1608: Hoverboard

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Hoverboard

[[Category:Comics from ]][[Category:Comics from ]] [[Category: comics]]

• To experience the interactivity of this game, visit the original comic.

Explanation

The "comic" is actually a browser game made to celebrate the release of Randall's new book, Thing Explainer, which was released on the same day as this comic: Tuesday, November 24, 2015. The comic thus appeared on a Tuesday, replacing that week's normal Wednesday release to coincide with the release day. The xkcd Header text also changed that day to shout out that the book was released on that day.

The title refers to a hoverboard (which resembles a hovering skateboard without wheels) which has been most prominently featured in the movie Back to the Future Part II, which took place in the future, until a little more than a month before this comic was released. Marty McFly traveled to the future in this second installment, more precisely to 2015-10-21, and this comic was released just over one month later 2015-11-24. Hoverboards are just one of many things predicted in Back to the Future Part II that have come to pass before reaching the date from the movie, but are more uncommon in our world, along with other inventions like flying cars and musical clothing. Randall is known to have had electric skateboards, which is also thematically related, although another type of hoverboard would be mentioned just five weeks later in 1623: 2016 Conversation Guide.

Given Randall's enjoyment of movies and time travel it is very likely that this game is also a tribute to the Back to the Future movies. But the release day of the game has been used to promote his new book (as is clear with the text in the start screen of the game), and this explains why it was not released on the Back to the Future date. Apart from the date of release and the text about the book, the game does not seem to have any direct relation to the book; there are, however, several scenes in the game that could be seen as references to Thing Explainer. Instead the main part of the game is all the references to several movies and other stuff that has often been featured in xkcd as well as many of the other comics.

The game feature

The game features an animated Cueball riding on a hoverboard which can take several different positions. The controls are the left, up, and right arrows, as written on the start screen until you begin the game, after which the text disappears. There are alternatives as explained in the Controls section. The player can jump repeatedly mid-jump to reach increasing heights, and can move left and right both while jumping and descending (see more under controls).

The player begins in a line-drawing maze (called the Play Area) with 17 gold coins located throughout and a "deposit" terminal. The ostensible goal of the game is to collect as many coins as possible and return them to the deposit in the fastest possible time, which returns text messages describing the result. Players consumed with obtaining the best possible time result for collecting the coins may not realize there is anything more to the game.

The best way to enjoy this comic is to play the game! If you didn't do that already, reading anything below or the official transcript will spoil you from truly enjoying the comic, and maybe making some interesting discoveries yourself! So:

!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!

This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: There are still several tables that need to be filled out. Do NOT delete this tag too soon. If you can address this issue, please edit the page! Thanks.

Beyond the maze on either side (just far enough that players who remain within the maze will not see) are tall walls seemingly designed to contain the player. However, the walls have a finite height and, combined with the ability to double-jump, the player can leave the purported "play area" either to the sides or above the initial maze. This returns a flashing red error message: "Return to the Play Area".

But if the player overcomes the desire to comply and return to the play area and disregards this message, they can take hoverboard Cueball outside beyond the tall walls surrounding the initial play area. And here they will discover an entire world that can be explored left and right (and above), including numerous points of interest and Easter eggs similar in style to comic 1110: Click and Drag. There are also many more coins to collect, 169 coins all in all, so 152 more than those from the play area.

Although this game is reminiscent of Click and Drag, this was the first time an actual game, where the user moves an object in front of the drawing, has been released on xkcd. In previous "games" this has not been the case. In Click and Drag the user only moves the drawing into the view section. And in for instance the two previous April fools' comics, 1350: Lorenz and 1506: xkcloud, the user does not move anything, but only supplies choices, text and drawings. However, already on the next April Fools' Day a new game, 1663: Garden, was released where the users also actively moved items around on the screen and could make items disappear (like taking coins in this game.). The ability to infinitely doubles jump allows us to reach beyond just the ground.

The main themes

There are many themes and references throughout the game, but the two main themes are Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings. Below there is a table listing all references to both of these movies and much more. For instance there are 19 references to SW and 6 to LOTR.

The largest part of the game is located on the right side of the play area and is mainly a world dominated by references to Star Wars. Most noticeable is a recreation of the opening scene in the first film, where Princess Leia's space ship Tantive IV also known as The Rebel Blockade Runner is flying over the desert planet Tatooine. Here it is followed by the Star Destroyer, Devastator. The desert ground with these two space ships above is the first you find to the right. Although in the game they are located inside the atmosphere, not as in the movie out in space, a fact that is commented on by Megan who looks out from an opening in the bottom of the Destroyer's hull.

Megan: Is this ship designed to fly in the atmosphere like this?

Both ships are high above the ground, but there are three wires from the ground that connect (and thus guide you) up to The Runner and from there 100+ torpedoes, which are fired down on the Runner coming from the Destroyer above, gives away the location of the Destroyer itself. The Destroyer is so high up in the air, that you would not be likely to find it by chance without these leads (or at least some of the several other hints from people on the ground looking up and reacting or like White Hat looking from the tip of the Washington Monument and reacting by saying: "Uh, what the heck is that?!.").

One of the main points (The Joke) of the entire game is the extreme size of such a Destroyer. It takes up more space than the rest of the game (and most of the coins are located there). Inside the Destroyer there are many, many rooms, long corridors and deep shafts, even a huge cave with trees and animals. At the bridge we meet both Darth Vader and the Emperor himself, Palpatine. There are many other jokes related both to Star Wars and other movies and xkcd comics inside the Destroyer. For instance, Darth Vader discusses Steven Universe, bringing up Rose Quartz and Steven himself (who can be found with the Crystal Gems in a different part of the Destroyer).

Darth Vader: But Steven's mother is a Crystal Gem...

There are also interesting things and references along the ground beneath the Destroyer, some of these are also Star Wars related like the wedding scene where Jabba the Hutt is mentioned.

To the left side is an entirely different world, although much smaller (shorter) than the one to the right. Here the main theme is The Lord of the Rings mainly with the presence of a volcano where for instance Megan tries to throw in rings of power, as in the scene from the last LOTR film where Frodo fails and Gollum attacks inside the volcano Mount Doom, thus making it clear that the volcano in the game represents this volcano. Both Frodo, Sauron and Gandalf are mentioned in the game. The first two by name in the text. Two great eagles are talking about Frodo and Tolkien, Sauron's name is read up by Megan from a book, and Gandalf is drawn as a wizard figure in the crater and also his name is used in the message you receive if you collect all possible coins.

The two worlds do conflict though, as an X-wing fighter is parked at a gas station to the left in LOTR world, and Gandalf's famous quote You shall not pass! from his fight against the Balrog is modified by Cueball who is not trying to block your path to a coin inside a room in the Destroyer. This conflict could very well be a reference to the fact that Andy Serkis who played Gollum in LOTR, now plays the Supreme Leader Snoke in the new Star Wars movie, and his appearance as Snoke is not that much different from Gollum's. Snoke also delivers a line in the movie (about "bringing someone to me") that reminds one of Gollum when he talks about "the ring coming to me". Randall would not have known this last part at the time that this comic was released, but he would likely be aware of Andy Serkis' involvement.

Other themes are related to other movies, like a naughty reference to Star Trek from inside the bridge of the Rebel Blockade Runner where a long-haired woman (maybe Danish since she obviously does this to annoy Star Wars fans and Hairbun behind her, which could represent Princess Leia with her special hair style) delivers the following line taken from the Star Trek universe:

Long haired woman: Captain's log, stardate November 24th, 2015...

Hairbun: Augh! No!

Also references to video games are seen, best shown with the maze towards the back end of the Destroyer which are an almost complete depiction of Level 1 of the computer game Prince of Persia down to the three coins being in the place of three items to take in that game, and at least two of the opposing sword fighters in the correct places as well.

The comic/game and book were released only 3 weeks before the 7th Star Wars movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released on December 14, 2015. And this movie had already been referenced by Randall 7½ weeks earlier in 1585: Similarities, when another movie (The Martian) were released. It was a reference in the title text to the new robot BB-8 that are featured in the Force Awakens. That the Star Wars section is thus so much larger than the LOTR section could be a hint to the fact that it is now 12 years ago that the last of those films were released, and although the Hobbit has been released as three films over the previous three Christmases it was Star Wars that dominated the Christmas a month after this comics release.

Reference to Thing Explainer

Some of the scenes in this game are references to pictures in the new book that it celebrates. Here are some examples:

• The original comic that was the impetus for Thing Explainer in the first place, 1133: Up Goer Five, is also included in the book. These are both referenced in this game by the space capsule used for reentry by the astronauts that flew to the moon using the Saturn Five rocket. This capsule is floating down over the plateau before the volcano to the left.
• In Sky Toucher, the last entry explaining a sky scraper, there are several references to the game, one of these being the space capsule just mentioned above. Other references:
  • Ponytail throwing a paper plane out, which she also does below the bridge of the Destroyer. (This is also a reference to Click and Drag where Cueball does the same, here even from a skyscraper).
  • Cueball is setting up a kite and Ponytail is crawling up in the line. In the comic a small girl looking like Megan also has a kite. Being up in a kite is also referenced in both 235: Kite and in the title text of 1614: Kites (from just a few weeks after the release of this comic.)
  • There is a floor in the middle of the building with trees, just like there is a cave inside the Destroyer with a tree "inside".
  • Cueball is holding a fishing rod out over the side of the building letting the hook hand in the air. The same can be seen under the Rebel Blockage Runner.
  • Megan is using a skateboard in a strange ellipsoid-shaped room. This can be a reference both to where Megan is seen on a skate board inside a hamster ball and to the globe of death at the top of the bridge on the Destroyer.
  • There is a car in the top section of the tower (long away from the parking cellar in the basement). There are two cars inside the Destroyer, one of them deep inside with no easy access to the outside.
  • Two people are standing on a cloud, one of them (Megan) jumps out from it. This is similar to the two base jumpers on the rock island.
• In the Red world space car explaining (about the Curiosity Rover on Mars) there are two references to the scenes around the Rebel Blockade Runner:
  • Curiosity toasts a marshmallow over a fire as does Megan and Cueball over the exhaust pipe at the rear of the Runner.
  • When Curiosity is set down on Mars by the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), lowered down in wires below the MSL, the wires were released once the rover was down and then it flies away. In the book Megan is hanging from one of these wires when it flies away. This is similar to Megan hanging in one of the anchor lines going from the ground up to the Runner.
• In The USS Laws of the Land about the ship called USS Constitution (named after the United States Constitution which is explained in the entry just before this one), there are two references to this comic:
  • There is both a giant octopus arm (marked as not real) and a very large octopus under the ship. The shape of the octopus is the same as the silhouette of a giant octopus inside the Destroyer.
    • Octopuses like this are often used in xkcd, and they are also included in the explanation about Writing sticks (as the source of ink for the pens), as a motive in Picture taker and in Tree of life. As an example from another xkcd comic with octopuses see for instance 435: Purity.
  • There is also a bowling alley in the hull of the ship - a reference to the hamster ball bowling in the left part of the world.
    • Bowling is also used two other places in the book, namely on the suspension of the longest bridge in Tall roads and an bowling alley is used for measuring length in How to count things.
• Ants are used three times in the book. A zoom-in on an ant is used to indicate size in Earth's past about geological ages of the Earth, and under the Tree in that explanation there is an ant colony where one ant is much bigger than the others; an ant queen, a clear reference to the ant queen in the Destroyer. They are of course also in the Tree of life.
• Basketball is shown twice in this comic (left of volcano and on top of Destroyer). In the book the size of different Playing Fields is one of the stories, and it included the field for basketball (i.e. circle ball).
• The huge foot before the pyramid look like the foot used in the explanation for How to count things to describe the wight "one kilo" using a picture labeled one foot (i.e. not the length one foot, as the length is given in meters). A similar experience to the one in 526: Converting to Metric.
• The giant light bulb towards the bottom rear end of the Destroyer is a reference to the entry on tungsten in the explanation for The pieces everything is made of (i.e. the periodic table). In the book a light bulb is shown and then an arrow points to the filament which is made of tungsten in the typical Edison light bulbs.
• In the explanation for Box that cleans food holders (Dishwasher) Ponytail yells Wheee! as she slides through a pipe inside the machine on her stomach (bottom left). This is similar to her position and movement in the colon like structure inside the Destroyer and Cueball also sliding in this colon yells Wheee!
• In the explanation for Bending computer Ponytail comes racing on her bike with a laptop on top of the handlebars. She is also seen racing a bike down the slope of the volcano.

Reference to other comics

There are also many references to other xkcd comics, like the room at the front end of the Destroyer ball pit filled with playpen balls, and two adults playing in it, like in 150: Grownups. Also the well in the left part of the world with a girl and a coin at the bottom is likely a reference to the movie The Ring, which has been referenced before in xkcd. Wells have also come up in xkcd in the early Well series.

There have been many comics with electric skateboards as mentioned, which do not appear in this comic, but there is one example of a normal skateboard. This is used by Megan in a room in the Destroyer, while she is inside a hamster ball. There is also another hamster ball, with a kid (looking like Megan) inside. It is used in a more than human sized ten pin bowling game to the left. Hamster balls is another item that has been prominently featured in xkcd.

In the weeks before, and especially the weeks after there were also other comics that had a subject which could refer back to Hoverboard in some ways. Maybe these comics were either influenced by the game, or the other way around so that relevant items were added to the game because of these other comics:

• 1600: MarketWatch - the Washington Monument (an obelisk) is part of the skyline depicted, and this monument is the first that is encountered in the picture when going left from the play area, plus a comment at the base of the monument to make sure we know it is the Washington monument, and another comment at the top of the monument referring to the aluminum apex that constitutes the very tip of the monument, which was very expensive at the time it was installed in 1884, when aluminum was a rare metal as valuable as silver. Today it would not make anyone rich from the metal alone, although the tip would be worth a lot for other historical reasons, but this is not what Cueball's comment is about.

Cueball to Megan at the bottom: Honestly, it doesn't even look that much like Washington.

Cueball to White Hat at the tip: Look at that- solid aluminum! We´re gonna be rich!

• 1610: Fire Ants - in this game there is a giant ant queen inside the Destroyer talking with Cueball about laying eggs.
  • See also 1641: Hot Dogs where Cueball has a similar style conversation, with the same Eww ending as with the ant queen:

Cueball: What's up?

Ant queen: The usual. Poopin' out ants.

Cueball: Eww.

• 1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar - this is about super volcanoes, vs. the Volcano, Mount Doom in the game as indicated by Megan throwing rings into the lava:

Megan at the edge of the volcano crater: One of these is probably a ring of power or whatever.

• 1614: Kites - Megan is seen with a kite, and in this comics a small girl looking like Megan also has a kite to the left towards Mount Doom.
• 1620: Christmas Settings - another Star Wars reference to lightsaber noises in the title text. Lightsabers are featured twice in this comic, with Ponytail practicing on the Rebel Blockade Runner, and with a kid about to hit a Piñata in the Destroyer.
• 1623: 2016 Conversation Guide - a direct hoverboard reference, and complaint that they are not real yet (only in this game).
• 1630: Quadcopter - in this comic three quadcopters act together to abduct Cueball. Thus making them sentient, like the quadcopter who is speaking to another over the lava lake in the Mount Doom crater to the left.

Right quadcopter: Remember: There's no such thing as good volcano footage taken by a quadcopter that survived.

• 1632: Palindrome - a reference to the famous palindrome about the Panama canal: "A Man, A Plan, A Canal: Panama", and thus also to the song that Cueball sings at the ruin to the right, where the first four lines is mashup of the palindrome and the Spider-Man theme song (see this video):

Cueball singing:

Spider-man

Spider-plan

Spider-canal

Spider-Panama

Gates let in

Spider boats

Flood the locks

Spiders float

Look out!

Spiders in both oceans.

• 735: Floor Instead of pretending the floor is lava as in the comic, they stand by the lava pretending that it is the floor.

Characters

Almost all main characters in the xkcd gallery are used more than once, especially there are three characters that are used several times. Number one is of course Cueball (with close to 90 appearances) who is already shown at the starting point. He is also the first character seen when walking both right and left (where he speaks the first line to the left).

Then follows Megan with at least 40 appearances, she is even shown twice in the same location three times, one of these three even occurs within one of the small images. She is also shown with Cueball in his first appearance to the left, and she is the first to speak a line to the right here.

Also Ponytail is well represented with 26 appearances (for instance here).

Hairy (with different hair styles) is used 7 times (for instance here) and Hairbun is used 5 times (for instance here).

Two of the main characters are used twice: Beret Guy (here and here) and White Hat (here and here).

The only exception is that the main villain of xkcd Black Hat who is very hard to find. He is only shown once in the comic where he very uncharacteristically just sits and snores at the right wall in the cave inside the Destroyer (is it really him...?). The only other hint that he is not forgotten is that his hat can be seen on a stick under the Destroyer after the three large T-like structures. And this is not that kind of stick characters Randall usually draws. But at least we now know where Danish has hidden it from him this time (see 405: Journal 3). Given that his hat is stuck there, he could also be any of the Cueballs close by…

Also Blondie seems to be only represented once, while in her reporter mode while discovering a bug before the volcano as can be seen here.

There are also several characters that are not recognizable as either any of the standard xkcd characters or in any other way (see for instance a few of the wedding guests). But there are possibly some of the minor characters are used like Danish at the bridge in the Blockade Runner (here) but this cannot be confirmed, she just looks like her and has some similarities teasing the Star Wars fan.

Several places in the comic it is clear from the size and the behavior that some of the characters are kids, see for instance the Blondie image mentioned above, where two kids looking like Megan and Hairy stand behind her, but they would in principle not be Megan or Hairy despite appearance, as these named characters are adults.

There are also many fictive people from different movies, books, and shows; for instance Darth Vader (here), Gandalf (here) and Steven Universe (here) all three mentioned above, and some real life people: you can find Elon Musk, who has a hidden lair under the Volcano (see here), and Gregor Mendel, hanging out on a Star Destroyer with a pea plant.

Furthermore, there are many animals (like the puma and the deer) in the cave, some even rather big like this octopus or even gigantic like this ant queen (all three from inside the Destroyer). There are also a couple of small Star Wars robots, one in a corridor in each space ship (here from the Destroyer).

Extra Hoverboard pages

• Since this comic is so big and complicated extra pages have been created to include much more information than is wished for on this main page (which is already of considerable size).
• These pages are listed here for convenience, but they are also listed in the relevant sections below:
  • 1608: Hoverboard/Transcript - The full transcript of the entire comic, as if you played the game can be found here. It is linked from the Transcript section.
  • 1608: Hoverboard/The whole image - A collection of different compilations of the whole Image. It is linked from the Whole Image section.
  • 1608: Hoverboard/Images of secret passages - Images with an overview of the secret passages in the game. It is linked from the Secret passages and hidden places section.
  • 1608: Hoverboard/All image links It is linked from the All images section.
  • 1608: Hoverboard/Images coins It is linked from the Coins section.
  • 1608: Hoverboard/Screen-shots It can be linked from several sections, but among others from the Messages in Play Area section.
  • 1608: Hoverboard/Images of individual scenes It will be linked from the List of details and references section which will be using these images in the explanation.

Transcript

[This transcript only covers the starting page as shown on xkcd: xkcd 1608. A full transcript of the entire comic can be found on this page.]

[Cueball is shown on a hoverboard in the center of the comic. Around him is a simple maze with 12 yellow coins. Another Cueball without hoverboard is shown standing on one of the platforms to the right. The bottom half of the window is black. Right of where Cueball stands is a ramp. Behind the ramp is a terminal. There is lots of space left of the maze, outside the maze. Text is only written in white below in the black area. The first part of the text is written below Cueball on hoverboard. Then there is an arrow pointing to the terminal and a label. Finally there is a line of text at the bottom of the black area.]

[Under Cueball:]

My new book,

Thing Explainer,

comes out today!

To celebrate, here's

a small game.

[Under the arrow below the terminal.]

Deposit

coins here

[At the bottom:]

Use the arrow keys to move

[For the full transcript of the entire comic as it could be played see 1608: Hoverboard/Transcript.]

[For a transcript only of the text for the scenes with text in the comic see the table below.]

Trivia

• There is as usual no title text for these interactive comics. But there is actually one listed in the info page on xkcd. But this text: "Return to the play area", is never shown as a normal title text. But it will erroneously be shown in the unofficial mobile versions of the site.
  • This is actually the text that is shown blinking red at the bottom of the screen when leaving the Play Area.

Viewers

• 1608: Hoverboard (native game, use arrows)

Apart from using one of the a full maps below there are also other cheating possibilities where people (or the game) have implemented ways to explore the game world more easily.

• Though you can download the full view, the easiest way to browse it is through a Zooming user interface:
  • Fully zoomable map w/ toggleable coins and passages. [Recommended] - includes all of the game, zoom-able and with toggle-able passages and coins. Courtesy of lanzaa on this reddit thread
  • Quickly hacked overview. Missing the rock island in the sky. Courtesy of kyledavide on the same reddit thread.
• Below are several examples of full pictures:
  • Full-size-png-map. Do not open this directly in the browser! It might take a few minutes to download. Full resolution picture of the entire game (also without coins) - courtesy of 0x90-0x90 on the same reddit thread.
  • Incomplete compilation of the entire game area (note the missing pinnacle of the Washington Monument. It also missed the floating island above the monument).
  • Full png-map. Simple picture of the entire game without coins - courtesy of luke_in_the_sky on the same reddit thread.
  • Full png-map green for non existing tiles. Here's the transparent spaces in green - also courtesy of luke_in_the_sky on the another reddit thread.
  • Black areas that you can walk through in red. This includes the walls and ceilings or other surfaces that you can stand on or hit into. So not only the secret passages are in red.
• See also under the Whole Image.
  • And see also the collection of different versions of the whole image!

Standalone application

• Standalone cross-platform open source remake of hoverboard is available, with some extra features:
  • Off-line play
  • Arbitrary game window size
  • Persistent games state on exit
  • Ability to save up to 10 locations and teleport to them at will
  • Explorable world map
• Links:
  • Project on GitHub
  • Downloads (Windows binaries available)

Metroid XK

• Satirical crossover with the classic game Super Metroid. Explore the world as Samus in search of powerups and secrets, while encountering danger at every turn.

• more information
• download

Messages in Play Area

• Different amounts of coins collected in the play area, will give different messages in yellow on the black part at the bottom of the screen when delivered to the coin collector.
• Below is a table with examples of what may be written depending on the number of coins. The time (and the amount when there is a range with similar rating) is just chosen at random (although in a realistic range). To get above 17 you of course have to leave the play area and come back again...
  • In Chrome and Firefox there is not message for those above 9 coins, except 17, 42 and 169. But in Internet Explorer there is still a message for those cases: "Undefined".
  • See screen-shots or click on the links from the number of coins in the table below:

# coins	Text when depositing this number of coins "X" is the number of coins collected
0 coins	You got 0 coins in 1 second You successfully avoided all the coins.
1 coin	You got a single coin in 1 second It's a start.
2-4 coins	You got X coins in 3 seconds Not bad!
5-9 coins	You got X coins in 12 seconds Terrific!
10-16 coins	You got X coins in 10 seconds
17 coins	You got 17 coins in 15 seconds You found all the coins! Great job!
18-41 coins	You got X coins in 430 seconds
42 coins	You got 42 coins in 460 seconds No answers here.
43-168 coins	You got X coins in 460 seconds
All 169 coins	You got 169 coins in 1457 seconds Are you Gandalf?

• Once you leave the area you get a flashing warning message in red letters at the bottom of the screen:

Return to the play area

• This message flashes three times over 1.2 seconds (the message only disappears for about 150 ms each time)
• Then there is a pause for about 1.3 seconds and then this repeats for a total of 5 repetitions, a total of 15 flashes in just about 11.3 second seconds.
• The message will stop immediately if you re-enter the play area during this period.
• If you re-enter later it will flash once you leave again.
• For the program the play area is anything within and below the walls just outside the maze you start in.
  • More precisely you first leave the play area if you pass over the middle part at the top of the walls
  • Or if you make one jump from standing on top of the walls.

Animation

• There have before been several interactive comics and also a few with animations. But these animations have typical been something along the lines of flashing text or changing lights.
  • This comic is the first with a character that is specifically changing position in animation style.
  • Apart from this there are also flashing text when leaving the play-area and text that appears and disappears when handing in coins at the terminal as described above under Messages in Play Area.
  • This also happens with the text written to begin with explaining how to play the game: Use the arrow keys to move which disappears when touching the keys.
• Here are two images showing two kinds of animation of the hoverboard Cueball.
  • The first image shows the eight standard animation that can easily be seen. They are
    • Standing still facing right (starting position)
    • Standing still facing left
    • Moving left along flat ground (lifting arms)
    • Moving right along flat ground (lifting arms)
    • Jumping while facing left looking up with hoverboard pointing down
    • Jumping while facing right looking up with hoverboard pointing down
    • Falling while facing left looking down with hoverboard pointing up
    • Falling while facing right looking down with hoverboard pointing up

• But there are several in between drawings of the hoverboard Cueball turning from left to right and even more from right to left.
  • The second image shows eight in between animations (together with four from above)-
  • Not all possible positions are necessarily caught in this collage here, but there is only a limited amount of them and none of them last for more than a split second.
  • They have been sorted so it could look like Cueball has just turned to the right standing still, then jumping while turning right, then turning right while in jump, to finish the turn while falling.
  • Image 2, 3, 5 and the last are the same used in the image of standard animations

Whole Image

Whole Image zoomed very much out, without coins. The part visible at the beginning is marked red.

• See also a collection of different versions of the whole image!

Secret passages and hidden places

There are many places where you can disappear behind black areas, as not all of these are solid. You might have discovered this yourself if you stayed in the play area, as the platform below the inverted parentheses is only solid at the edges. Some of these places out of the play area even hide secret passages or hidden rooms. You can reveal them by activating goggles mode.

One notable hidden area is Elon Musk's volcano lair, which is located beneath the lava in the crater of Mount Doom. It can be difficult to find your way in here without using goggles mode even if you know it is there. (For more details, see secret passages.)

Another hidden place is the floating rock island that floats high above the Washington Monument, which is almost the highest point with solid ground. It is located just outside the left edge of the play area. This island is almost impossible to find by chance, as it takes around 30 seconds of repeatedly pressing the Up Arrow key to reach it from the top of the Monument. Even if you go up enough, you will almost miss it, as the Monument is not aligned to the island. (The maps can help you if you're having trouble finding it.)

As there are two coins on the floating rock island and four coins in the lair below the lava, it is very hard to find all the coins. There are even several coins that are hard to find because they just float in the air nowhere near any drawn things, or at least no things you can see before seeing the coin. They may hang in the air a few jumps above the ground, or in one case more than a seconds drop below the Destroyer. So getting all coins without help from a map would truly make you a Gandalf-like wizard. (See more regarding coins below.)

Boundaries

The larger game world is physically bounded in the left, right, and down directions, with invisible walls to each side and the ground binding you from going any further down than the deepest depression or hidden caves... In the upward direction, there is in principle also an invisible wall, but while jumping up Cueball on his hoverboard will appear to continue upwards as long as you press to jump, in addition, the longer the up arrow is pressed repeatedly, the longer it will take for Cueball to fall down again once the button is released. So although there are no new things above, you can keep jumping as high as you like and will then fall proportionally longer to get back to where you started out. Until maps were created it could have been possible that there were some hidden unexplored parts. Not long after the games release, however, the maps was created, covering the entire game.

To the far right is a platform at the top of a high pole. This platform turns out to be a nest (like a stork nest). Above the three eggs are ten coins (the most collected in one place outside the play area, and these are closer together).

To the far left is a blond haired woman with a hair bun looking right. In front of her are four coins on a row. She tells about the Destroyer (should you have gone this way without finding it yet).

Woman: In the sky, beyond the mountain, I saw a starship.

Regarding the highest part you find the highest straight rise up in the air to something other than white, under the Rock Island just left of and very high above the Washington monument. Standing on the large rock on top of this floating rock island you are standing almost as high up as possible. There is a coin here one step down from the top of this large rock. This is the highest located coin in the game. Going over the edge also represents the largest possible drop in the game. However this is not the highest point where you can stand, as the very top of the bridge on the Destroyer is just a tat higher. But there is no coin there. Also this is not close enough to the end of the Destroyer that you can jump down to the ground, so the drop from the rock is by far the longest possible.

The deepest part of the lair should have been the lowest point, but as this lair's entrance is up in the volcano crater, it does not reach down to become the lowest part of the image. There is also a deep well (half way left to the Volcano) with a girl at the bottom, that goes just as deep. But the deepest part where you can stand is in the ocean below the Destroyer where a rogue wave is talking to Cueball:

Wave: I know rogue waves seem implausible, but we're a straightforward consequence of the equations of fluid dynamics.

Cueball: ...But you can talk?

Wave: The equations are really complicated.

When standing under this wave you cannot get any lower. There are coins in all three locations, but as the coin is above the top of the high wave, it may be that it is the coin in the well that is the deepest. The coin under the lava is not at the bottom of the room so that is not so low.

Taking a route that takes the hoverboard through all the extremes mentioned above, that is the lowest, highest, left and rightmost coins and solid positions within the game can be done in about 9 minutes and 30 seconds. See a picture here of the coin delivery after such a trip that reached all the boundaries.

All images

• Coordinates for the images are given in (X, Y) coordinates with the starting point at (1000, 1074).
• In total there are 3440 images on xkcd that can be accessed via links of this format: http://xkcd.com/1608/1000:-1074+s.png [This link is for the (1000, 1074) starting point image.]
  • Here is a page with a table of all the links to images: All image links.
  • Note: This is a large page which may take some time to load.
• The individual images are so small, and cut of at "random" so they do often go straight down through a person, and you can rarely see both a person and the (full) text belonging to them in the same image.
  • See for instance this wedding scene to the right under the Destroyer, which only makes sense when these four images are put together (as they are in the link):
    • (1037, 1073)
    • (1037, 1074)
    • (1038, 1073)
    • (1038, 1074)
  • It will thus not make sense to make a transcript of all individual images, but instead, only of a complete setting (or maybe a part of a setting.)
• Maximum possible number of images in the x-direction is 180.
  • Going left will decrease X down to 928 (so 82 pictures left of the starting point in X-direction)
  • Going right will increase X up to 1107 (so 107 pictures left of the starting point in X-direction)
• Total number of (possible) images in the y-direction is 44.
  • Going down will decrease Y down to 1069 (so 5 pictures down from the starting point in Y-direction)
  • Going up will increase Y up to 1112 (so 38 pictures up from the starting point in Y-direction)
    • The "(possible)" is included because the number of possible active Y-images depends on the X-coordinate, as there are several non-existing images that are not just totally white (i.e. blank images), but which does not even have a number/or active link on xkcd.
    • But the top active image over the floating island and over the top of the bridge section of the Destroyer all have Y coordinate 1112. There are only 20 active images at this Y-coordinate.
    • The same by the way also goes for the x coordinate. Above X=1076 there are also many non existing images with not active link.
• All possible images are thus spread over a 180 x 44 grid, with a possible 7920 images. But 4480 of these images are non existing on xkcd, but you can travel through them in the game, as they are just shown as completely blank/white empty air in the game.
  • If you try to load one of the completely blank images like (1000, 1077), three images above the starting point, you will get an error message. There are only 76 (vs 180) images at this Y-coordinate.
    • Note there are several completely empty/white images that are active, but those can be loaded on xkcd like the one below the missing picture mentioned above: (1000, 1076).
  • There are no blank images in completely black areas, like inside structures or under ground. And below Y = 1077 all 180 possible Y-images exist for all X-coordinates, from Y = 1069 to 1076.
    • For instance the image below the starting point is completely black (1000, 1073), and so are the next three below.
    • The bottom images at Y = 1069 has a white border at the bottom: (1000, 1069).
    • All the images at Y = 1069 are the same except the one at the very right edge because at this edge there is also a white border to the right (1107, 1069) (this is not the case to the far left at (928, 1069)).
    • You will never see the images at Y = 1069 in the game. Actually you will neither see anything of the images with Y = 1070 or 1071. And there is nothing that is not completely black for Y = 1069 to 1072. First from Y = 1073 are there active images which includes white.
    • This picture with the wave at (1022, 1073) gives the lowest point where the hoverboard Cueball can actually stand.
    • Since you will sink into the water here, you are almost standing on the top of the Y = 1072 image: (1022, 1072), which is of course completely black.
    • In places where you can stand in a low position on Y = 1073 images you will actually see some part of the images with Y = 1072, not that it makes any difference since they are all black.
• Here is a list of the places where there are most images at a given X coordinate:
  • At X = 1078, right under the highest point of the Destroyers bridge (1078, 1112) there are 36 active images. Thus even here 8 images are missing between the bottom active image below the Destroyer and the first active near the ground level at Y=1076. (Y = 1077 to 1084 are missing).
  • These missing Y coordinates are active in other places, for instance under the torpedo rain at X = 1020 where all Y images are active up until 1100 - 32 images. But since the last 12 images above this are missing it is still 4 less than under the bridge.
  • Under the floating island, where there are active images at the top Y = 1112, like (990, 1112), there is also the Washington monument below which goes high up, but still there are only 20 active Y images, as there are no active images between 1084 and 1109 (24 missing in between).
  • Over the volcano's edges the highest images directly connecting to solid ground is found at Y = 1087. One image above this is also active making the height here going up to 1088, thus also making it 20 active Y images. The only not completely white image over the volcano at Y = 1088 is the one with the eagles (956, 1088).

Dimensions

This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: Here should be an overview of how large the picture is (physical distances and time to traverse it. Speed of hoverboard etc.) Could be based on known monuments sizes.(I added a description but am leaving the tag until someone smarter can verify.) If you can address this issue, please edit the page! Thanks.

• It takes 1 minute 52 s to reach from the starting point to the left edge. While we do not have a definite speed for the hoverboard, we can obtain the dimensions of the map by using the Washington monument. Since it is referenced by name we can assume that the dimension is properly applied. In this case, the monument is 100 pixels tall (when viewed on my photo editor) and the actual monument is 555' meaning that 1 pixel= 5.55'. The whole map is 1920 pixels wide, for a length of 10,656' or 3247.9488m.

List of details and references

This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: The table with references should be filled out with explanations. Some explanations need to be reviewed If you can address this issue, please edit the page! Thanks.

• On this page 1608: Hoverboard/Images of individual scenes, images covering all individual scenes (in full size and with coins) has been saved and uploaded to be used for reference in the table below from where they are linked directly.
  • There are also several overviews in smaller resolution
  • Almost all these images have been made using this Fully zoomable map w/ toggleable coins and passages which includes all of the game, zoom-able and with toggle-able passages and coins.
    • Courtesy of lanzaa on this reddit thread

Explanation of the table

• The contents of the comic are documented in the table below.
  • It first goes through the entire image from left to right along the ground
    • I.e. going up the volcano and down in the lair, down the well and up to the top of the Washington Monument. Only exception so far is that it here goes to the rocky island in the sky. Then it continues right along the ground, only following the wires up to the bottom of the Rebel Runner and then after going over the pyramid it ends up at the far right
  • Then it goes back to the Rebel Runner, and after that follows the torpedoes up to the Star Destroyer-
  • Finally it goes through the Star Destroyer from tip to rear in four sections, taking everything within each section top to bottom, before moving on to the next section.
  • The table can be sorted on all columns, so the above is only valid until any sorting takes place.
• In the table are the following columns:
  • Descriptions of the scene depicted in the overview links.
    • If the scene is a zoomed out overview that covers the images below this scene's description has been written in bold text.
    • This can be used as a guide to where in the image the scenes are located.
    • That is, until any sorting begins.
  • Transcript.
    • Any text has only been transcribed once. If some scenes overlap, the text has only been written in the first or the one where the text is most central.
    • Also any overview that has been zoomed out never has any transcript - these have been listed as (N/A)
    • Scenes with no text has written (None) in the transcript.
    • The use of parenthesis for those with no transcript makes it possible to sort on the transcript to get all the scenes with text to the top.
  • Overview links.
    • There can be more than one, even many, but the first will always be the overview.
    • If there are secret passages or other situations where it will be interesting to see why the hoverboard can disappear beneath the surface (like in the ocean) then two versions of the images have been included.
    • The second version is called Hidden passages in red as it has these passages changed to appear in red instead of black.
  • Tile images on xkcd.
    • For those images that are zoomed to 100% (i.e. not the zoomed out overviews) there is also a link to the defining image tile on xkcd.
    • In cases where there are more than one interesting image tile in one scene (maybe because there is actually two or more distinct scenes), there can be one more link in the Other tile column.
  • References.
    • Three things are referenced many times, and each has their own column so the table can be sorted on these
      • SW: Star Wars
      • LOTR: The Lord of the Rings
      • TE: Thing Explainer
    • Other. There is also a column for "other" types of references so they can also be sorted, without drowning in the three recurring types of references.
      • These have some further sorting by starting with Comics: or Movies: etc.
  • Explanations is in the last column.
    • So far lots of scenes still miss explanations, and some are not complete.
    • Red text has been used to make this clear.
    • If updating this and making a good enough explanation delete the red text.

Table with references

• See explanation of the table above.
  • Hint: Open the overview links in a new window and return to this one for the next image and for reading the text.
• Abbreviations:
  • SW: Star Wars
  • LOTR: The Lord of the Rings
  • TE: Thing Explainer

			Tiles (X, Y)		References
Description	Transcript	Overview links	Defining	Other	S W	L O T R	T E	Other	Explanation
Everything Left of play area.	(N/A)	Overview Hidden passages in red	Overview						Section of the image revealed when going left of the starting point.
Entire Volcano plateau.	(N/A)	Overview Hidden passages in red	Overview						About halfway from the Play Area to the volcanos slope, there is a steep plateau. This is the part left of this plateau.
Woman with white hair bun at the left end of world looking right.	Woman: In the sky, Woman: beyond the mountain, Woman: I saw a starship.	Overview	(928, 1082)		Y				The woman at the left end of the world tells about the Star Destroyer in the right part of the world. There are four coins in front of her to anyone coming this far.
Coin and boulders.	(None)	Overview	(933, 1083)	(935, 1083)					A single coin hangs in the air above the rocky ground with giant boulders.
Entire Volcano.	(N/A)	Overview Hidden passages in red	Overview			Y		Comic: 1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar	The comic released a week after this one is about a super volcano made in a science fair experiment. As can be seen there is a lair beneath the lava lake. The entrance is revealed by the other link that turns the hidden passages to red. It is for sure possible to get stuck in the lava lake, as everything becomes black in the game when going beneath the surface.
Left Volcano Top.	(N/A)	Overview	Overview						A zoom out of the left rim of the volcanic crater.
Basketball on the volcano.	Ponytail: OK, as soon as it erupts, go for the dunk. Our sweet moves will be preserved for all eternity!	Overview	(936, 1084)				Y		This is a reference to Pompeii a Roman town-city near modern Naples, which has become famous when it was discovered that it had been preserved in the ash when it was mostly destroyed and buried under 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft.) of volcanic ash in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. When it was found again it turned out that people had been surprised by the ash, and thus buried alive. During the excavation, plaster was used to fill in the voids in the ash layers that once held human bodies. This allowed one to see the exact position the person was in when they died. This is what Ponytail wishes for her and Megan, when the volcano they are standing on erupts, a rather morbid wish. She wants their sweet basketball moves to be preserved for eternity. In Playing Fields in TE basketball is mentioned. It is also played on top of the Destroyer close to the bridge. In this case the coin is on top of the basket, but too large to go into the hoop.
Old man walking up the volcano.	(None)	Overview	(937, 1085)						Is it an old man who just walks up a mountain, or a young man using a walking stick? It makes quite a difference to how this scene is viewed.
Duck at the left crater top.	(None)	Overview	(940, 1087)						A duck is sitting at the top of the crater. There are several birds in this comic. Another duck looking the other way is found on top of the flag pole near the base of the Washington Monument.
Megan’s treasure hoard.	Megan: Gooooold! Megan: Goold! Bags: $ $	Overview	(941, 1084)	(941, 1083)					In the side of the crater there is a small cave where Megan has found a treasury hoard and she is celebrating all the gold she has found, including two coins.
Entire Lava lake.	(N/A)	Overview Hidden passages in red Zoom in left part Hidden passages in red Entire left part Hidden passages in red Shaft in lake in red Zoom in central part Hidden passages in red Entire Right part Hidden passages in red Shaft into lair below Hidden passages in red	Overview						These images only cover the part beneath the surface where there is actually still lava, as can be seen in the images where Hidden passages in red. Only the top of the lair below is shown here. From the hidden passage it is here possible to see how to enter this lair. In the images that shows the hidden part the two loose boulders that float (or are outcrops) in the right part of the lake can be seen as well as the two other holes in the lava lakes floor, which all explain why it is easy to get stuck in the lake once you go below the surface and move around. Since everything is black, you do not even know if the game still works and many people may have given up, maybe reloading after not being able to get on with the game. There is no place in the lake where you can get really stuck, as long as you just push upwards while changing direction from left to right, you are bound to get out sooner or later.
Rock with Gandalf in Lava lake.	Megan: If you breathe out through you nose a little as you jump in, it can keep you from getting lava in you nasal passages. Cueball: Artex!	Overview Hidden passages in red	(944, 1083)			Y		Film: The Neverending Story	The wizard on the rock represents Gandalf from LOTR. What Megan tells Cueball works fine with water, not so much with lava. The horse Artax (pronounced Artex in the film) drowns in the swamp of sadness while Atreyu tries to save it and yells its name. Drowning in a swamp sucks, but doing so in lava will make death swifter. Both situations, however, indicate that you can actually go into the lava. If playing for the first time and becoming uncertain what would happen if the hoverboard touched the lava, the player might actually not even try to go into the lava, thus for certain would miss finding the lair beneath the lava.
Quadcopters over lava lake right.	Right quadcopter: Remember: There's no such thing as good volcano footage taken by a quadcopter that survived.	Overview Hidden passages in red	(950, 1084)					Comics: 1630: Quadcopter and in general those about Robots and AI	The comic was released shortly after this one, and is about AI quadcopters that abduct Cueball. One of these quadcopters tells the other that no one will think much of their volcano footage if they actually survive. I.e. they have to get too close to the bubbling surface to survive before they actually obtain the footage wished for. It sounds like it tries to instill courage in them to perform this deadly task. There is a coin below the left copter. Drones has become a recurrent subject xkcd.
Entire Lava lair.	(N/A)	Overview Hidden passages in red	Overview						The three rooms of the volcanic lair (and the entrance haft in the image with hidden passages in red).
Trending on twitter cave in lair and Lava lake bottom shaft.	Cueball: What news of the world above? Please, tell me- what's hot and viral? What's trending on Twitter?!!	Overview Hidden passages in red	(944, 1079)	(945, 1079)				Comics with Social networking	Cueball has been stuck below the lava for some times without access to the internet, and he now craves news from the world above. But it is not really news stories he craves but only the hot and viral videos and what is trending on Twitter. To be addicted to social networks and viral videos is probably a real infliction and it is a pain for Cueball to not be able to get on-line. Two coins are behind him.
Elon Musk’s cave in lair.	Left Cueball: I always assumed Elon Musk's volcano lair would be like... Tropical. And ...Well, pleasant. Elon Musk in the high chair: Back to your desks, swine!	Overview	(945, 1074)	(946, 1074)				Comics with Elon Musk	It turns out that this is Elon Musk's lair. Having a secret lair with a hidden entrance is an often uses trope in films. Often it would be the villain (like in a James Bond film) that has such a place, but also heroes, like Batman, uses such hiding places. The joke here is that Cueball has assumed that Elon Musk, a very rich and enterprising man, that could be one of these megalomaniacs that might end up being a super villain, would have a bit more class over his secret lair. It also turns out that Elon sits in the cave and shouts at his workers to get back to work, even calling them names. There is also a coin here.
Ground symbol in lair.	Ponytail: So this is where it is.	Overview	(947, 1073)						The antenna looking item hanging from the ceiling is the embodiment of the Earth ground symbol commonly used in circuit diagrams for electronics. So this is where the Earth is grounded in "real life" and finally Ponytail has found it. To protect themselves i their long search for this Ponytail and Megan seem to be wearing antistatic wrist straps. This may also be a reference to the Circuit Diagram comic in which a ground is labeled as "bury deep, but not too deep"
Right Volcano Top	(N/A)	Overview Extra zoom out Hidden passages in red	Overview						A zoom out of the right rim of the volcanic crater. In the extra zoom out the eagles can be seen as well, they are high enough to be missed entirely when moving along the crater surface.
Ring of power and lave floor at the right crater top.	Megan: One of these is probably a ring of power or whatever. Girl with hair bun: Let's play a game where the lava is the floor of a house.	Overview	(952, 1087)	(953, 1087)		Y			Megan tells Cueball that one of the many rings she throws into the crater is probably a ring of power, a reference to the scene from the last LOTR film where Frodo fails and Gollum attacks inside the volcano Mount Doom, thus making it clear that the volcano in the game represents this volcano. From her last comment, or whatever, it seems she doesn't care too much, which make it clear, from the LOTR universe, that neither of these rings in the one ring. It would not have be this easy throwing them into the lava if it had been. There seems to be 16 rings, which is less than the other rings that are ruled by the one ring, the 9 for the humans, the 7 for the dwarfs and the 3 for the elves (19 plus the one ring 20 rings in total). The two girls are playing a dangerous game, the exact opposite of the normal version of the children’s game Hot lava, where they pretend the floor in the house is made out of lava, and that you die if you touch it. However, in this version of the game they pretend to play that the lava is the floor in a house, and they may then just walk out into the lava pool, where they would die.
Megan sliding down slope on snow sleigh.	(None)	Overview	(956, 1085)	(956, 1086)					Megan is sliding fast down the crater side. She will hit a jump near the coin, and would probably fly a considerable distance given the speed she seems to have.
Eagles over right crater top.	Left eagle: Tolkien said Frodo left the cloak somewhere over here. Right eagle: Can't he just fix it? Left eagle: He doesn't want to rewrite that chapter.	Overview	(956, 1088)			Y			Did Frodo lose his cloak in the books? Is this a reference to any real plot holes (not just using eagles) about the cloak being lost somewhere but then back later? If you can dismiss this, then make a note below. If there is something please explain Two of the great eagles from LOTR flies above the right crater top. In this situation the eagles are being used to find Frodo's cloak, with one eagle complaining that "he", meaning J. R. R. Tolkien the author of LOTR, should just fix the issue without the eagles. This is a reference to the eagles use in LOTR as a deus ex machina and the supposed plot hole of the eagles not flying the ring to mordor. However, this was of course not possible before Sauron and his ringwraiths were defeated.
Ponytail racing down the steep slope on a bike.	Ponytail: 114 mph! Ponytail: Suck it, previous downhill volcano record-holder!	Overview	(958, 1083)						Ponytail is trying to break the world record for downhill race on a bike on a volcano. The record at the time of this comic was from 2002 and was 107 mph (172 km/h) easily beaten by the 114 mph (183 km/h) that Ponytail reaches as she mocks the previous record holder. There were two different records, one for prototype bike by Éric Barone (the 107 mph (172 km/h)) and one for serial production bicycle (102.5 mph (164.95 km/h) set in 2011 by Markus Stöckl). She beat them both and it looks like a very ordinary bike she rides. The all-time record for downhill racing is not using the ashy slopes on volcanos but from racing on snow, and here the record is not in danger from Ponytail as it is a staggering 138 mph (222 km/h) again with a lesser record for serial produced bikes of 130 mph (210 km/h). She will soon hit a rock outcrop so hopefully she has very good brakes...
Tell my wife why you left me there, and Megan and Cueball with a device	Right Cueball: If I don't make it back... Right Cueball: ...Tell my wife... Right Cueball: ...Where I am... Right Cueball: ...And why you left me there…	Overview	(960, 1081)	(961, 1081)					If I don't make it back is a common trope in films and books used when the speaker is about to make a noble sacrifice. The speaker will then usually tell the other to go tell his wife that he died bravely or that his friends should remember him. There is even a song with the same title by Tracy Lawrence. In Cueball's case, both him and his companion are attempting to scale a dangerous mountain and neither are inclined to sacrifice their own lives for the other. Cueball appears to be struggling, climbing on all fours while his friend is standing. Subverting the trope, he attempts to guilt trip his friend into helping him. Also here are Megan with some kind of device and Cueball on top of a large boulder. Maybe they are investigating the environment on the volcanic slope. Cueball has just discovered the coin hanging above them.
It becomes a V7 if the volcano erupts and Ponytail and Cueball on the slope	Megan: This is currently a V2, but it becomes a V7 if the volcano erupts.	Overview	(962, 1080)	(963, 1079)					Megan and Cueball climb a very steep part of the mountain slope. In bouldering, the relative difficulty of a bouldering problem is graded using the V scale. She exclaims that at the moment the climb is only a V2, but if the volcano erupts this would increase to V7. The joke is that the shaking ground and the lava resulting from the eruption would obviously make it harder to complete the bouldering problem without getting killed. In reality, passing environmental conditions do not affect the grade that a bouldering problem receives.
Megan reading for children about Sauron’s ring.	Megan: ”The time has come” the Walrus said, and put on a Sauron's ring…	Overview	(964, 1078)	(964, 1079)		Y			The line "”The time has come” the Walrus said, to talk of many things" is from the poem The Walrus and the Carpenter by Lewis Carroll's book Through the Looking-Glass, the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Sauron is the main enemy in LOTR, the one who has made the ring, and now needs it to gain his powers back. In this mixed poem the second line is changed but follows the same rhyme scheme. But although rings would have rhymed with things, it of course have to ring as the walrus can only put the one ring of power on, while uttering the now much more ominous sounding phrase The time has come. Megan is reading this poem/story at the base of the volcano Mount Doom where the ring was created and later destroyed. Like Frodo, Sauron is one of the characters from LOTR who is only mentioned, not shown, in the comic.
Vaping Earth.	Cueball: The Earth is vaping.	Overview	(969, 1077)	(968, 1077)					Vaping is a term used instead of smoking for the use of electronic cigarettes. There is even a game called the Vaping game for blowing extra large clouds of vapor out while using these substitutes for cigarettes. Cueball remarks that here it is the Earth that does so, due to the volcanic activity of the nearby volcano.
Left of play area to Kite.	(N/A)	Overview Hidden passages in red	Overview						This is the area from below the volcano's slope and towards the play area. There are several hidden places and pools that can be seen in the second image link.
Kite and weird bug.	Mom: Check out this one weird bug, discovered by a local mom. Girl: Oh my God, mom, stop saying everything like that.	Overview Hidden passages in red	(970, 1077)	(972, 1077)			Y	Comic 1614: Kites and in general the kite category. Also the Clickbait category	The comic was released only two weeks after this game, and although it is clearly a girl in this comic, she looks like Megan who sets up the kite in the next comic. There is also a kite in Sky Toucher in TE and kites is a recurring theme in xkcd. The mother that discovers the bug is Blondie. She talks like she is one of the clickbait headlines used for getting people to click in on the link generally aimed at generating online advertising revenue, which fits nicely with her recurring theme of as a news anchor. Her daughter is tired of this, especially as it seems like the mother speaks like that all the time. The girl may be embarrassed by this, especially if she is with a friend rather than a brother. Maybe the mother has been reading too many clickbait news on-line? As noted in the other references clickbait is a recurring theme in xkcd. The mother is near a small lake, so it is likely that there is plenty of insects and other bugs. It is possible to sink into the lake as can be seen in the second image with the hidden parts shown in red.
Space capsule with parachutes.	Bird thinking: I don't remember laying these but wow they're already flying. Gonna be awesome when they hatch. Cueball: Yes! My phone has a signal. Voice from inside: How many new likes did we get during reentry? Cueball: I'm checking!	Overview	(976, 1079)	(976, 1080)			Y	Comic : 1133: Up Goer Five	The book TE was based on the comic Up Goer Five which was about the rocket that took this space capsule to the moon. When it lands it uses three large parachutes to slow down after the main brake-down during reentry. On top of these sits a bird looking like a hen. It is a hen that can think, but it is still not very clever. It believes that this is three eggs, and is amazed that they are already flying before they hatch, which is of course ridiculous, but they do float in the air... The astronauts inside (two at least, but there should be three if it was one of the moon landing missions) has just been waiting to get close enough to Earth again that they can get a signal on their smart phones. Cueball is even opening the hatch during descend to increase this chance, which would be highly dangerous. Also normally they would land in water (which will though not be the case this time). The reason he does this is that they wish to know how many more likes they (and their mission) has received during the reentry. This would have been relevant if the moon landings had taken place today. There where no social media or internet back in 1969. This is similar to the Cueball who is trapped in the lava lair without connection to Twitter.
Girl running to other girl and small forest.	(None)	Overview	(978, 1077)	(976, 1077)					Just two young girls playing near a forest of low trees. But with the space capsule above the forest.
Entire well - zoom out.	(N/A)	Overview Hidden passages in red	Overview					Comics in the Well series.	There are many similarities in this well to the well series. Someone is looking into a well that has the same general appearance and there is a person inside which turned out to be the case in 568: Well 2. People throw coins into it and there is a coin at the bottom in the game (although above the water.)
Well top.	(None)	Overview	(980, 1077)						Cueball looks into the deep well.
Well bottom.	Girl: I'm not a ghost. I just like wells.	Overview Hidden passages in red	(980, 1073)						At the bottom of the well in the water (see also the hidden passages image) is a girl. Above to the left of her is a coin. Maybe thrown in by Cueball at the top. Ghost living in wells is a common theme, for instance there is a Japanese movie Banchō Sarayashiki whose English title is Ghost in the Well. So this is why this real girl explains that she is actually not a ghost, she just like wells and thus likes to sit in the cold water at the bottom of wells. This could be very dangerous, and she will probably have a hard time getting up. It is also a very deep well, so falling into this well might very well be lethal. There are also many stories (in this case also real stories like the one about Jessica McClure) about kids that fall into wells, some of them surviving being stuck for several days in the wells. Also in movies this story is often used, for instance in Batman Begins the young Bruce Wayne falls down a dry well and is attacked by a swarm of bats, subsequently developing a fear of bats.
Entire gas station with birds above	(N/A)	Overview Without coin	Overview						The two birds with a coin between them flying above the gas station is way too high up, to be discovered when just moving normally over the gas station, even jumping once up from the highest spot. This is thus one of several coins that are easily missed. There are more explanation this scene where these two individual scenes are described.
Gas station with x-wing.	(None)	Overview	(982, 1077)	(983, 1077)	Y				Megan has managed to land her x-wing fighter from the rebel fleet in Star Wars right next to a standard gas station. And she has planned to fill her space ship up. That it could run on petrol for cars seems highly unlikely. The question is if she has already filled it up and is heading back with the handle to the gas stander, or if she has just discovered that the hose is not long enough to reach all the way under the wing to the fighter. It will have taken considerable skills to land this close to the station without hitting the cover over the stander. Ponytail is sitting in the shop with a coin. This is the first coin to be discovered when going left from the play-area. There is a long stretch without coins to begin with. The coins on the rock island in the sky it on this stretch, but so far above that most people would miss them altogether. There is also a coin with two birds straight above the right wing on the X-wing. But about three jumps up, so it is easy to miss. the To get into the shop you need to go over the stander and back. Why Cueball have crawled up in the roof is not clear. But maybe he is enjoying the view over the cliff that is to the right of the station. There is a stop sign to the left, but there seems to be no road that way. Maybe that is why you should stop...
Birds with coin.	(None)	Overview Without coin	(982, 1079)					Film: Monty Python and the Holy Grail	In the film it is discussed if two swallows could carry a coconut between them on a string as the two birds do with the coin here. First when the coin has been taken, can the string between the birds be seen (see the other image). The birds are three jumps above the X-wing below, and this coin is thus easily missed by the players. In the film the horses are simulated with the sound of two coconuts shells being hit together. Someone asks how they happened to be in England and there is discussion about migratory birds like swallows and the possibility that they have brought the coconuts along with them. But the consensus is that they cannot do this by themselves the coconut being to heavy, but then it is suggested that two swallows could carry it on a string between them. Later in the film someone is seen actually tying two birds together to a coconut. In this comic, we now know how the coins have been transported through the image...
Our kingdom from a cliff.	Cueball: Everything the light touches is our kingdom. Girl: What's with the shadowy place over there? Cueball: That is beyond our borders. Girl: No, I mean what object casts a shadow over a whole region? Cueball: Oh, that's god. He lives over there.	Overview	(986, 1076)	(986, 1075)				Film: The Lion King and comic: 1504: Opportunity as well as The Lion King category	Cueballs lines is from The Lion King and has been used directly before in the comic Opportunity. Randall has made several references to the film in xkcd, and it is obvious that he was very affected by this film that came out when he was just the right age. Cueball is talking to a child version of Ponytail, whose mother may be the one climbing up the cliff side below. The first three lines of the quote goes as in the film, but then it turns out that the girl is properly referring to the Star Destroyer that would be clearly visible from this cliff as it covers almost the entire right part of this world from just beyond the play-area. (They do not look high enough to see the rock island in the sky, and it would also not cast shadow over an entire region.) As it is not certain players coming here have already been to the right to see the Destroyer it is not necessarily clear that the reply from Cueball should apply to the Destroyer. But if it does then it would be the Emperor Palpatine that he reefers to as God. The emperor is on board the Destroyer near the bridge at the very top rear end of the space ship and has God like powers. It could however also just be a general reference to the God and thus be inferred as if God cast a shadow over an entire region (country). Maybe just in general as if he has a place in the sky that cast a shadow (like sitting on a cloud). Alternatively it could be the people who believe too much in any God, that can be viewed as living under a shadow, as they will not try to see any reality if it does not fit with their religious beliefs.
Hamster ball bowling.	(None)	Overview	(987, 1075)	(989, 1074)			Y	Comics: Hamster Ball category	There have been several xkcd comics with human sized hamster balls, and there is even one more in this comic up in the Destroyer. In this scene it is two young girls that use the hamster ball as a bowling ball in a human sized ten pin bowling game. Hopefully the little girl with the hair bun behind the pins get away in time if it is a strike. It is the first time hamster ball and bowling has been matched, but in TE there are bowling alleys both on the ship The USS Laws of the Land and on the suspension of the longest bridge in Tall roads and such an alley is also used for measuring length in How to count things. One of the many large trees that are found in the drawing is standing alone in this scene. Most other places there are more than one tree together.
If loving you is wrong I don’t want to and Beret Guy following insects	Cueball: If loving you is wrong, I don't want to.	Overview	(990, 1074)	(991, 1074)				Song (or quote): (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right	A reference to either the general love quote or maybe more likely to the song performed most notably by Luther Ingram. Recently (2014), there has also been a TV series produced called If Loving You Is Wrong. The quote is very romantic, because the speaker is stating that if it is wrong to love a specific person, the speaker chooses to be in love and does not wish to be right. However, Cueball twist the quote quite a lot, saying instead that if it is wrong to love Ponytail then he does not want to love her at all - taking all romance out of the statement. Also in this scene is one of only two instances where Beret Guy appears. Typical of his past appearances, he seems to be occupied by following a small flying insect through the tall grass.
Entire Washington monument	(N/A)	Overview Hidden passages in red Central hidden passage Hidden passages in red	Overview					Comic: 1600: MarketWatch	The tallest man made structure on the ground in this game is the Washington Monument which recently before the release of this comic was refereed to in the mentioned comic. As can be seen in the hidden passages images there are two secret passages, one at the bottom (see this scene for more) and one in the middle of the monument. The one in the central part of the monument is actually quite large, and as can be seen in the images zooming in on the central part there is also a fault line in the monument at the base of this hidden passage. But it doesn't really lead to anywhere interesting. The fault line could be a reference to the earthquake damage from 2011 where several stones cracked.
Base of Washington monument with Cueball and Megan	Cueball: Honestly, it doesn't even look that much like Washington.	Overview Hidden passages in red	(994, 1074)	(995, 1074)					At the base of the Washington Monument Megan and Cueball is looking up at it, and Cueball complains that it doesn't even look like Washington. By "Washington" he could be referring to the city of Washington DC or to the real Washington monument, but he is probably referring to the first US President George Washington, since monuments often depict (look like) the person they are dedicated to but the real Washington monument is not meant to look like Washington himself. Cueball seems to have expected all presidential monuments to include a statue of the honored president and is confused and disappointed when the monument fails to meet his expectations. Of course since this is the only Washington based building in the game it is true that the place doesn't look like the city. If he refers to the monument then it can be questioned if this is because the monument is not an exact replica (in proportions and/or scale). In any case it is clearly meant as an indicator that this is supposed to look like the monument, and with the tips apex being made of aluminum (see that scene) as on the real monument, there can be no doubt what is referenced. It is possible to get to the left side of the monument without going up to see the tip, if the player immediately understands the sign with the white arrow that points to a hidden passage through the base of the monument, as can be seen in the second image with the hidden passages shown in red. To the left of the monument there is a flag pole with a blown out flag. It is all black, but it should be the the Stars and Stripes as there are fifty flag poles with the US flag (one for each state) surrounding the monument in a circle. On top of the pole there sits a duck looking left. Towards the end of the world to the left on top of the left volcanic rim there also sits a similar duck looking right.
Tip of Washington monument with Cueball and White Hat	Cueball: Look at that- Solid aluminum! Cueball: We´re gonna be rich! White Hat: Uh, what the heck is that?!	Overview	(995, 1083)	(995, 1084)					The tip of the monument is actually made of solid aluminum and at the time this aluminum apex was installed it was a rare metal as valuable as silver, but today it is maybe about 1/300 as valuable as silver. So Cueball and White Hat will not become rich based on the metal value. Of course if they did steal the tip of such a famous monument, they might actually be able to sell it to a scrupulous collector at a value comparable to if was just a lump of silver of that weight. White Hat looking over his shoulder spots the Star Destroyer and thus help guide a player that has started going left towards the Destroyer to the right. How they have managed the climb, getting the ropes over the tip, or how Cueball intends to get down with the tip is left to the readers imagination...
Entire floating rock island.	(N/A)	Overview	Overview					Film: Avatar	This floating rock island may be a reference to the film Avatar where floating rocks is part of the scenery of the fictive moon Pandora. The rock in the game is very hard to find by chance, it is kind of unobtainable, which may be a further reference to the film since the reason the rocks do float is a combination of a weak gravity, a strong magnetic field and a mineral whose superconductive properties allow it to float in magnetic fields. Of course the levitating Hallelujah Mountains in the film contain significant quantities of the mineral which is called Unobtanium. Only thing pointing towards it is the Washington Monument and even if you go up from there, pushing the up arrow continuously for more than half a minute you may almost miss it, as only the far right girl would move through the view. And with two coins around this island it is important to find it in order to get all coins. Apart from the coins and the surprise there is little of interest here, and not even any spoken text. To the right just beneath the rear end of the Destroyer there is a small lump of earth that has floated up from the ground, hovering over the corresponding hole in the ground. Maybe this is caused by the same force that have created this floating island.
Top left of floating rock island with coin.	(None)	Overview	(990, 1112)	(990, 1111)					The large rock on top of the floating island is one of only two places where there is anything at a coordinate of Y=1112. On top of the globe of Death over the bridge of the destroyer, there are three images at the top of this that enters 1112. And there the very top is just slightly higher up. But there is no coin there, so the coin that would be in the tile used for main reference here that holds the coin is the highest location for any coin in the game, as the Globe of Death has its coin in its center below the top.
Top right of floating rock island with base jumpers.	(None)	Overview	(994, 1111)				Y		In Sky Toucher in TE two people jump of a cloud, like the base jumpers Megan and Ponytail does here from the floating rock, but at least these two girls do have parachutes on (as opposed to the cloud jumpers in TE). How they got here is a good question, but of course they could have flown here in for instance the X-wing from below at the gas station.
Bottom of floating rock island with coin.	(None)	Overview	(992, 1109)	(993, 1109)					At the bottom of the island several small and large boulders can be seen hanging only loosely on to the bottom. At the center the largest rock can be seen, but even this is slipping a little as can be seen by the small white speck high over the very bottom of this boulder. Right of this is the other coin that belongs to this hidden place in the sky.
Entire Play Area - zoom out.	(N/A)	Overview With starting view	Overview						The entire play area with the walls and their outer foundation. See also the insert with the starting view shown in red in the second image link and see more about the buildup of scenes from the individual image tiles using the play area down below. It is easy to see how a player of the game, with no knowledge of Randall's way of thinking, may not even think about exploring outside this area, even if they do try to go outside the maze. Because it is possible to jump around in the maze without discovering that you can actually fly rather than just jump. If you only jump once you cannot see the too op the walls. On top of this there is the large red warning letters telling you to go back if you try to leave the confines of the wall.
The Play Area.	My new book, Thing Explainer, comes out today! To celebrate, here's a small game. Deposit coins here	Overview Hidden passages in red	(1000, 1074)	(1000, 1075)			Y		This is the starting area where the game begins. There is even some extra text telling you to Use arrow keys to move but as soon as you do, this text disappears, just like the message you can receive below in the view depending on your action in this area. The text below the starting point of the hoverboard Cueball that you control, explains that the game is released on this day to celebrate the release of Randall's new book Thing Explainer and thus directly references the book. And also explains why this comic has been made, and furthermore why it was released on a Tuesday rather than the usual Wednesday release, which was then skipped this week. It also explains that if you collect coins you can deposit them at the terminal, and when you do it list the score (number of coins and the time used) and rates your achievement. By noting that you got all the coins if you collect all 17 coins in the play area maze, then it is one more trick to try to make you stay inside the walls of the maze. There is only one small feature that can be spotted from within the maze that breaks the symmetry and may give away the clue of the game. And that is the small stone that lies on the ground to the left. Because why should it be there, if this was just a platform/maze game. The walls cannot be seen if you stay in or just around the outer wall of the maze. But if you go to them you may think this is the end. Another detail about the game to be learned already here is that there can be "solid" black parts of the surroundings which are not solid at all. This can be seen in the image showing the hidden passages in red. Here it can be seen that the ledge beneath the two inverted parenthesis " )( " is not solid, and that you can fall or jump up through this section. This could forewarn you of the hidden passages, especially to the lair beneath the volcano