Sometimes you have to combine objects.

Gur ahzoref ner gur pbzob gb gur oevrspnfr, va beqre sebz yrsg gb evtug (pyvpx ba rnpu ahzore ba gur pnfr gb punatr gur ahzore). Gur frdhrapr fgnegf ba gur jnyy bs gur pnir jurer lbh sbhaq Nyvpr'f obql.

javascript:inText=window.getSelection()+'';if(inText==''){void(inText=prompt('Phrase...',''))};if(!inText)%7BoutText='No%20text%20selected'%7Delse%7BoutText='';for(i=0;i%3CinText.length;i++)%7Bt=inText.charCodeAt(i);if((t%3E64&&t%3C78)%7C%7C(t%3E96&&t%3C110))%7Bt+=13%7Delse%7Bif((t%3E77&&t%3C91)%7C%7C(t%3E109&&t%3C123))%7Bt-=13%7D%7DoutText+=String.fromCharCode(t)%7D%7Dalert(outText)

On the other hand, it contributes to the storytelling even so: the options you choose tell you something about the kind of person you're playing. Polite and well-spoken? Grumpy and insulting? Even if it doesn't affect the course of events, it does colour the story.

Have you encountered the birdbrain yet?

Duh, of course there's an obvious way to tell if the episode's done: the end credits will roll.

(Don't neglect to watch through to the end of the credits. You might miss something important otherwise.)

Now I'm going around the same six or seven pictures in circles, with nothing new to do.

What am I missing?

V gnyxrq gb gur Znq Unggre, naq ur gbyq zr V arrq gb svaq n ahg. V'ir pbyyrpgrq n oryy, n ohggba, n funeq bs tynff, naq n cvrpr bs furrg; naq V pbzovarq gur ynfg gjb gb znxr n qnttre bs fbzr xvaq. Ohg abguvat V unir frrzf gb qb nalguvat hfrshy jvgu nalguvat va zl pryy abj. V'z thrffvat gurer'f fbzrguvat gb qb jvgu gur gbvyrg gung V'z zvffvat, ohg fb sne V pna'g znxr nalguvat unccra jvgu vg.

Spoiler:

Nffhzvat vg'f abg na vagresnpr vffhr, gel pbzovavat gur ebpx naq gur obar -- vg fubhyq erfhyg va n funecrarq obar.

It's not a Mac vs. PC thing -- for me, at least. I'm on a Windows box. (I did encounter those kinds of problems when I tried to pay Fool's Errand on an online Mac emulator. I managed to play through most of the game, but some glitch wouldn't let me into the very final puzzle. Grr.)

Spoiler.

Gel syhfuvat gur gbvyrg gura encvqyl ybbxvat va gur gbvyrg objy orsber vg ersvyyf. Lbh fubhyq svaq gur ahg.

Go me.

Would you say Ep 2 cannot be completed without turning the sound on ? (I'm not where I can do that right now)

V jnf va Yrjvf'f obql, naq V xvyyrq gur fanxr, ohg gurer jnf fbzrguvat ryfr V jnf cbxvat ng, naq V sbhaq gur fbsg fcbg, ohg pbhyqa'g fgno ng vg orsber gvzr ena bhg.

Beth #34: Purpx gb frr vs gur pryy qbbe vf bcra abj gung lbh'er bhg bs Yrjvf. Vs vg vf, lbh'ir qbar rirelguvat lbh pna

Good point. I'd forgotten that one.

Gur qbbe jba'g or bcra. Vg'yy or haybpxrq.

Off to try episode 3...

I think it was churlish of them to credit somebody with "music" and regard the work of Henry Hall and Al Jolson and others as sound effects not even worthy of listing by name.

Definitely noir.

That's the way it ended for me, too - and based on the poking around I did afterward, that's the way it ends for everybody.

I don't think any of these episodes have more than one ending.

Worth noting: Whfg orsber gur lbhat ynql va gur whzcfhvg xvyyf gur dhrra, gurer'f n oevrs synfuonpx bs ure va gur ubyr jurer lbh fgnegrq cneg bar, gnxvat bss gur jvt naq qerff fur hfhnyyl jrnef bire gur whzcfhvg naq chggvat gurz ba gur fxryrgba...

Whfg pyvpx ba gur erq jver gb phg vg.

Ohg gung vfa'g gur bayl jnl gb fbyir gung chmmyr.

V'ir tngurerq fvk bowrpgf. V guvax V'ir gevrq nyy gur bowrpgf jvgu nyy gur raivebazrag guvatf. Naq nyy gur bowrpgf jvgu (nyzbfg) nyy gur bgure bowrpgf, naq V unira'g orra noyr gb pbzovar NAL bowrpg jvgu nal bgure bowrpg. Gur abgr jba'g tb va gur obggyr, gur fgvpx jba'g nggnpu gb gur obar, naq ba naq ba. V xrrc pyvpxvat ba bar bowrpg, gura ba nabgure, naq nyy V trg vf gur frpbaq bowrpg.

I see that episode 3 includes, so far, n gryrcubar, na nafjrevat znpuvar jvgu 2 zrffntrf ba vg, naq n jubyr ohapu bs cubar ahzoref whfg orttvat gb or pnyyrq.

Am I sunk without speakers? If so, is anyone willing to provide rot13'd synopses of the necessary conversations to the point in the story where gur enoovg unf yvfgrarq gb uvf gjb zrffntrf, pnyyrq Naa naq gur Unggre (vs arrqrq), naq pnyyrq gur inevbhf ahzoref fpenjyrq ba gur onguebbz jnyy bs gur pyho?

V abgvprq gung V jnf tvira gur zrqny _orsber_ gur guerr teranqrf npghnyyl nccrnerq ba gur fybg znpuvar, juvpu znqr zr guvax V'q qbar fbzrguvat gb ranoyr gung. Abg fher jung, gubhtu.

V nyfb fcrag sberire ybbxvat sbe n guveq ivqrbgncr, naq gura riraghnyyl qvfpbirerq gung vg jnf va zl fgnfu nyernql. V unir ab vqrn jurer V cvpxrq vg hc.

It wasn't the first time I looked. My read of the situation is that gur zvfgvarff bs gur zveebe (naq guhf gur ivfvovyvgl bs gur ahzore) punatrf jura lbh svqqyr jvgu gur gurezbfgng va gur xvgpura.

Kip W @ #58:

There is a sequence of events you can follow that results in orvat noyr gb unpx gur fybg znpuvar gb znxr vg pbzr hc teranqrf rirel gvzr. V'z abg npghnyyl fher jung trggvat gur teranqrf npuvrirf, gubhtu (V frnepurq gur xvgpura frireny gvzrf gb znxr fher vg qvqa'g zrna gur nccrnenapr bs na npghny teranqr, juvpu zvtug unir orra unaql). Zl thrff jnf gung vg haybpxrq cneg be nyy bs gur frperg ebbz, ohg gung zvtug whfg unir orra gung V qvqa'g trg nebhaq gb frnepuvat gung cebcreyl hagvy nsgre V orng gur znpuvar.

Ehyvb tvirf lbh gur guveq gncr vs lbh unir gur svefg gjb jvgu lbh jura lbh gnyx gb uvz.

Oruvaq gur bcravat gvgyrf, n pbairefngvba tvivat gur onpxfgbel (Rcf bar naq gjb.)

Ba nafjrevat znpuvar:

Zrffntr bar vf sebz gur Unggre, vasbezvat Enoovg gung "gur Dhrra" vf va gbja, ng gur pyho. Hetrf Enoovg gb ivfvg gur Dhrra naq "tvir uvz n cvrpr bs lbhe zvaq."

Zrffntr gjb vf sebz Naa: "V pybfrq fubc. Rirelguvat unf orra fpehoorq. V'yy erznva qnex hagvy V urne sebz lbh."

Pnyyvat Unggre ba gur cubar, lbh trg uvf nafjrevat znpuvar.

Pnyyvat Naa ba gur cubar, lbh trg n ohfvarff nafjrevat znpuvar bssrevat "pyrnavat" freivprf.

Pnyy ahzore ba zveebe: Znyr ibvpr fnlf "npprff tenagrq"

Pnyy "sbe n tbbq gvzr" ahzore, ryqreyl ibvpr fnlf, "fgbc pnyyvat zr."

Gncr bar: Qbpgbe Enlzbaq Ohee "Grfg fhowrpg haerfcbafvir. Qrprnfrq. Trggvat pybfr gb oernxguebhtu."

Gncr gjb: Qe. Ohee ntnva. "Fhowrpg abg rkcverq. Fhpprff." Yvggyr Tvey: "Qnqql, ybbx! V sbhaq n xvggra!" Ohee: "Ab! Ab!"

Gncr guerr: Nq sbe pyrna juvgr grrgu.

Paul #60: Ahh, that makes sense. I'd wondered why the gurezbfgng was there.

Jim #61: Be vs lbh'ir cynlrq (guhf ybfg) gurz, which is part of what I was complaining about above. Tvira Orgu'f pbzzrag, V fhfcrpg lbh bayl arrq bar sbe Ehyvb gb tvir lbh uvf. It's the *second* tape that I apparently picked up by random clicking, and missed when.

Yes, that's right. The alternative is the game not ending.

JM @ 72:

They're red herrings.

In general:

Part one felt like your standard, small puzzle game. A couple of the puzzles were of the variety that I solved more by accident than on purpose, but at least they made sense in retrospect. And if it's a little kooky, it is Wonderland.

Part two felt more like it was trying to be atmospheric, and that less effort was spent on the puzzles. This led to some frustration.

Part three seemed like it was Telling A Story. Now, there's nothing wrong with telling a story in a puzzle game, or basing a puzzle game around a story. I would gladly buy the LucasArts point-and-click adventures that I don't own if they were readily available, for example. In this case, however, the puzzles felt tacked-on, and most were poorly cued. (Examples: Gur qhzcfgre gryyf lbh vg'f sbe qvfcbfvat bs guvatf. Jul jbhyq V ybbx va gurer sbe n gncr, cnegvphyneyl jura vg unfa'g tvira zr nalguvat orsber? Ubj nz V fhccbfrq gb xabj gung cynlvat jvgu gur gurezbfgng vf arprffnel gb bar bs gur chmmyrf? Jul jbhyq V gnyx gb gung thl nsgre gur tnzr unf gbyq zr V'z qbar jvgu uvz?)

In short, part three as it stands would have made a great short video, but it's a truly annoying and inadequate puzzle game.

Then there's the issue of how many different paths there are through a game. Computer games can be quite a good medium for stories with multiple narrative paths (although this has a tendency to choose-your-own-adventure-itis if not done well), but I don't insist on having multiple paths. However, part three felt very much like a case of let me show you my story, quickly fit into a puzzle game framework to match the first two.

Gur zhfuebbz vfa'g ragveryl n erq ureevat. Lbh pna hfr vg nf cneg bs na nygreangr fbyhgvba sbe trggvat cnfg gur obhapref vagb gur pyho.

1) The whole pixel-hunt thing, admittedly generic to the genre.
2) At least one, and hints indicate two, puzzles in the jailhouse depend on timing, which is not heralded, and the games otherwise don't seem to involve real-time. (That's gur zntvp ahg, naq gur fgbznpu jbez/xrl.)
3) Annoying background music made it very hard for me to make out conversations, especially in Ep3 where they weren't shown in text. (Of course, there they were apparently not necessary for the plot.)
4) In this particular case, the "forcing" was pretty bad, to the point where "if you want to [go on], you'll have to play my game" sounded like an effyou from the developers. (Especially given what happened when you did!)

I give up.

Lbh tbg gur oevpx sebz gur fvqrjnyx bhgfvqr gur svfu cynpr.

Lbh bcrarq gur gbvyrg ol gheavat hc gur gurezbfgng (jung uvag jnf gurer gb qb gung ntnva?), pnyyvat gur ahzore ba gur sbttrq onguebbz zveebe, tbvat onpx gb gur fybg znpuvar, frggvat gur bqqf gb 1 va 1, naq hfvat gur fybg znpuvar. Orpnhfr gung'f fb boivbhf.

Gur pbzcnegzrag va gur onguebbz qbrfa'g unir gncrf va vg naq jvyy or bcranoyr yngre.

James D. Macdonald @ 74:

Interesting, there are alternate solutions for some puzzles in the third part (I found one for another puzzle while I was retracing my steps for Xopher). If anything, that just annoys me more because it shows there was some thought into the puzzles, but not nearly enough.

V guvax gurer vf n pyhr gb gur gurezbfgng, ohg V bayl erpbtavfrq vg nsgre V'q fbyirq gung ovg ol gur pyvpx-ba-rirelguvat zrgubq naq rira abj V'z abg fher vg ernyyl vf. Gur tenssvgv arkg gb gur zveebe fnlf fbzrguvat nybat gur yvarf bs "V'z urer, ohg lbh pna'g frr zr"; guvf vf creuncf vagraqrq gb uvag ng n zrffntr jevggra ba gur zveebe naq fgneg lbh guvaxvat nobhg jnlf gb znxr vg ivfvoyr.

Lbh'ir tbg gjb bs gur gncrf? Tb gnyx gb gur zhfuebbz qrnyre.

In the secret lab: the room to the left was completely black to me. I could see nothing at all. Nyy V tbg jrer gur enoovg'f pbzzragf nobhg n pevzr fprar. Nsgre znal nggrzcgf gb cynl gur gncr onpx va gur enoovg'f uvqrbhg, V raqrq hc cynlvat gur gncrf ol cher yhpx. "V pna'g frr nalguvat urer; yrg'f gel cbxvat gncrf ng vg."

That seems like poor game design to me.

Having said all that...I feel like I'm complaining about the free brownies having too many nuts in. This game gave me more pleasure than pain, free and for nothing, and I feel bad about carping because it wasn't perfect.

Gura ybbx va gur Qhzcfgre.

Be vf gurer na nygreangr raqvat? V zrna, V chfurq gur qbja ohggba ba gur ryringbe--fubhyq V unir cerffrq gur hc ohggba vafgrnq?

Seems like a let-down to me.

Jngpu gur perqvgf.

OK, I'll go back one more time. Guvf orggre or shpxvat tbbq.

I just hate it when there's literally no way to win. Univat fbzrbar ryfr xvyy gur onq thl nsgre LBHE punenpgre vf qrnq qbrf abg, VZB, pbhag nf jvaavat.

Perhaps I should go do something useful. Make the bed, sweep the yard, shoot the dog.

Svaq gur cvpgher bs gur zna jvgu n oveq'f urnq, naq yvfgra gb gur qrfpevcgvba. Punatr qrgnvyf bs gur cvpgher nf fhttrfgrq.

Gurer'f n erq jver va gur hccre evtug bs gur bcrarq nern bs gur ryrpgebavp qbbe ybpx.

Erzrzore jub gur znva punenpgre vf. Vg'f Nyvpr, NXN Znel Naa, jub'f tbar qnex. Naq ure zvffvba (jr xabj guvf sebz rcvfbqr bar) vf "Xvyy gur Juvgr Enoovg." Jngpu gur jubyr ivqrb va gur pybfvat fprar. Vapyhqvat jung pbzrf nsgre gur perqvgf ebyy.

Nyvpr vfa'g ernyyl qrnq.

It could be a player issue on my system (64-bit Ubuntu Linux 11.04, Chrome and Firefox, same results). I also had a lot of trouble getting the grkg gb fubj hc guebhtu gur yraf in ep 1, had to hover for a long time before anything happened...

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