Monday 19 August 2013

Game 34: The Colonel's Bequest - Nice Night for a Walk

Laura Bow Journal Entry 3: "Why won't anyone listen to me? Not only is Gertie dead, but whoever killed her has more than likely got to Wilbur now! I must make Lillian listen before more family members get murdered. In the meantime I'm trying so hard to use the investigation techniques my father taught me in an attempt to solve this mystery. The clues I've found so far point to multiple guests, but there's one in particular that I'll be watching very closely indeed. Hopefully without them noticing, or I could end up as their next victim!"


 Time to fill in the details

My last post finished with the big question of whether or not Gertie had been murdered. I left the room to go and find out, but as soon as I did, I was shown a view of the veranda through the windows above the stairs. “Someone’s walking outside on the second story veranda! Who could it be?” Whoever it was walked from right of screen all the way across to the left, but it wasn’t completely obvious from the silhouette whether they were male or female. There are a few guests that I could rule out for the simple reason that this suspect walked uninhibited (Henri and Wilbur certainly don’t) and seemed pretty thin (Celie and Ethel are both much larger), but of course there’s a chance one of those characters is putting on their physical restrictions or pretending to be fat. Once I regained control of Laura, I went straight for the stairs and made my way down to the ground floor. However, my intention of finding out whether Gertie’s body was on the ground below her window was once again put on hold, when the image of my father appeared once I reached the bottom of the stairs.


 Seriously, this really does rule out a couple of guests

“One important tool a good detective uses besides asking questions of people is to selectively reveal information to THEM and listen to their response. If you “tell Gloria about Fifi”, you may receive additional information about Fifi, or at least what Gloria THINKS of her.” I’m assuming that Laura is recalling advice given to her by her father on a previous occasion, and not that her father is somehow communicating with her from afar. The only thing that made me think otherwise was Laura’s reaction after “hearing” this advice. “Thanks, Daddy!” Once the ill-timed advice session was over, I made my way through the billiards room and out the door to the outside world. Gertie’s body was indeed lying on the ground just outside the door! “Oh, dear! It looks as if Gertie has accidently fallen from her upstairs window and killed herself! Or... was it an accident?!” It took me a while to figure out how to examine her body more closely, as all my attempts were met with “Gertie’s dead, all right!”, but eventually I typed in “search body” and got a result. “You quickly examine Gertie’s body and see that she died of a broken neck. You can see no clues as to what might have happened.”


Yeah OK daddy! Now's really not the time for one of your telepathic lessons alright? I'm busy!


 That was a statement! Or...was it a question?!

I didn’t appear to be able to pick anything up, so I went back inside to tell someone about what I’d found. Gloria was still sitting in the billiards room listening to music, so I gave her the horrific news regarding her mother! “Mother??? Oh, no! It can’t be!” Gloria rushed outside to see for herself, only to come back in moments later. “You’re very mean! There’s NOTHING there!” I raced back outside myself to find that Gloria was telling the truth. Gertie’s body had disappeared!!! The killer, or an accomplice, must have come along and removed it already. I walked west to the screen beyond, hoping to find some clue as to where the body had gone, but instead came across Clarence and Wilbur chatting outside the study. The progress clock appeared on the screen, making me forget all about Gertie and focus on what was going on between the two house guests. Wilbur: “I can’t go on with this any longer! I must tell him about...” Clarence: “Quiet! Let’s go into the house to continue this discussion.” Had I interrupted yet another juicy conversation? There weren’t going to be any hidden rooms nearby this time, so I did the only thing I could think of. I followed them back inside!


Haha...got ya!!!


...my eating disorder! I need help!"

I once again interrupted them in the study, and then again in the library, where Clarence suggested they go to the dining room. That worked for me, as that was a part of the house I could view from one of the hidden rooms. I moved the mirror in the hallway and entered the hidden room, then looked through the portrait eyes to finally see what these two gents were up to. Wilbur: “It’s just not right! We’ve got to tell him about it!” Clarence: “No! It’ll work out, Wilbur. I’ve got some plans.” Wilbur: “How are you going to replace that hundred grand we took from Henri? Where would YOU get that kind of money?!” Clarence: “I know people. I can do it...trust me.” Wilbur: “Why were we so stupid as to buy into a racehorse, anyway?! And to use Henri’s money! We should’ve known better!” Clarence: “It would’ve worked out, Wilbur. It wasn’t our fault that &$@*% horse broke his leg!” Wilbur: “All I can say, Clarence, is you’d better do something fast... because if you don’t, I’m ‘fessing up.” Clarence: “I’ll handle it, Wilbur! Just don’t be stupid and say something!” Well, well, well!!! Now I knew what the racehorse scam was that Gertie threatened to tell Henri about! I might just tell him myself!


 It's difficult to see in this image, but the killer walks past the windows in the study and again later in the dining room.


 Don't say nothing? Does that mean I should say something? Oh I'm confused!

Act II had already been filled with drama, and it was only 8:15! Since I’d had more hidden room success, I decided to check out the other rooms now so as to avoid interrupting any further discussions. When I looked in on the billiard room, I once again witnessed Clarence and Gloria at each other! The progress clock ticked over to 8:30, and I watched as Gloria told Clarence she wanted to end their marriage. Clarence: “Are you joking or something? That’s ridiculous!” Gloria: “No, dahling. I’m not joking. I have a new beau...he’s a director.” Clarence: “Yeah, well... I have to think about this! See you around... sweetheart!” That’s not the response I would have expected from someone who’s just been told his partner is seeing someone else. It was made even stranger when I walked into the billiard room to record whether either of them were still there, only to find them quite happily playing billiards against each other. I set my disbelief aside, and continued spying on rooms. I was beginning to wonder whether the majority of the game’s progress would be made by listening to dialogue from within the hidden rooms, and that concern wasn’t allayed when I looked in on Ethel in parlor.


 Way to rub it in!


 Let's not let breaking up get in the way of a good game.

Ethel was clearly very drunk! Not only was she slurring her words, she was also having a full on conversation with Polly the parrot! Ethel: “YOU know how shey all feel ‘bout me, don’cha, Polly?” Polly: “AWWK!” Ethel: “Wellll, I don’ care what shey think! ‘Specially, Gertie and shat connivin’ daughter o’ hers! I shink I’ll have ‘nother drink...okay, Polly?” Polly: “Have a drink...AWWK!” I walked into the parlor with the intention of asking Ethel about Gertie and the handkerchief, since I’d noticed she’d had one in her hand during her conversation with Lillian in Act I. Unfortunately she was just too drunk to make any sense, so that interrogation was going to have to wait. Having now spied on all the rooms that I could, it was time to go hunting for the other house guests. I knew that Ethel was in the parlor, and Clarence and Gloria were in the billiards room, but the current whereabouts of everyone else was unknown. I made my way upstairs to check all the rooms, stopping to look in the previously empty closet at the top of the stairs on the way. To my great surprise, an arm came from out of the darkness, and pulled me inside, apparently killing me in the process. “That’s what you get for being such a snoop, Laura!” The Colonel’s Bequest is right up there with Space Quest for killing off the player with no warning, yet the unavoidable deaths are not as fun, making them feel a little more annoying.


 Teehee...you said shat!


 And they say alcohol isn't a gateway drug!

I restored, and made my way back up to the first floor. There I found Henri in his room, unwilling to answer any of my questions as usual. Lillian was nowhere to be found in our room, so I moved onto Rudy and Clarence’s. I walked in on Rudy and Fifi having some sort of scuffle! It wasn’t completely clear whether Rudy was trying to sexually assault her or threaten her about her relationship with Henri (or something else), but the result was Fifi slapping him and shouting “Leave me alone, you, you...CAD!” She then left the room, leaving Rudy standing there holding the side of his face. He quickly recovered and sat down on the sofa to have a drink, so I asked him as many questions as I could to see if I could figure out what was going on. As you would expect, he wasn’t very forthcoming. I left, and made my way up to Fifi’s room on the top floor. I’d thought that seemed a likely place for her to go given the circumstances, and that’s exactly where I found her, sitting in front of the mirror brushing her hair. As with Rudy, she seemed unwilling to talk about what just happened, but at least I could mark down her whereabouts.


CAD? Computer Aided Design? Well I guess that's accurate when you think about it!


 Unfortunately his eyeballs appear permanently focused on your ample curves Fifi.

I made my way to the kitchen to see whether Celie was still there doing chores, only to find that Lillian and Jeeves were too. Not only that, but the progress clock ticked over to 8:45! Jeeves quickly left with what looked like some food on a plate, going outside through the doors to the right, but Lillian and Celie were having a discussion about something or other. Celie: “Now, now chile. It ain’t no use gettin’ yourself upset. Things have a way o’ workin’ themselves out.” Lillian: “I know, Celie...but, it just doesn’t seem right! Oh...hi, Laura.” What had they been talking about? I tried asking a couple of questions to see if I could get Lillian to tell me her woes, but got nowhere. I therefore told her about Gertie’s death, hoping that she of all people might believe me. “That can’t be true, Laura. I’ll go see!” Lillian left and came back a few moments later, saying “Oh, you’re just imagining things, Laura!” on the way back in. She too thought the handkerchief belonged to her mother Ethel though, so that did seem a lead worth noting. I had to wonder why this scene was so important though, as I doubted the clock had ticked over for no reason. Was I supposed to follow Jeeves?


 Where are you going at this time of night Jeeves? Can't you see the time on the gargantuan clock floating in the middle of the room?


No, I just really enjoy telling people that their relatives are dead. It's a fetish of mine!

I walked through the French doors into the night, finding myself standing next to Beauregard’s doghouse and two large doors leading down to the cellar. Jeeves was there, calling for the dog to come and get its dinner. So it hadn’t been a plate of food in his hand, it was a dog bowl! Beauregard wandered over to eat, while Jeeves walked south off the screen. I followed Jeeves for quite a few screens, and since I’ve not yet described pretty much anything outside of the house, this seems a better time than any. Note that I initially followed the butler as closely as I could, not stopping to check anything out in case I might lose him, but for the sake of this post I’ll act as though I had all the time in the world. The first screen I followed him through contained a well just off the side of the gravel driveway. I was able to bring a bucket of water up by winding the handle on the side, and was given a view of it from the lip of the well, but wasn’t able to retrieve anything or take the whole thing with me. Jeeves walked to the left of screen, so that’s the way I went too.


I'll just feed the dog before I go off to finish hiding my latest corpse!


 If Samara crawls out of the well, I'm outta here!

He walked through a garden path, straight across the front of the house, passing a statue of the colonel on the way. I didn’t seem to be able to do anything on this screen, so I once again followed Jeeves to the left of screen and across the other side of the driveway. I continued in this fashion, eager to find out exactly where he was going, only to find that he simply disappeared when I reached the next screen! At least that’s how it seemed the first time I went through this little chase scene. Long story short, if I walked to the left of screen to the south of a tree then I reappeared at an old carriage house and Jeeves was nowhere to be seen, yet if I walked just to the north of the tree I reappeared in front of a stable where Jeeves can be seen sliding the door open and entering. I too entered the stable, where I watched as Jeeves fed the colonel’s horse Blaze some hay. Once he left, I was able to explore, finding a saddle and a bridle hanging on the wall. Both of them were too heavy for me to carry, and I was also informed that Laura has “never been fond of horseback riding”.


 Where are you off to you deranged butler!?


So this is where you keep the bodies!

One thing I thought I might be able to pick up though was a lantern hanging just behind Blaze. I wasn’t able to reach it over the little fence, so I tried opening the gate. As soon as I did, Blaze rocked back onto his hind legs and kneed me in the head. Death came quickly! I restored, and this time tried patting Blaze first. I was able to, but it made no difference to the end result. Figuring there must be a way to get the lantern later on, I set out to see where Jeeves went next. We travelled north at this point, soon arriving at a chapel situated in front of a cemetery. Rather than entering the chapel through the doors at the front, Jeeves walked around the back of it before disappearing. I quickly followed, and soon found myself inside, watching as he lit the three candles on the wall. Once again there appeared to be nothing I could interact with in the room, so I left in pursuit of the butler. We walked to the east, along a path leading past a bell tower. There was a rope with a ring attached to it hanging inside the tower, so I tried to pull it, only to be told that “the short rope is too high for you to reach the ring”. I climbed the ladder up to the bell, but was told that it was rusted in place after years of no use.


FINISH HER!!!


A cemetery! I should have guessed you ghoul!



 I never...drink...wine!


 Oh come on Laura! You've got arms you know!

Jeeves continued to the east, passing through a pretty section with a statue of a satyr, and then back to the mansion. He walked behind it, reappearing on the screen where Beauregard was still snoozing in his doghouse. However, instead of entering the house proper, the butler opened the cellar doors and descended. What was he up to down there? Is this what I’d come to see? I followed him inside, only to find the room below was Jeeves' own bedroom! He’d already laid down on the bed for a nap, tired after completing his late night chores. I explored the cellar, but could only find a box of crackers on the dresser beside the bed. Jeeves nodded his head when I tried to take them, which was just as well as I had a pretty good idea where they might be useful. After all, Polly wants a cracker! I couldn’t get anything else out of the gloomy guy, as he kept telling me to leave every time I asked him a question. Was this whole scene there just to get me out of the house or had I missed something during our trip? Was Jeeves merely a distraction? Did something occur in the kitchen in my absence? (These are all hypothetical questions in case you're wondering)


Not to mention the rest of the scene


Oh this sort of thing never ends well!


What? Where are the bodies? No ritual sacrifices!? *Sigh*...back to the drawing board!

I re-entered the house, planning to find where all the guests were situated at 8:45. While confirming that Ethel was still getting pissed in the parlor, I took the opportunity to give a cracker to Polly. “AWWKK! Gonna tell him... tell him. Racehorse scam. AWWKK!” So crackers were the key to getting Polly to talk! I tried giving him more, but he didn’t seem to want to tell me anything else of interest at this stage. I wondered whether I should go and tell Henri about the scam, but that thought was squashed when I found the colonel missing from his room. I thought he might have taken the elevator down to the library, but instead I was confronted with the progress clock ticking over to 9:00 and the words “Act III” on the screen when I entered. Wilbur was there, sitting in the chair reading his magazine about racehorses as usual, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I recalled how things played out at the end of Act I, and decided the best course of action was to leave the room and then come back in. It worked, as I returned to find Wilbur gone, his chair knocked over and signs of a struggle on the floor! Had Wilbur been murdered too!? Stay tuned to find out!


 AWWKK! Where is he...where is he... AWWKK!


 Act III: Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

This is what I make of Act II
  • Lillian and Celie chat in the kitchen for the entire hour
  • Ethel goes to the parlor and gets insanely drunk. She spends the hour talking to Polly the parrot.
  • Henri stays in his room until 8:45, at which point he leaves for an unknown destination. I didn’t check the whole map (there are still lots of places I haven’t visited), but didn’t find him anywhere in the house.
  • Fifi has an altercation with Rudy in his room, before making her way upstairs to her bedroom. Both Rudy and Fifi remain in their respective rooms for the remainder of the hour.
  • Clarence has a discussion with Wilbur outside the study, but they take it inside when I interrupt them. They move to the dining room, where Wilbur threatens to admit that they stole $100000 from Henri. Clarence tells him not to do anything stupid, and that he would sort it out. Clarence then went to the billiards room, where Gloria tells him that she wants to break up. They then play billiards for the rest of the hour. Wilbur goes back to the library, where he is killed around 9:00.
  • Jeeves starts in the kitchen, then goes outside to feed Beauregard. He then wanders away from the house and visits the stable to feed Blaze and the chapel to light the candles. He then enters his room in the cellar for a nap.
At this point Clarence seems the most likely suspect, having had strong motives for killing both Gertie and Wilbur. Gloria has now given him a motive to take her out too, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s the next to go. The only thing that has me worried is just how obvious it is, making me think Clarence is being set up as a red herring. We’ll see...


Laura didn't believe in the boogeyman until it was too late!

Session Time: 2 hour 00 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours 00 minutes

Note Regarding Spoilers and Companion Assist Points: I've written a set of rules regarding spoilers and companion assist points. Please read it here before making any comments that could be considered a spoiler in any way. The short of it is that no points will be given for hints or spoilers given in advance of me requiring one. Please...try not to spoil any part of the game for me...unless I really obviously need the help...or I specifically request assistance. In this instance, I've not made any requests for assistance. Thanks!

77 comments:

  1. The sentence "Don't say nothing" contains what is called a negative concord, and is used in some American dialects. The second negative doesn't cancel the first one, but rather intensifies it.

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    1. So... wouldn't "Don't shut up about nothin'" magnify it even further?

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    2. No... because "shut up" itself isn't a negative. It just has the opposite meaning. The command would be "don't shut up", and "nothin'" would intesify THAT. The meaning is iverted (because a verb with an inverted meaning is used).

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    3. That makes as much sense as Storm Shadow attempting an assassination on Snake Eyes in a black room lit up by UV lamps.

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    4. Not sure if you mean my reasoning or the conclusion... but I do find the whole negative concord thing highly illogical and stupid. :-P

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    5. .....I'm stunned people here are so unfamiliar with double-negative use...

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    6. I'm stunned people here condone its uses!

      Anyway, Laukku, your reasoning's perfectly clear.

      It's the part where a negative does not negate another negative is just totally inane. For one thing, it's not even taught in any English curricular as a proper form of speech.

      Leaves people second-guessing.

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    7. I'm not condoning it, it is just pretty common on TV, often used to show someone is lower class or from somehwhere like Brooklyn.

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    8. I know. Just never understood why the user never thought it was dumb.

      For instance, "I haven't seen nothing that was unusual since I got here."

      So, did this guy see nothing unusual or did he see everything as unusual?

      The only clue would now come from the level of education he got.

      Did he learn never to use double-negatives as a magnifier or not?

      Seeing that the cast in this game are all pretty rich (and should be wealthy enough to afford a decent education), it is very disturbing to hear one of them use such lingo.

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    9. I think it is a regional thing. I don't know too much about it, but characters from the south are portrayed as using it fairly often, so that could very well be a deliberate characterization.

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    10. Also it isn't actually confusing; No one ever uses a double negative INTENDING for it to work as the rules of grammar say it should; they are always used as a dimple negatory statement. Therefore, if you hear a double negative just ignore one of the two negatives and proceed.

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    11. Canageek: Except if you are a professional logician - they will not be unwilling to use double negatives.

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    12. This whole non-issue is not getting any less unconfusing...

      It's not that hard to try not using non-positives in situations that do not call for them.

      Wait... what am I saying? Hmm... since it doesn't matter, just ignore one of the negatives if it doesn't make sense, yo.

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    13. Linguistics time! Double negatives can go either way in English, depending on how you say them and what sort of stance you're trying to project. If you say "it's not unpleasant," the negatives contradict each other but don't quite cancel out, giving a combined meaning of "it's less pleasant than I would like." This is a polite and educated-sounding stance. The rougher, ruder stance stereotypically associated with Southerners and uneducated people is one in which double negatives are used to intensify negatives, as in "it ain't no good." (Note that "ain't" is also a marker of this stance.)

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    14. I wouldn't say "it ain't no good" is an example of a double negative going either way, it's just an example of incorrect English

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    15. TBD, let me introduce you to the field of descriptive linguistics.

      Wikipedia description: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_description
      A fuller explanation of the difference between prescriptivism and descriptivism from the U-Penn linguistics department: http://www.ling.upenn.edu/courses/Fall_1998/ling001/prescription.html

      This is apropos of your declaration that "ain't no good" is "incorrect English."

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    16. I may just be gettting old and resistant to change here, but I disagree with the concept that just because some people are using language incorrectly it suddenly makes it correct.

      I can understand words obtaining a new meaning but to suddenly mean the exact opposite of what they say doesn't make sense to me.

      If people were deliberately doing it because they thought it enhanced the meaning of what they were saying and made their position clearer to the listener I'd be all for it, but to me it just does the opposite and they get it wrong not because they're trying to make a different point, but just because they made a mistake and didn't understand or think about the words they're using.

      This has been a bit of a pet hate of mine ever since I noticed people winning awards and finding the experience humbling.

      http://www.nerve.com/features/humbled-is-the-new-literally

      Winning and being told you're the best in your chosen field cannot be humbling. Thinking you were going to win easily and then losing by 50 is a genuine humbling experience.

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    17. Yes, you are getting old and resistant to change. I'm gonna put my scientist hat on and formulate a hypothesis for the "humbling" thing. I don't watch award shows, but now that I know it happens it bugs me. So I'm gonna try and figure out why people are now using "humbling" in this way.

      Here's the most logical one I've got so far: Our society dislikes pridefulness, and the opposite of pridefulness is humility. This is often conflated with pride, whose opposite is shame. Pride should be a good thing, but being too proud will lead to accusations that you are prideful. So you must play humble to save face.

      My second, less logical hypothesis is that the feeling of being up on stage in front of hundreds of people plus all the TV viewers in your country really is an overwhelming experience that makes you feel small, humble, unworthy of the honor being conferred upon you. That is definitely how I would feel, but I expect that celebrities receiving Oscars, Grammies, what have you, are used to that feeling and are playing humble because they are expected to as per my first hypothesis.

      If you've gotten this far, here's a fun fact: English is full of contronyms, words which have two opposite meanings. Here is a list: http://www.dailywritingtips.com/75-contronyms-words-with-contradictory-meanings/

      I disagree with this list's inclusion of "literally," since the word's new figurative meaning is "intensely," not "virtually." For example, the phrase "I was rolling on the floor laughing," which once meant that the speaker found something funnier than funny could be, has been used so often that it's lost a little of its intensity. So we add that intensity back with a new intensifier: "I was literally rolling on the floor laughing." And that's just how intensifiers work, you old curmudgeon ;)

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  2. I was always a bit bothered by that shadowy figure on the veranda... because there's actually no way to get there. I figured there should be a way to walk through there from the upstairs bedrooms, but I guess they didn't want you to try and follow.

    Also, since we're talking about language ("Don't say nothing!"), there are also a few instances of people angrily saying "I could care less!" when asked about certain topics. Not only does it bug me for the misuse of the phrase, but when you're trying to tell people about information that might be relevant to their interests it becomes even more annoying.

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    1. Yeah, it annoys me, too. The correct phrase is "I could NOT care less", meaning that you're already caring as little as possible.

      The correct version is widely used in Finnish, and it's even a popular Internet acronym. *googles a bit* Hmm, looks like it even has its own Wikipedia article -- in English, no less! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EVVK

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    2. Maybe the idea was that... "I COULD care less... but I won't even give it the privilege of me caring enough to make an effort to care any lesser!"

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    3. Unfortunately, Kenny, it's more like "I want to say I couldn't care less, but I've been told double negatives are wrong."

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  3. Replies
    1. GUR PBYBARY QVQ VG!!! =P

      V zrna whfg ybbx ng gung fvyubhrggr naq gur fgnghr!

      Pretty smart of the real killer trying to throw people off course.

      Then again, I always thought the smartest way to kill someone is to to do it without letting anyone see you in the first place.

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    2. Ru? V jnf gnyxvat nobhg gur znvq.. (Pyrneyl, Tregvr xvyyrq urefrys gb guebj rirelbar bss bs gur genpx.)

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    3. Jnvg.. qvqa'g lbh fnl gur ohgyre qvq "vg"?

      V jnf nffhzvat lbh zrnag gur "vg" zrnaf xvyyvat.

      Fb, jung lbh npghnyyl zrnag jnf gung gur ohgyre qvq Svsv?

      Uzz... vagevthvat gung zl rneyvre ercyl fgvyy nccyvrf...

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    4. No you have it all wrong, the killer was Ornhertneq, jub vf ernyyl n jrerjbys va qvfthvfr. Gbb onq Gevpxfgre guerj gur obar njnl, vg fubhyq unir orra hfrq gb pehfu gur fxhyy bs byq Ornh. Jryy, abj gurer’f ab bgure pubvpr ohg gb obeebj n fjbeq sebz gur xavtug nezbhe naq znxr Pryvr, jub whfg unccraf gb or n ibbqbb cevrfgrff, tvir vg fbzr zbwb, naq gura vg’f bss gb gur tenirlneq gb uhag sbe gur haqrnq Tregvr. Gung jvyy haybpx gur gryrcnguvp novyvgvrf bs Ynhen naq fur’yy or noyr gb qebc gur punaqryvre ba jrerjbys ol ure furre jvyy. Be gura V’ir whfg watched too many bad movies.

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    5. V jnag gb cynl Vyznev'f irefvba.

      V gubhtug lbh hfrq gur obar gb yher uvz vagb gur tnmrob, juvpu vf rapunagrq jvgu n ibbqbb jneqvat fcryy gung ragencf uvz orsber lbh pna pbaivapr rirelbar gb wbva va n frnapr gb fhzzba Fnenu jub gnxrf uvz gb gur haqrejbeyq. Frevbhfyl, jung'f gur tnmrob tbbq sbe?

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    6. Gur tnmrob vf hfrq sbe pbzcrgvgvir fanxrf naq ynqqref tnzrf. (Vg'f n zvav tnzr. Nyy Fvreen tnzrf bsguvf ren unq zvav tnzrf, naq guvf bar jnf gb gvr va jvgu Ublyr'f Obbx bs Tnzrf ibyhzr bar, juvpu vapyhqrq gur Pbybary nf na ACP gb cynl pneqf ntnvafg jvgu na haangheny gnyrag sbe Tva Ehzzl.) Fvreen nyfb ybirq vgf sbhegu jnyy oernxvat, juvpu vf jul vg gheaf bhg gung gur xvyyre jnf npghnyyl Xra Jvyyvnzf qerffrq nf Fnagn Pynhf. Vg'f ubj ur tbg uvf fgerff bhg sebz cebtenzzvat, V ernq va na vagreivrj.

      V qb ubcr guvf vf ohttvat Gevpxfgre'f arire-qrpbqr-rneyl cbyvpl, nf na nfvqr.

      I just don't get why the suit of armour isn't wearable in this version. It'd totally save you from the chandelier of doom.

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    7. V'z pbafvqrevat gnxvat fperra fubgf naq frggvat hc zl oybt jevgr hc va n jnl gung fubjpnfrf Ynhen nf gur xvyyre whfg gb fcvpr guvatf hc. Vg'q or xvaq bs shaal. Gubhtugf ba ubj V pna gjvfg guvatf?

      Delete
    8. Tvira vg'f fbzrjung uneq gb qvfgvathvfu jub vf fnlvat jung va fbzr bs gur qvnybthrf, creuncf lbh znxr fbzr bs Yvyyvna'f penml pbairefngvbaf frrz yvxr gurl'er pbzvat sebz Ynhen?

      I guess that -would- have madeit seem a little more like an FPS...

      Delete
    9. V gubhtug gurer jrer cbegenvgf sbe nyy qvnybthr. V pbhyq or jebat gubhtu.

      Maybe that foreshadows the sequel...

      Delete
    10. V qvqa'g, ohg unira'g cynlrq va n yvggyr juvyr. Cubgbfubc?

      I never did understand the part of Dagger of Amon Ra where you had to go around a museum killing anything that moved, either. Seemed a little strange amongst the adventure parts.

      Delete
    11. V qba'g xabj jul jr jbhyq arrq gb rapelcg guvf fvapr vg'f abg ernyyl fcbvyre greevgbel. =C

      Naq Yrg'f snpr vg, jrerjbyirf qba'g rkvfg... NYBAR. Gur jubyr qnza snzvyl ner jrerjbyirf.

      Rkprcg Svsv, gur cneebg naq Ynhen.

      Naq Svsv vf npghnyyl n inzcver gelvat gb zngr jvgu lr byqr pbybary gb fcnja n jrerjbys/inzcver uloevq guvat juvpu Haqrejbeyq gbgnyyl evccrq bss sebz.

      That's not totally strange, seeing that Elvira 3 works on the same premise. Well... except the part with the scandalous pornographic sequence in Laura Bow 2. Then again, Sierra produced Leisure Suit Larry, so... *shrug*

      Delete
    12. Anu, Svsv vf trggvat vg ba jvgu gur ohgyre. Frr? Gur ohgyre qvq 'vg'. Jvgu gur znvq.

      Delete
    13. Vsfs wg hvs izhwaohs hfczz dcgh. Mci'r zwys hc hvwbz hvwg kwzz aoys gsbgs gwbqs hvs zshhsfg gssa ha aozs gsbgs, pih W'js psqwrsr bch hc igs fch13.

      We should probably just to the end to post all the spoilers without worry of spoiling Trickster.

      Delete
    14. Naq gur ohgyre vf npghnyyl gur va-oerq onfgneq fba bs gur Pbybary naq by' Tregvr!

      Delete
    15. Guvf unf nyy whfg orpbzr evqvphybhfyl fvyyl naq V ershfr gb gnxr cneg va guvf bireqbar pbairefngvba va EBG Guvegrra.

      Delete
    16. Lbh nyy sbetbg nobhg gur zbgvir! Nyy ivyynvaf va tbbq qrgrpgvir fgbevrf unir n qrrc, pbzcyrk zbgvir gung vf abg ernqvyl nccnerag! Vg'f checbfr vf gb abg bayl or nabgure punyyratr sbe gur qrgrpgvir gb fbyir, ohg nyfb gb fubj gb gur nhqvrapr gung gur onq thlf ner pbzcyrk uhzna orvatf! Gur ernfba Ornhertneq vf qbvat nyy guvf vf...

      ...jnvg sbe vg...

      ...orpnhfr ur'f RIVY. Lrnu. Gung'f gbgnyyl vg.

      Delete
    17. Nyevtug, V svanyyl tbg ba urer ba zl pbzchgre, fb V pna ernq nyy bs gurfr.

      Zl Qnq bapr ena n Q&Q punevgl tnzr qnl nqiragher jurer ur bcrarq jvgu n punevbg enpr hfvat gur byq Pvephf Znkvzhf obneq tnzr. Gura, nyy gur (bhe) jvaavatf jrer fgbyra orsber gurl pbhyq or tvira gb hf. Jr bs pbhefr vafgnagyl wbxrq nobhg ubj gur irel cebcre Oevgvfu-fglyr ohgyre (Guvax Wrrirf sebz Wrrirf naq Jbbfgre) jub unq orra fubjvat hf nebhaq qvq vg, qrfcvgr gur snpg frireny eviny cbyvgvpny snpgvbaf jnagrq gung zbarl.

      Gura bs pbhefr, nsgre n tbbq qrny bs vairfgvtngvba jr qvfpbirerq gung lrf, va snpg gur ohgyre UNQ qbar vg, naq jnf nyernql znxvat uvf jnl guebhtu gur frjref/haqretebhaq znmr njnl jvgu gur zbarl.

      Dhr n ybat punfr guebhtu gur genc svyyrq frjref. Lrf, genc svyyrq. V'q whfg tbggra na vffhr bs Xbonyq Dhnegreyl (lrf, n erny zntnmvar) jvgu na negvpyr ba pbzcyrk, rapbhagre fvmrq gencf. Fb bs pbhefr, ur unq gb hfr frireny bs gurz, vapyhqvat n ebbz bs tvnag trnef lbh unq gb whzc npebff naq guvatf yvxr gung. Gurl jrer qbar hc nf 4r fglyr fxvyy punyyratrf nf V erpnyy. Bs pbhefr, nf jr ragrerq rnpu genc jr pbhyq whfg frr gur ohgyre ehaavat bhg bs gur ebbz, chssvat njnl va uvf oynpx naq juvgr bhgsvg.

      Gur orfg cneg? Nf V erpnyy jr tbg gur zbarl onpx, ohg gur ohgyre tbg njnl. V unir arire frra n cnegl ungr na ACP fb zhpu. Guvf bs pbhefr yrnqvat gb hf fjrnevat gung jr jbhyq uhag uvz gb gur raqf bs gur rnegu.

      Zl Qnq ybirq vg jura jr urneq nobhg na vafgnapr jurer va na haeryngrq nqiragher (guvf tnzr jnf cneg bs n ynetre, jbeyqjvqr pnzcnvta) jurer gur cnegl unq bcrarq gur qbbe, orra terrgrq ol n ohgyre va genqvgvbany tneo, naq bar zrzore jub unq cynlrq Uhag gur Ohgyre vafgnagyl yrncf sbejneq naq fgnegf guebngnyvat gur ohgyre juvyr rirelbar ryfr fgnerf va fubpx.

      Orfg. Ivyynva. Rire.

      Delete
    18. V unir vzntrf bs gung ohgyre orvat cynlrq ol Gvz Pheel nf va 'Pyhr'.
      Naq jung qbrf n ohgyre qb?
      "V ohggyr"

      Delete
    19. V'z jbaqrevat. Vf nalbar ryfr svaqvat gurzfryirf gelvat gb unaq qrpbqr guvf ebgngr ba guvegrra pbqr? Orpnhfr V gbgnyyl nz, abj. (Nyy crbcyr anzrq Wrrirf ner yrtnyyl sbeprq gb orpbzr ohgyref gubhtu, V guvax. Vg'f gur ehyrf.) Ohg gung ernyyl jnf na nznmvat zbivr. Qbrf vg unir n QIQ eryrnfr, qbrf nalbar xabj? V erzrzore ybbxvat sbe vg naq svaqvat zhpu gb zl fubpx naq ubeebe gung vg qvqa'g, ng yrnfg va Nhfgenyvn.

      Delete
    20. V tbg n pbcl lrnef ntb sebz Nznmba HF. V qba'g xabj vs vg'f ninvynoyr va Nhfgenyvn. Purpx rmlqiq.pbz.nh, vs vg vf ninvynoyr urer gurl'yy unir vg. Gura tb naq uhag sbe vg purncre fbzrjurer ryfr.

      Delete
    21. Jul ner jr rapelcgvat aba-fcbvyre fghss nf jryy?

      Delete
    22. Gb znxr guvatf zber pbashfvat gb Gevpxfgre.

      Delete
    23. Evtug... Abj gb nqq shegure gb gur pbashfvba...

      Thanks, guys!

      Now if only I had came here a few years back!

      My 12 girlfriends are now fully satiated, those lustful kittens. Great advice, Canageek!

      I will be able to assume my title of Rinpoche come next weekend. Appreciate the enlightenment, Draconius!

      Also, I have perfected my 720 spinning-drill dropkick by following Aperama's sweet advice. Didn't know you could do that with a simple manhood regimen!

      Finally, Zenic, Laukka & Ilmari, I proclaim you to be the Trinity of Gangstahood! Please let me know when you're in my neighborhood so that I may never cross your paths, only to be disintegrated into nothingness.

      Delete
    24. Zip it! You'll make it far too obvioius! You should have done it more like:

      Nyy zl tveysevraqf ner abj shyyl fngvngrq, gubfr lustful kittens, naq qb vg nyy nf n cnentencu, fb vg vf yrff boivbhf jung lbh ner hc gb.

      Delete
    25. Laukka? Who's that?

      Funnily enough, laukka is also a valid Finnish noun ;-) It means "gallop".

      Delete
    26. I've finally finished reading all of this! There I was thinking you guys were having a deep conversation about things I'd missed and decisions I'd made...

      Funny stuff! Makes derotting so much more entertaining.

      Delete
    27. @Laukku - Sorry for the mistyping, Laukka. XP

      Oh well, the ruse's up. Nothing to see here.

      Delete
  4. I'm really struggling to get into this game. I love the setting and premise, but it's just not as much fun in reality as in theory.

    Apparently it seems I can just zoom through the rest of the game and at least get "an" ending, if not the best ending. I might do that and then see if I'm interested in trying for a better run through afterwards.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Please play The Scoop instead.

      It's a lot more fun. Seriously.

      Delete
    2. @Lars-Erik: Good luck with that. I got about halfway through and stopped my replay.

      Delete
  5. You should also do Dracula 1-3, as they are great graphic adventure games published by Microids. I tell you this as they are not listed in Wikipedias list.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The first game is coming up in 1999, there's plenty of time to add them there. ;-)

      Delete
    2. All the three (now four) Dracula games are on Tricksters list already, as they are mentioned on MobyGames with enough ratings to be included. The two first are coming up as Borderline, the third as Disregarded.

      But as Laukku says, adding them to the Wikipedia list would make it more certain they will be played. Oh look, somebody already has! ;)

      Delete
    3. I know it's plenty of time till that, but as I just discowered this blog and didn't knew the new games including rule when I posted it, and as Dracula 3 is one of my best games ever, I got kinda woried. Sorry for posting silly coments as this.

      P.S. Sorry for my bad English

      P.P.S. Thanks for posting these games on Wikipedia

      Delete
    4. No worries, your comments are not silly. It's good to get as much input as possible, so we can fix things before it's too late (and having more games for Trickster to play is just a bonus). Please keep posting! :)

      Delete
    5. Trickster may not agree with more games in 2064 and he hasn't made it to 2001 yet.

      Delete
    6. Eh, if he doesn't, he has the master game list that was made early in the blogging so he can decide to just use that going forward instead of the constantly updated Wikipedia and Mobygames lists.

      I see getting more attention on adventure gaming as a positive byproduct of Tricksters fantastic efforts. That means for instance ending up with much better coverage on Wikipedia than before.

      Delete
    7. To be clear, my plan is to review each year as we get there, rather than continually update the spreadsheet. It goes out of date very quickly and is very time consuming to update!

      I'll certain I'll be playing the Dracula trilogy one way or another.

      Delete
    8. It goes out of date even quicker with Lars-Erik's continual tinkering with Wikipedia. Keep up the good work Lars-Erik.

      Delete
    9. How come he gets credit and thanks when I've been editing it for months? *grumble grumble*

      Delete
    10. Actually I don't. At least, there is no stated reward, unlike posting sales. Even if there was, I'd have to check the Wikipedia rules on if you can take payment for editing it.

      Delete
    11. I read the Paid Editing bit on the Conflict of Interest page, and I think accepting CAPs for adding stuff to Wikipedia could be a (not very serious) breach of this bit:

      "If either of the following applies to you:

      2.you expect to derive monetary or other benefits or considerations from editing Wikipedia

      then you are very strongly discouraged from editing Wikipedia in areas where those external relationships could reasonably be said to undermine your ability to remain neutral."

      Although neutrality in itself isn't the big question here, you do have the added Wikipedia requirement that entries should be "notable", which could be undermined if we received CAPs for every adventure game we added.

      Delete
    12. Right. That is part of the reason I'm trying not to make an notability declarations: I'm only adding adventure games to the list that already have Wikipedia articles. (Technically, Emanuelle had a French wiki page already)

      Delete
  6. You should also do Dracula 1-3, as they are great graphic adventure games published by Microids. I tell you this as they are not listed in Wikipedias list.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great games are good enough to comment on it at least twice.

      Delete
  7. Jack Keane 66% off on GreenManGaming:
    http://www.greenmangaming.com/s/no/en/pc/games/adventure/jack-keane/

    2007 Borderline

    ReplyDelete
  8. If people are looking for similar games to Colonel's Bequest, murders in venice/murders in space are similar, but sillier games.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Which btw are not on your list.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just finished Murders in Venice! Not a bad game from France (which had been notoriously churning out bad Adventure games here), truth be told. Good recommendation. I think I might give Murders in Space a try as well. Also, it plays more like Interactive Fiction with static backgrounds, like Spellcasting 101.

      But, redeemable since there's some neat mini-games and also cases that are totally unrelated to the main plot.

      Delete
    2. Murders in space is difficult to complete 100% because _every_ character has a 'secret' to discover and a death to prevent. It might not be very apparent (it's unfair in the case of the first).

      You also need to learn to stop time (it's real time but you can stop the timer without any consequence and only move it to the next chapter when ready) and some of the puzzles depended on items on the box (there is probably a pdf scanning photographs of them, but these were actual items on the game box).

      Delete
  10. I don't have enough CAPS


    Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs: 20% off. http://store.steampowered.com/app/239200/ Listed as Action, Adventure, Indie, but those screenshots sure LOOK adventure.
    Also on sale on GoG, sorry, Preorder, it says 'soon'.

    So, is that enough of an adventure game to get me new release CAPS?

    ReplyDelete