If you 'liked' Entropia Universe on Facebook you have probably noticed the images they posted with Gnomes in them. So far there are 5 images and an interesting description:
Gnomes! It is not known where they come from, nor why but reports of Gnome activity in Entropia have now been verified. Images of Gnomes in action is coming in from such diverse places as the PvP zone with the Oil Rig and Port Atlantis on Planet Calypsos Eudoria continent. Latest intel suggests Gnome activities on other planets as well! Rumors indicate some vague connection to a global Swedish furniture company's English subsidiary but the details of this are still very, very sketchy. Stay tuned for more details. - If you spot a Gnome inworld please share your screenshots!
UPDATE: Gnome activity in Rocktropia's Zomhattan area have been captured on film! The images added to the album speaks for themself but... a Gnome infestation? Seriously??
UPDATE 2: The origins of the sudden appearance of Gnomes inworld as shown in this album has been very, very cloudy.
One possible explanation that has been suggested relates to a certain furniture company trying to change the Gnomes original habitat - the English Gardens! Gnomes threatened by more modern lifestyles has, as can be seen in this film (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g7HFrw9UTs) taken desperate measures to protect their way of life. Rightful or not it is unclear how this could have brought Gnomes into the worlds of Entropia Universe.
Maybe it is one of these mysteries we will never really uncover. Maybe the Gnomes are harmless and should be left alone? Our recommendation to all Entropia Participants still stands though; - If you spot a Gnome inworld please share your screenshots!
They mention a global Swedish furniture company, which of course could only be one company, IKEA. The gnomes themselves also suggest IKEA, as they have been used in and TV commercial in the UK:
But what is the deal with these gnomes, is Mindark working on a deal with IKEA?
Well, after contacting both IKEA in the UK (where the video is from) and IKEA in Sweden (Mindark is in Sweden) it turns out that none of them have any clue about this. So, either there is indeed nothing going on, the press officer I talked to does not know yet or she is a good liar.
This makes me believe that it is just some people at Mindark having a little fun. Looking at the images (so called screenshots) it is pretty clear that the gnomes are edited in, so I think it is safe to say there are no gnomes in game (yet).
The last line in Update 2, suggests they are looking for screenshots of the gnomes and because they are not really in game I think they are asking people to make their own images, like they did. So far nobody has posted any images on Facebook with the gnomes, so either people don't understand this 'event' or the ones that do, don;t have a Facebook account. So, to help those people we are giving them a place to post in game images with gnomes. If you have image editing skills and would like to take part in this funny 'event' feel free to post them here.
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