By Kieron Gillen on September 15th, 2010 at 1:57 pm.
I’m sure that everyone will agree, what we were hoping the man behind the blistering Boss Rush would do next would be a game about making haikus. Our hopes are answered. Haiku Hero basically challenges you to make haikus (Three-line poems in a 5, 7, 5 sylables structure – English Teacher Ed) against a time limit. To make it trickier, as you turn up the difficulty level, it sets limits – like having it rhyme, include set words or only have words with a certain number of syllables. Here’s Chris Cornell’s designers notes. “Since it has already lead to one of my playtesters filling my inbox with Cthulhu-themed haikus for a week, I consider it a win,” he informs me, “I’ve decided that this subgenre should be officially called “Haiku-hlus”. Inform the authorities!” Consider the authorities informed. Go get poetositing, gaming sorts!
15/09/2010 at 14:09 Lambchops says:
Comment will be wise
If position is alright
I fear reply fail
15/09/2010 at 14:20 kyynis says:
First comment in thread?
How could it be reply fail?
I fear for you mind.
15/09/2010 at 14:11 Emphursis says:
This game looks very odd
Maybe it has Dinosaurs
Then it would be good
15/09/2010 at 14:12 Ian says:
http://godzillahaiku.tumblr.com/
15/09/2010 at 21:41 Fede says:
Feels a little weird,
writing haikus in english
but yeah, it’s funny!
Lol! Thanks for the link, Ian :)
15/09/2010 at 14:16 Emphursis says:
That’s incredible
You found the Dinosaurs
Now the game is good
15/09/2010 at 14:23 Pandaemonius says:
It already had dinosaurs!
The description on congregate:
“Quick, how fast can you make a haiku? That includes the world “tyrannosaurus?” And none of the letter D? And rhymes?”
15/09/2010 at 14:19 Pandaemonius says:
I like this concept. It would be even better if it could slowly but automatically increase the difficulty – add more rules as you go and such. It would also be cool if it extended to other forms of poetry – odes and sonnets, perhaps. I’d say limericks, but everyone knows how to do a limerick. I think it would be pretty good at teaching people how to write poems of all sorts, basically.
Haiku away!
15/09/2010 at 14:22 Fred Wester, CEO of Paradox says:
Haiku thread: stupid
or fun? – Fred Wester, CE
O of Paradox
15/09/2010 at 15:44 BooleanBob says:
Right. Right. Right. Right. Right.
RIght. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right.
(That’s enough right – ed.)
15/09/2010 at 14:23 Lavatein says:
I read over my haikus after the five minutes and, jesus, if these are the things that first pop into my head then I need a lifestyle change.
15/09/2010 at 14:31 Pandaemonius says:
Boo! The dictionary doesn’t have ursine or undead. How am I to write my epic tale of battles against zombie polar bears?
I lured it from their
igloo, that ursine undead,
with rotting fish heads.
15/09/2010 at 14:39 Pandaemonius says:
Nor monosyllabic! There goes my meta-haiku.
What kind of poetry game has such a limited vocabulary? Rubbish!
Anyone else found good words it doesn’t know?
15/09/2010 at 15:21 TheDoctor says:
It refused “sneakiest”, “motherfuckin” and “buttsecks”, so far.
15/09/2010 at 15:24 Auspex says:
It doesn’t like “wankers” or “wanky” either.
15/09/2010 at 15:49 Pandaemonius says:
Well, if it was just ‘dirty’ words it didn’t accept, I’d understand. By why not susurrus? It’s a good word! At least it accepts both English and American spellings of things, mostly
Also, Doctor, you left the g of the end of motherfucking.
15/09/2010 at 15:59 TheDoctor says:
Don’t want no motherfuckin’ gs at the end of my motherfuckin’ motherfuckins, dude.
15/09/2010 at 16:22 JB says:
@Pandaemonius – Susurrus is indeed a great word. As is coruscate.
15/09/2010 at 19:29 sleepygamer says:
I see we have some Terry Pratchett fans.
My captcha was “MUST”
16/09/2010 at 02:02 BAReFOOt says:
Nah, that’s too tinny! Tinny tinny tinny!
Sausage! There’s a good woddy sort of word!
Caribou GOONE!
Intercourse! Good and woddy!
15/09/2010 at 14:32 Lambchops says:
Preemptive fear due
To visions of future times
With post in wrong place
15/09/2010 at 15:28 kyynis says:
Now I see your point,
perhaps that fear was well placed.
Precognition, hm?
15/09/2010 at 14:33 N'Al says:
Chris Cornell, you say?
Stop it with these haikus,
need more Soundgarden.
15/09/2010 at 14:42 AndrewC says:
The Endless Bear who
has no beginning nor end
is known as Horace
15/09/2010 at 21:44 stahlwerk says:
Horace’s minion
in a Forest of Monsters
he roams: Angelbear!
15/09/2010 at 14:51 Rob says:
I never was good
At creating poetry
This remains the case.
15/09/2010 at 14:51 pakoito says:
I don’t get english sylabes so I suck at this game.
15/09/2010 at 15:38 TheDoctor says:
That’s my case, too, but the game marks the number of syllables.
It’s pretty easy, really.
15/09/2010 at 14:56 Big Murray says:
Oh my effing god
How much time did I just waste?
Damn your arse, Kieron!
15/09/2010 at 15:03 Rinox says:
I had a sandwich
and some oranges for lunch
they were very sweet
15/09/2010 at 15:08 BobbleHat says:
Surely Chris Cornell
Rockstars enjoy haikus too
Fuck Audioslave
15/09/2010 at 15:16 Dave says:
this is not haiku
it’s what English speakers think
haiku is. Derp derp!
15/09/2010 at 15:34 kreenB says:
Moras are fine for
Japanese, but in English
syllables matter.
How many people
even know what moras are?
What do you think, hm?
Terms are definèd
(Wapanese nonwithstanding)
by speakers’ usage.
15/09/2010 at 21:18 DJ Phantoon says:
Derp derp derp derp derp.
Herp derp derp herp derp derp derp.
Herp derp derp, herp derp.
15/09/2010 at 15:17 Devenger says:
The price of war is
the sanity of our
poor forgotten sons
Apart from the fact there’s no obligation to make any sense, this is a pretty clever game. Don’t forget to give it a stars rating on Kongregate, people.
15/09/2010 at 15:38 Barts says:
The world need more Cthulhu-themed haikus! Please, share them here!
15/09/2010 at 15:58 Chris D says:
Frozen ancient realm
Ageless horrors deep within
Mountains of madness
and
It is not death for
That which can eternal lie
Please remain quiet
and now for a song
15/09/2010 at 16:03 Chris D says:
Also
Cthulhu has three
Syllables which may seem clear
But I had to check
15/09/2010 at 16:21 AndrewC says:
Gibbous and eldritch.
Lovecraft only knew two words:
gibbous And eldritch
15/09/2010 at 20:15 lhzr says:
@chris: thanks for the song link, ’twas good :)
15/09/2010 at 20:42 SheffieldSteel says:
Cthulhu haikus?
Only one thing to be said:
Cthulhu ftagn!
15/09/2010 at 20:56 Fumarole says:
What worth my degree
bestowed by alma mater
Miskatonic U?
15/09/2010 at 21:37 stahlwerk says:
‘Tis not Cartesian
the Deep and Old One’s system
of coordinates
15/09/2010 at 15:43 Daniel Klein says:
What is that I hear?
A thousand haiku purists
In apoplexy
15/09/2010 at 15:57 Daniel Klein says:
Actually, I wrote this half an eternity ago. It’s not a haiku, but it IS a cthulhu-themed Limerick. The Poetry -> Horror -> Limerick category was woefully empty at time being, so I thought I should probably fix that:
http://bringa.deviantart.com/gallery/#/ddo6u8
15/09/2010 at 16:02 Hodge says:
Kieron, Alec, John,
Quinns and Jim bring us much joy.
May they have the same.
15/09/2010 at 16:22 Kieron Gillen says:
Sniff.
KG
15/09/2010 at 17:14 Unaco says:
Quinns requires Iron
Kieron sometimes writes good puns
But fails each Sunday.
15/09/2010 at 16:51 Ed Zuk says:
More than one haiku
is also written “haiku”
just like “sheep” or “moose.”
In other words, there
is no such word as “haikus.”
That said, a cool game!
15/09/2010 at 17:02 Wolfox says:
I just don’t know how
To make a good haiku
So I’ll stop here now.
15/09/2010 at 20:02 Aninhumer says:
Apparently not
That one was five-six-five
Oh wait this is too…
15/09/2010 at 17:11 Unaco says:
This Autumn I have
Too many games to be played
Possibly next year
15/09/2010 at 17:56 disperse says:
My offering:
monkey wearing hat
that fedora looks real nice
trade for banana
you’re welcome.
15/09/2010 at 18:04 dethgar says:
why would i squash you
without taking all your loot
that makes no sense, man
15/09/2010 at 20:18 Adam T says:
Is this the game here?
Why link Kongregate?
We are playing now.
15/09/2010 at 21:05 DJ Phantoon says:
Hydrocephalic.
Hydrocephalic, I say!
Hydrocephalic!
16/09/2010 at 04:00 jaheira says:
Water on the brain
Phantoon’s condition is grave
Hence his lame haiku
15/09/2010 at 21:25 stahlwerk says:
brass told me not to
i will never listen to
electric old men
16/09/2010 at 00:35 Isle says:
“Ascending”:
60 70
80 90 100
115
16/09/2010 at 11:36 phlebas says:
American?
16/09/2010 at 02:52 Bottes UGG says:
Votre article m’a donné beaucoup de reflexions. Allez-vous faire des folies sur une paire de bottes ugg cette saison ? Ces bottes sont très belles.
16/09/2010 at 04:12 DMJ says:
Haiku based gaming?
It will never catch on, fool!
Farmville rules PCs.
16/09/2010 at 05:57 Bret says:
Will Colt forty five
Work well on this occasion
As it always has?
16/09/2010 at 12:17 Hmm-Hmm. says:
Strange Japanese
I rarely understand them
It’s their haiku, see?