2015 Steam Winter Sale ARG (w badge info)-Follow Gingerbread Jake's clues [comic link still alive!]

Open

oh man.
:o

A few sleuthy people have discovered clues and hints in this year's winter sale
and have found breadcrumbs left behind by Gingerbread Jake.
Follow along to see what was decrypted!
(Now with Red Herring Badge)

Gotta say, it's pretty damn impressive how people are decrypting the clues;
even more impressive is seeing people work together to solve them!

update 1:
go to Hitman: Codename 47
type search; push enter
input the code from the winter sale comic cover's barcode (now removed): 94050999014715

update 2:
inputting the code you get from update 1 {ic/4f21ca7} into winter comic url gives you this
4f21ca7 {filename 1fce82a72c633.wav}
A man saying "I was on the right track, I could feel it. Tomorrow, I was going to search again" The .wav is from the 24th

update 3:
"The Blitzen Incident"
http://store.steampowered.com/search/?term=blitzen yields Grim Fandango
type search; push enter
input the club code from winter sale comic: "HOT TODDIES AND MASERATIS"
now we're in Undertale Hmmmm.... o_o

update 4:
"Bullet Hell" is a tag on Undertale's app page.
on Undertale's page
type search; push enter
input "bullet hell"
now we're at Ikaruga

update 5 interesting Valve employee activity:
The Valve employee ChrisK/FireSlash has the "Red Herring" badge with the description "ARG?"
On his profile there is a (presumed) hash: 2cdeda75c0afb5c4a7a45dfe978315f6.
His last played games are: Undertale, Ikaruga and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - First Assault Online

update 5a:
ChrisK's profile went private for a little while, then went public again- this time with his badges all hidden/wiped xD (maybe GitS is the next pitstop)

update 5b:
ChrisK's badges are back now - he has modified his profile to say "This is just a profile" lol. Red Herring, perhaps, but Undertale -> Ikaruga is still pretty intriguing

update 6:
Trading Card 7 (Taffy) has Dungeon Master Symbols "Lo Ya Gor Ku"
Inputting it into a winter comic url gives you this:
LoYaGorKu {filename: loyagorku.wav}
rough translation:
忘れられた道が障害と報酬につながります" (wasurareta michi ga shougai to houshuu ni tsunagarimasu)
"Forgotten road will lead to failure and reward "

update 7:
Spectrogram analysis of LoYaGorKu {filename: loyagorku.wav} yields 1v7531
On Ikaruga
type search; push enter
input "1v7531"
Red Herring ARG? Badge unlocked.
via combatbeard: what is this
Doesn't seem like we're through
Seems like this is the failure (dead end) and reward for following the forgotten road (Blitzen incident)

direct link to badge: http://store.steampowered.com/actions/d3708146fc0c5d593
If you're having problems getting the badge, you might have to disable enhanced steam

update 8 theories:

holiday profile backgrounds have changed with possible hints to some islands and we might have some coordinates.
Left of the penguin: http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/items/425280/af2ef83209f1503662d1b95939abeea8ca415c59.jpg
http://imgur.com/039ikx7
http://i.imgur.com/gphhdh6.png
http://i.imgur.com/x69M31r.png
http://imgur.com/w1K1q5t
There is also the "Twinkle" train theory (search twinkle on steam) http://store.steampowered.com/app/222621/
Watch video. From description: "Save Christmas
Take on a series of fun and entertaining missions, over the mantelpiece, under the Christmas tree and across the piano, uncovering secret routes and finding hidden treasures."
Other thoughts: http://i.imgur.com/xc1b2zm.jpg

update 9:
Looks like this might squash some HL3 rumours:
https://i.imgur.com/jURjHBq.jpg

update 10 theories:
Binary code in the last comic page. Look at the lights
The backgrounds used on the main store page match some of the pages in the comic:
http://imgur.com/a/OsgJY
http://8ch.net/v/src/1451761967660.mp4
https://a.pomf.cat/dyoihy.mp4
https://a.pomf.cat/eekwpk.mp4

update 11
Via bruteforce, a new wav file was found using Trading Card 6 (Sending a Message)'s clue
(In retrospect, "F" is the 6th letter in the alphabet - adding it to Trading Card 6's clue gives us 794E2CEA991F)
http://store.steampowered.com/wintercomic/794E2CEA991F {794e2cea991f.wav}
"I've been to Lima four times, stayed at all the best hotels. I used to go to dance halls and tango with Mary Carmen until the sun came up. thud The bravos and accolades would echo and echo until the boys in uniform shut us down."
Filter for NATO phonetic alphabet clues and you get LLLLHTBEEU (anagram of BULLET HELL [the code word that led us from Undertale to Ikaruga])

update 12 theories
Possible link to The Holiday Express?
https://i.imgur.com/170yL6x.png

Zippy's body
http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steam/clusters/sale_winter2015_comic/397a5a0d/fbe2b441_day_2_english.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/SuiMZQL.png
http://i.imgur.com/7YnQ3UQ.png

update 13 theories and "What We Know So Far"
The last wall paper yet to be revealed is called "Kind Lies And Goodbyes"
Is Holly the culprit?

We also have theories linking the card 2 artwork to the Orion constellation.

https://www.reddit.com/r/steamsaledetectives/comments/3za311/the_stars/
https://www.reddit.com/r/steamsaledetectives/comments/3zaejm/the_stars_part_2/

Card 2 art for reference:
http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/items/425280/52a2cf1ccae204c6c035eada743f224a4384bc76.jpg
http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/items/425280/f21020505f5ecd896fa63dd8691edfbf64a2d5d7.jpg

What we know up to this point:
https://youtu.be/uxPTsj5iHMM

update 14 theories
Signature links to Andy Warhol:

https://www.reddit.com/r/steamsaledetectives/comments/3zcltn/possible_lead_on_the_signature/

update 15:

With the Winter Sale over, nothingtoseehere.js and ~~http://store.steampowered.com/wintercomic/~~ are gone ...
~~Wonder what the solution to the ARG was :(~~
http://store.steampowered.com/wintercomic/ is still alive! :D
There may be hope yet; but without the nothingtoseehere.js secret search script, I wonder if a solution is still possible

update 16 theories:

Potential link between Gingerbread Jake's clue map and a map of the North Pole
http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/368533069678560219/DD60621E3A7379BABE5F2D18FF3D608A67AB152A/

https://www.reddit.com/r/steamsaledetectives/comments/3zdqnr/day_5_map_with_pin_locations/
https://www.reddit.com/r/steamsaledetectives/comments/3zexk0/the_reallife_aurora_borealis_icebreaker/

update 17 theory

https://www.reddit.com/r/steamsaledetectives/comments/3zg9ug/shiny_murder_theory/
What a tangled web they weave

Subreddit
Steam Sale ARG Wiki
Summary
A visual chronology of things that are known
NorthPole Noir MindMap
Known & debunked hints/clues
Bruteforce page

Thank you for helping with the updates:
combatbeard
m3rc

View attached image.

8 years ago*

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364 Comments

Bow2Deathwish

http://comeonandsl.am/#SLAMGORE
I went through everything, now that it's 12 am in Seattle that one appeared. hit left or right arrow to go through them

I'm not sure how much this dev has to do with this event but I'm sure this isn't a coincidence.

brought to you by www.player13.com

8 years ago

2015 Steam Winter Sale ARG (w badge info)-Follow Gingerbread Jake's clues [comic link still alive!]

A few sleuthy people have discovered clues and hints in this year's winter sale and have found breadcrumbs left behind by Gingerbread Jake. Follow along to see what was decrypted! (Now with Red Herring Badge)

Gotta say, it's pretty damn impressive how people are decrypting the clues; even more impressive is seeing people work together to solve them!

A few sleuthy people have discovered clues and hints in this year's winter sale
and have found breadcrumbs left behind by Gingerbread Jake.
Follow along to see what was decrypted!
(Now with Red Herring Badge)

Gotta say, it's pretty damn impressive how people are decrypting the clues;
even more impressive is seeing people work together to solve them!