Haiku Hero

By: Derek Yu

On: October 4th, 2010

Haiku Hero is a game by Montoli/Paper Dino where you write haikus – three-line poems consisting of five, seven, and five syllables, respectively. There are three modes: a Deadline mode where you write as many haikus as you can in 5 minutes, a Survival mode where “good” haikus earn you more time, and a peaceful Endless mode where you can take your time and drink tea or rake sand gardens or whatever inspires you. The game determines whether your haiku is good based on whether you followed the 5-7-5 structure and whether you fulfilled the challenges that it set out for you based on one of three difficulty settings (e.g. “Use at least one word with 3 syllables.”).

It’s really quite fun, and I was surprised by how well the game was able to recognize fake, overused, or (for certain challenges) non-rhyming words. Ultimately, though, it’s up to you to decide whether you wrote a truly awesome poem, which is why a multiplayer version of Haiku Hero or an easy way to see other people’s haikus would be great. Also, for a game about such a delicate artform, I was pretty unimpressed with the presentation, which, while serviceable, is kind of ham-fisted.

TIGdb: Entry for Haiku Hero