Got a bit of playing time in today. I finished my latest Kirkus rush, and had a whole day to kind of twiddle my thumbs. Play Scratches! I said. So I did.
Of course, I had to pick up where I left off. Watching that YouTube walkthrough might be good for grabbing screenshots, but it's ruining the game for me, so I didn't do it today. I had to figure out what I'd done in the game and what I'd seen in the video, which was a bit confusing. Reading my previous blog entry helped a lot! So into the game I went. When I really came to a screeching halt and had exhausted all avenues, I looked up an online WT at Gameboomers and used that.
At last I have experienced actual scratches! Our main character can't get the electricity on (and it turns out the water isn't on either). So he goes to bed at about 7:00 p.m. Around midnight he has a dream that takes us into the African room, where we see a door and pick up a hammer that does not stay in the inventory. We hear the scratches coming from the fireplace. Use the stethoscope on that, and confirm that's the source. Go downstairs and use the stethoscope on the downstairs fireplace, and yep, it's louder. Must be coming from the basement.
Hah. No way am I going down to that basement. Turns out that was the right decision. Had I tried, the game would have told me it was too dark. So we go back to sleep in the awful bedroom.
Next day it's storming so badly there's no way the electrician or Jerry is coming, and we can't get out of the house at all. That leaves inside exploration. I explored the basement again, this time without the chilling music. I explored the African room, where of course the door is covered up by a cabinet that contains elephant tusks.
I decided that the upstairs was the most logical place to look for stuff. But I still couldn't get into that door. That's what finally sent me to the WT. Sheesh. You only have to pick up a paper that's under a paint can right there by the door. Did that, and you STILL can't get the darned key! (Why insert more frustration into your game for no reason? Your game already is difficult enough, thank you.)
And there's a safe in the master bedroom. The WT told me how to get the combination. I think if I had read the "journal" in the inventory it might have clued me into that, but no matter. From now on in this game I must remember always to do two things before allowing frustration to eat my brain: Look in that inventory journal, and call Jerry. Other than that it's just a pixel hunt.
So I got the combination of the safe, got the key to the room, and got into the room. And here's a mistake in the game: we're in the room. We've just poked the key out and it's fallen inside the room. We ought to be able to get that key. I mean, finding keys is a major task in this game. But that one disappears.
And yet they're being as realistic as possible in other areas. I have found a lantern, but it doesn't have oil. Now I've found a can of kerosine, but the game wants me to find a funnel or something with which to pour it into the lantern.
So that's my next task--looking for that item. I kinda doubt it's in the kitchen because this game lets you pick up items long before you need them. So it'll be either up there somewhere in the attic or that key will work on other locked doors and/or drawers. There have been a few locked drawers. I've also got an oilcan with which I might be able to unstick some stuck doors and/or drawers.
Lots of exploring inside the house to do.
I note also, by the way, that in addition to no electricity and no water, this guy doesn't appear to have any food.
No real reason for the ghosts to get him. He'll die of thirst or hunger or cold right there without any supernatural intervention.
Because I'm not using the YouTube WT any longer, I'll write without screenshots. Perhaps after I've finished this section of the game I'll go back to the video and grab some shots and insert them. The game isn't completely linear, but you do have timed sections, so it ought to be safe to watch those portions of the video.
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