place in the middle of an MIT
tradition: the annual Mystery Hunt, with ~1000 puzzlers (inevitably
heavy Wikipedia users) solving a mystery consisting of 48 hours worth
of puzzles.  My team hosted a party with cake, which lasted half an
hour.  Around 100 people came by, shared food and names and ideas and
toasts, and talked about the future.

There were a few hacks at the same time nearby:  a 3D replica of the
wikiglobe was hung from the ceiling of the largest Lobby on campus[1],
and dozens of halls around MIT were plastered with 'citation needed'
and very targeted cleanup templates:"this hallway needs cleanup",
"this hallway is too long and should be split up", "this facade
contains too much detail", "this building looks like an inappropriate
[random] gallery of images", &c.[2]

And one of the puzzles in the Mystery Hunt, released on Saturday,
looked like a "runaround", a puzzle which gives instructions for
moving around a city or a campus following certain signs or looking
for clues.  However this puzzle turned out to be impossible to do in
person -- it is instead a WIKIPEDIA runaround, which takes place
entirely in articles, with links as warps or portals.  For a taste of
the Hunt, I include it below -- see if you can make sense of it!  It
generally took people an hour to get to the 'final dungeon' and
another insight to solve. [3]  This was the first full-fledged Hunt
puzzle to rely on Wikipedia as its substrate.

SJ

[1] After a day of sagging!:
http://ten.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wp-lobby7.JPG

[2] http://ten.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wp-inapp.JPG

[3] The full text of the puzzle is included here:


O======================================================O
|                              Full Walkthrough
|                        Last Updated: 01/11/2011
|
| This game is a constantly changing labyrinth of levels you have to
| navigate.  There are many levels in which you can easily get lost,
| but if you follow this guide you should be able to quickly get to
| the boss battle.
|
O======================================================O

Begin your quest at Kresge Auditorium. Walk past its architect and the
large store. On the next block, you'll see an egg-like object.  Just
past it you will find a round portal.  Go through it.

At this point you'll be near the Greek's territory.  A couple blocks
past is a grey platform filled with warp zones.  Take the warp that's
continuously deforming itself.  One block past its exit there will be
some gunfire, but dodging all the bullets shouldn't be hard.  You
should see another nearby exit similar to the warp you just used.  Go
through the well-covered exit immediately before it.

In this region you'll find many men.  They all have interesting things
to say, but you need to find the ones pretending to be an officer.
Find these men past some large latex monuments.  Follow them into the
next level.

Here you need to eavesdrop on several conversations to get the
information you need to progress.  First, head for the block with the
largest group of impersonators.  As they disperse, follow a pair of
them for a couple blocks where they'll start squabbling.  Listen in,
and you'll notice that you saw one of their two points of contention
earlier in this level.  Return to where you first saw it and, you'll
be close enough to hear a discussion about what sounds like French
groups of musicians (but they're actually discussing something much
more fundamental).  Go back to the first time you heard this topic
dicussed.  The door to the next level is the first one on that block.

A few blocks down is a door back the way you came.  Obviously, you
don't want to go there.  Instead climb onto the warp platform after
it.  These teleporters are guarded by various people.  Beam down to
the planet with a group of hackers.  On the other side, look up
quickly, because there will be a horde of armed men.  You only defeat
the man of steel though since he guards the door to the next level.

Immediately, approach the medical cabal.  They won't have what you
need, but the nearby scientists will.  It would be a good idea to
activate your thermal shielding before proceeding to the next level.

In this level you need to assemble a key from just two atoms: the
first atom of the gateway below the black machine, and the second atom
in the exit from the right side of the brick room.  With both atoms
joined, you have the key to the next level, which you'll find amongst
a group of four shooters (naturally, the shooter with the most ammo is
guarding it).

You'll find a colorful bar in this level.  Your energy is probably
pretty low at this point, so drink some caffeine.  While drinking, an
informant will sidle up on your left and give you an important piece
of information.  Go back to this level's warp platform and use that
information to select a teleporter.  One block prior is the door you
want.  It is guarded by a punk bragging about how much better he is at
everything.  You'd expect more fight from someone yelling so loudly,
but he's a pushover.  Defeat him and move on to the next level.

The next level features a parabolic dish with red statues on its
inside.  While you slide down it, grab the first statue on the left
and the third statue on the right.  Find black replicas of these
statues down the road.  Not far past them, you'll notice the same
value repeated four times.  Decreasing it by five percent will send
you back to an earlier point in this level.  You'll be very close to
your next gateway, which is right before a few flowers.

The key to this zone is contacting the dictator.  Recall the location
of his greatest victory over his most prominent rival, and head
straight to that country.  Your next door is the one right past it.

At this point you should see a small garden on your right, with a
single prominent plant in the center.  Pick it up and use it as a key
on the nearby warp platform.  Once you do walk one block up.  There
are a number of doors there, but the one you want has a star displayed
prominently on it.

Study the local art for the city of Rome and the world.  Afterwards
you know what year it is.  You're given a time machine, with which you
should travel forward in time from the current year to the next
chronologically available specific year.  Time traveling makes you
hungry, but conveniently there's a candy bar immediately in front of
you.  That candy is common in this level, go back and eat the first
one.  After eating that candy you're happy, but you need to move on to
the next temperament.  Then fly to the next celestial body.

When you arrive here you will need to gather more information.  Send
three of your cheapest Khalai units to scout.  The the first two will
be short lived in this level, but the third will be perennial.  Have
your perennial scout wait 1829 days with the locals and then dive into
the next portal.

Find and equip the rock salt armor.  The end of this block will
specify a speed for your warp drive.  Go forward that many blocks.
You should see a province in this block.  Find a picturesque
promontory within this province.  Now switch to a different location
that has the same geological features.  Proceed through the next door
after this movement.

Wander past more than a score of blocks until you can jump into a
wrestling match among scientists.  Dodge a few dozen shots from their
guns.  They will begin by counting these shots out, but you need to
keep dodging them even after they stop counting.  Keep dodging them
until you can chat with your buddy on your personal computer.  Go in
the next gate.

A pedantic table fills most of this level, but you can ignore its
existence.  Find three families of birds.  The one of interest to you
is the third one.  Find any of the twelve exits from this level to
that bird's homeland.

O======================================================O
|                             Final Dungeon
|
| You've reached the final dungeon.  Assuming you're on an island with
| some Chinese pirates you probably don't need to go back.  First you
| will have to explore the final dungeon to find the boss.  Then you
| have to find the single event that will defeat the boss.  Once you
| learn the identity of this event, you simply have to call out its
| name to win this game.
|
O======================================================O


The best way to get started here is to steal two given names.  First
steal the given name of the first person you meet.  As soon as you've
established a new identity as that given name, steal the given name of
the previous president.  Your latest identity has many fans, but you
need to find an exemplar skirmish in your field of expertise.  You are
affiliated with one side of this skirmish.  One quarter of your
opposition show up in this dungeon in another form.  The local people
control the penultimate of this other form, second only to another
entity.  A dangerous encounter between the local people and that
entity is your boss battle.

First find a mayor.  He will be quoted saying something at the capital
of the final dungeon.  After he's spoken, follow the second person you
see (not counting the mayor himself, of course!).  The next time you see
this person, the next portal you see will take you to the final event.

Call out its name.




-- 
Samuel Klein          identi.ca:sj           w:user:sj          +1 617 529 4266