In the Insanity! and A Winter's Tale trailers, clues could be found that eventually led to the (hidden at the time) Forbidden Knowledge cinematic.
Trailer Cyphers[]
In the trailer for the "Insanity" update, shots of letters occasionally flash by. In total there are three such frames in the middle of each of which there is a yellow letter (M,A,X)
|
K |
W | U | N | V | P | G | U | E |
| P | E | P | K | C | D | Y | Y | P |
| O | I | R | I | L | M | U | T | B |
| L | I | P | L | Z | F | E | P | N |
| D | A | R | P | M | U | C | Y | N |
| D | R | H | M | H | V | L | A | T |
| V | P | O | C | T | N | F | M | X |
| O | D | L | N | E | P | C | I | V |
| C | W | G | Z | X | H | E | K | A |
25 seconds in
| M | M | Y | T | G | I | G | M | J |
| T | Y | U | B | Y | X | F | F | F |
| T | J | Q | I | P | A | A | Q | B |
| L | B | B | V | B | Z | E | W | W |
| S | F | L | I |
A |
K | D | W | Y |
| J | Q | U | Z | C | V | C | Q | V |
| V | N | L | B | G | Z | E | V | D |
| E | J | E | D | N | K | A | G | G |
| F | G | I | Y | V | X | H | J | H |
53 seconds in
|
M |
J | J | G | A | O | A | A | O |
|
O |
Z |
L |
B | B | B | B | F | K |
|
D |
G |
V |
L | Q | P | C | O | A |
|
Q |
W |
N |
R | M | H | F | L | L |
|
V |
P |
Y |
Z |
X |
D | Q | E | Z |
|
J |
Z |
E |
I | U | M | I | H | Z |
|
V |
R |
G |
F | D | P | Z | C | W |
|
Q |
P |
T |
P | X | K | C | K | A |
|
J |
D |
Z |
N | E | Y | D | I | L |
Blueprint Page[]
In the A Winter's Tale update trailer, Morse Code can be heard, and when translated, says "Their end is your beginning". This corresponds to the five character deaths seen near the end of the video. In order, they are.
- Wes
- Wendy
- WX-78
- Willow
- Wilson
Kevin also suggested to the players on the forums:"All of the playable characters' names begin with W, but their ends are all unique letters or numbers. I can't remember if that bit was intentional.""Wes was the first to die. Wilson was the last. There was stuff that happened between. And all the while the jaunty tune played on." By taking the last letter of each character, in order of their deaths, a link is created which leads to this page. Take the three letters on the blueprint, and replace "me.html" with the corresponding letter to create new links: M, A, and X. These three pages each produce seemingly indecipherable, long pages of gibberish.
Deciphering the Code[]
In actuality, the three pages of text are save files for the game. Loading them up will produce three worlds (in the then-incomplete Adventure Mode), each containing an odd structure of walls somewhere on the island. The walls are mostly stone, with the occasional wood wall. These structures match up with the cyphers found earlier, with each set of walls corresponding to the cypher with the same letter at its center as the link that generated the world. If the walls are oriented correctly, the letters matching up with the wood walls will spell a message when the letters are arranged in order- individual cyphers have their letters lined up from the order they are read in (in the traditional left-to-right, up-to-down format), and sets are placed in the order their cyphers came in: MAX. In themselves, the player spawns on a structure that is a circle of fire pits. The required structures are in the swamps and are surrounded by a tooth traps. Next to the structure you can also find a Teleportato that teleports to the normal adventure world
This spells HOWITALLBEGAN ("How it all began"), which is for another hidden link. This link leads to this page, which contains the Forbidden Knowledge video.
Concept Art Page[]
Another link is hidden in the scene where Wilson receives knowledge from the radio (0:40), which leads this page, which in turn leads to a (now taken down) page of concept art. (Web Archive link here)
There is also Maxwell's message:"
My, aren’t you clever? You found all of the clues and made your way here. I am both impressed with and repulsed by your perseverance. Or maybe someone told you how to get here. In which case, I am even more impressed! Convincing others to do all of your hard work is the mark of a true intellect.
So long as you are here, I have something to share with you. What is the point of doing anything if there is no reward attached?
What you have seen so far isn’t the first vision of torment for poor Wilson. In fact, it’s not even the first Wilson. These things are matter of trial and error, you see. Failure and repetition. Death and... well, more death. Mostly his, thankfully.
My “associates” at Klei Entertainment have been so kind as to provide us with these early visions of what they so quaintly call “Don’t Starve”. Some of these images did not suit the whims of my taste on a particular day. Others, I am holding in reserve for further adventures.
Honestly, sometimes I just make them do things to watch them scurry about. You mortals are quite entertaining!
Farewell for now, friends. I have enjoyed our little cat-and-mouse game. We shall have to do this again!
-Maxwell"
Gallery[]
