I have another one. In the olden days, it was tradition to send an insulting note on valentine's day. These were called penny dreadfuls, as they only cost a penny. In the commons there is a girl called Penny Dreadful who happens to be dressed in black.
Almost everything in KT and Balance Magic is based off of Egyptian mythology (as stated above: Alhazred, Krokonomicon, Judgement). Krokopatra? KROKHOPTEP? (can't quite remember what that one is but I know it's some reference.) The creators of this game are geniuses.
Here's a couple that other people may have missed, and dealing with Indiana Jones. In Indiana Jones and and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, they say that Indiana's archeology proffesor is named DR. RAVENWOOD. Obviously the map room quest in krokotopia is taken from the map room in this movie, but the well of souls is also taken from the same movie. The well of souls is where the ark is hidden.
Cthulu is one of the elder gods, and is supposedly summoned with a spell from the Necronomicon!
I suspect at least one writer with KI is familiar with HP Lovecraft :)
I always wondered if Gretta Darkkettle is really the Wicked Witch of the West.
Don't know if someone already mentioned this, but the Halloween Scavenger Hunt is rife with allusions to ancient Halloween stories. Jack is an ancient trickster from early Scottish, Irish, and Appalachian American folklore, a cycle of stories known as "the Jack Tales". Jack in the Beanstalk is the one most of us have heard, but there are a couple hundred other Jack stories.
@ozzyrocker, Nice analysis of the Greek epics. I must not be the only one well-read in the classics of western literature :) Wonder if the ancient Sumerian stories will wend their ways into the Great Spiral?
So many stories, and the immensity of cyber space in which to explore them.
qbb, Bookworm
haha maybe we can add a character named Gilgamesh in a new district of Krokotopia??
Who's Gilgamesh? never heard of him before i think lol
A few from Wysteria: 1. There is a rabbit guard named "Lt. Roger." Possibly Roger Rabbit (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?) 2. I guess this is just more of a reference to the game itself IN the game. In the Tournament Hall in Wysteria, you can see portraits of a young Alhazred, Emperor Yoshihito, Merle Ambrose, Diego, Sherlock Bones, and Malistaire!
marlybone seems to have alot. just listen to the marlybone theme! it sounds almost exactly the same as hedwigs theme! (i only know hedwigs theme because it was a solo in my school band back in april!)
In Wysteria, there is a dog in the streets that is painting that has the name above her head "Dolly Salvadore", a reference to the surrealist Salvator Dali. There are also portraits of Ambrose, Malistaire, Diego, and Emperor Yoshihito in Pigswick.
I've read a book by James Patterson called Witch & Wizard and of the two main characters (i could never decide which one the true main character was ) one was named Wisteria Allgood. And all of wisteria is good. Almost :P And i suppose the name Chester Droors as well, meaning chest of drawers (it's commonly known as a dresser) the Earth Professor of Pigswick Academy.
I've seen several references to classic band album and song titles, for example a quest in Celestia is named after the Pink Floyd album, "Dark Side of the Moon". And if I remember correctly, one quest is named after a Beatle's song, Here Comes the Sun. This just goes to show KI has great taste in music. I am truly loving all the references.
Cthulu is one of the elder gods, and is supposedly summoned with a spell from the Necronomicon!
I suspect at least one writer with KI is familiar with HP Lovecraft :)
I always wondered if Gretta Darkkettle is really the Wicked Witch of the West.
Don't know if someone already mentioned this, but the Halloween Scavenger Hunt is rife with allusions to ancient Halloween stories. Jack is an ancient trickster from early Scottish, Irish, and Appalachian American folklore, a cycle of stories known as "the Jack Tales". Jack in the Beanstalk is the one most of us have heard, but there are a couple hundred other Jack stories.
@ozzyrocker, Nice analysis of the Greek epics. I must not be the only one well-read in the classics of western literature :) Wonder if the ancient Sumerian stories will wend their ways into the Great Spiral?
So many stories, and the immensity of cyber space in which to explore them.
qbb, Bookworm
haha maybe we can add a character named Gilgamesh in a new district of Krokotopia??
Who's Gilgamesh? never heard of him before i think lol
Who doesn't know Gelgamesh! Ever heard of the SMURFS! LOL
Oh, and malt22, if you love Blue Oyster Cult then see the Saturday Night Live cowbell skit. "I've got a fever, and the only perscription is more cowbell!"
Jasmine "I've got a fever, and the only perscription is more cowbell!"
That skit cracks me up. I love anything Christopher Walken does. He did a great Top Chef skit for Saturday Night Live too. :P
Almost everything in KT and Balance Magic is based off of Egyptian mythology (as stated above: Alhazred, Krokonomicon, Judgement). Krokopatra? KROKHOPTEP? (can't quite remember what that one is but I know it's some reference.) The creators of this game are geniuses.
Krokhoptep is possibly parodying the Egyptian polymath, Imhotep, who served Djoser, the king of the Third Dynasty. He was also a doctor, a builder, a carpenter, and many more things.
He was built a shrine after his death, which was extremely rare for a commoner, which is why he might be famous.
Also, try "The Mummy".
Tyler Summertail Level 54 Grandmaster Pyromancer
"Television is a medium because anything well done is rare."-Fred Allen
In Wysteria, there is a dog in the streets that is painting that has the name above her head "Dolly Salvadore", a reference to the surrealist Salvator Dali. There are also portraits of Ambrose, Malistaire, Diego, and Emperor Yoshihito in Pigswick.
Thanks for confirming that- I thought about it, but also figured I might be reading too much into it. :P
I also just found this one: There's a rabbit in Wysteria called Captain O'Hare- this is, I think, a reference to Bucky O'Hare, the character from the cartoon/comic book franchise that was big in the late 70s and early 80s. The kids probably won't notice, but I bet some of the older players will. :)
PS: The Krok place was my favourite- I loved all of the references, especially Krokopatra, Krokhotep, and the Krokonomicon. I may also be slightly biased, as I am a Balance wiz and that's where my school is, but don't mind me. :P
Update: Just discovered that the stablemaster in Wysteria is a rabbit called Lapin Wingtamer. If you're like me, you'll probably notice that "lapin" is the French word for rabbit- this is, to me, a true gem that most people won't catch onto. After all, how many people in the U.S., where the site is based, speak French? Keep 'em coming, KI!
wizard city: america krokotopia: egypt marleybone: england mooshu: china/japan dragonspyre: rome grizzlehiem/wintertusk: ???? celestia: atlantis
grizzlehiem/wintertusk: norway-vikings: baldur goldpaws is an explorer, their god is a frost giant, which i believe is a reference to odin, the norse god. Lots of the people in gh / wt have norse names or are named after norse gods.
idk how many other people have noticed this, but in the pet pavillion, the guys who run the pet shop are the pet shop boys, a band from the 80s, and the pet snack shopkeepers are the west ende girls, and the west end girls is a song by said pet shop boys
From Wysteria, here is a couple more rabbits that I can remember off the top of my head.
1. Private Eddie- Eddie Rabbit, the singer songwriter 2. Sergeant Harvey- Harvey is a movie about an imaginary giant rabbit that befriends Jimmy Stewart (going back to 1950 here) 3. Lt. Roger- Ode to Who Framed Roger Rabbit maybe
There must be an ode to Bugs Bunny in there, but I can't remember it.
