Tipping Point

March 25, 2008

Platform: Flash

Tags: adventure, drussellpinson, flash, free, game, macwinlinux, pg13, pointandclick, puzzle, surreal

By Karmen | add to favorites | add to your website | Comments (205)

You've been looking for some kind of escape — a vacation to paradise, maybe, but you'd probably just settle for a nap. So, here, you now find yourself sitting in front of this screen once again. But why are you wearing those pale green socks?

Welcome to the Tipping Point, a point-and-click adventure by Dan Russell-Pinson. With serene, yet highly detailed graphics and soft music, this game is a break away from the ordinary. There are now three chapters of a slightly surreal story available now, with an unknown number yet to come.

In the first chapter, you'll find yourself stuck in front of the TV, with nothing better to do than channel surf. This will soon change, as you begin to be followed by great blue herons and answer a call for help. In the second chapter, you'll be scrambling for clues along a deserted beach. Well, deserted except for the herons. They must like you. The third chapter whisks you away to a tropical rain forest with exotic birds and bugs buzzing all around. There is even a treehouse to explore.

If you're planning to resume the 2nd or 3rd chapter without first playing through each one in succession, you'll need these chapter codes:

Chapter 2:
QLOKIT
Chapter 3:
FREEKL

Analysis:: Tipping Point is slightly strange, moderately challenging, and intensely beautiful. The photo-realistic graphics and soft ambient noises will transport you to another place. (Unfortunately, the detailed graphics only follow long loading times, but they are entirely worth the wait.) While the storyline seems a little odd and surreal, the puzzles are straightforward and logical. Most can be solved just by exploring and clicking around, so don't be afraid to do a little hunt-and-clicking.

As soon as the game starts to seem too simple, you may suddenly find yourself stuck, and pushing towards your own Tipping Point. Play Tipping Point.

Cheers to Stelios for submitting this one! =)

Tipping Point walkthrough now available!

Currently 4.6/5
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Rating: 4.6/5 (114 votes cast)

Walkthrough Guide

OK, i guess it might be reasonable to have a bit more detailed walkthru, so:

A BIT MORE DETAILED WALKTHROUGH

At home

After the intro you find yourself sitting in front of the TV. You can take a potato chip from the bag and drop it about but it always gets back in the bag. Great. Time to do something more sensible than throwing food around, i guess :)
Pick up the remote from the bluish glass on the table. Turn on the TV with the red button top right. The only channel that's of real interest right now is channel 8. But only if you get there by pressing the channel up button, pressing number 8 doesn't work :(
Once at channel 8 you see a tranquil nature scene and that makes you doze off. All goes dark, but no worries, you soon wake up and this time you see birds (cranes i'd say) on a shore. You can notice a pocket watch hanging on a string in the neck of one of them birds. This is the bird you should click on. It magically comes out of the tv set and lands on the remote. Hmmm... Maybe you haven't woken all the way up? Anyways, time to get that potato chip again from the bag (click on the bag) and offer it to the bird - just click to the birds beak. The chip falls on your leg and the bird starts pecking at it. Birds don't use pocket watchwes, don't they: But humans do - so get that damn watch by clicking on it. Once it's closeup, click on the middle of the front cover and, voilá, it's open. There's a photo of a youngster and a dog stuck to the cover. Click on it. It's flipped and you see an invitation to channel 804. Remote time again!

Activating the channel

Put the watch down and take the remote and type in 8-0-4. There's nothing going on since the channel (Travel Channel) isn't activated but you're prompted to a phone number where you can activate it. Realized the cell phone left of you? Time to use it. Pick it up and dial the offered number (555-3951 for me, but i dont know if it's the same every time or not). Don't forget to press the green call button at the end :))) You get an automated reply that says there are no free operators but you can do whatever you want automatically by pressing 1. Do so. Here you can activate channels by pressing 2. That's exactly why you've called, so press 2. The last thing you're asked to do is typing in the number of the channel you're about to activate - it's 8-0-4, remember? Having typed it in (and finally perssing the # button!) you're asked to confirm by pressing 1. Instantly you see the cahnnel activated on the screen. Good fast service i must say...

Travelling without moving

Well, some strange porogram must be going on - all you see is a strange devive with digital numbers that can't be clicked on. Theres a sign saying "DESTINATION 11:15" That sounds like a time, huh? Time - watch. You have a watch - or, more exactly, the bird has a watch but he's still busy with that one potato chip you gave him (must be on a diet...) so you can borrow the watch again. Open it and click on the hands until the time shown is 11:15. Then you must click the top button of the watch which rotates the blue dial at the bottom fo the watch revealing some kind of coordinates: 105-40. These are the figures you have to set on the tv screen. How? Via the remote, of course.
Put the watch down (and take the remote again if you put it down earlier.) This time its those four buttons that form a circle around the OK button that you have to use. To set the top number (to 105) you can use the back/forth buttons, to set the bottom number (to 40) you'll have to use the up and down buttons.
When you set the two coordinates press the OK button.
Congrats, you're on TV.

Exploring the beach

You're in a hut. There's that device in front of you and that damn bird right of it. There's also something left of the device that, upon clicking on it proves to be a metal detector - but it can't be powered up - in lack of battery. If you click on the top right part it opens and you see there's no battery in it. That's the moment you inevitably think you've screwed it all up cause you should have taken the battery of the remote - but no worries, you'll find a battery. All you can do now is putting the metal detector down and leave the hut. You're outside. You can now go and explore the beach (there are not too many screens to discover) but if you mean business that you better go right.

The Friend Ship

You're in front of a ship. You'll enter it in a most unorthodox way - under the anchor. Click on the anchor, it comes down and you can sneak in above it.
OK, you're in. You see a greenish lantern hanging in front of you - take it. Then take the first "door" left to find a shovel. Take it. You can also click on the wooden wall just above your nicely ornamented inventory - box the shovel moved into ()bottom right of the screen). One of the wooden planks gets loose and reveals a box. There's nothing to do with it right now, but my prophecy is that you'll gonna find the key that opens it :) Right now exit the room.
Take the first door right. there's something on the floor - take it. WHOOOOOA - it's a battery!!! What luck!!! :)
Exit the room and exit the ship (bottom of screen to do so). Go back to the hut you've arrived in.

Shovel to the metal

Enter the hut and power up the metal detector with the battery and press the big red POWER button. Take the detector. Exit the hut and take the "up" root - to do so just click above the bird that stands above the satellite dish. You'll see the cursor change to a slanted arrow - that's your path.
You arrive at the entrance of some cave - but don't enter it for now. Instead beam up the metal detector and point it to the ground left of the cave's entrance, where the two white paths join. You hear the detector scream and glow in yellow. There's something metallic buried here. If you only had a shovel... Wait - you have a shovel! :) The rest is more than simple.

Boxing Day

There's the (golden) key I told you you would get, remember? :) You've lost the shovel, but who cares. Go back to the ship and take that wooden box behind the loose plank. Open it with the key. You get a magnifying glass (that belongs to a certain TOMMY although it's of no importance) and some kind of a code-sheet.
By now I'm sure you've realized that sooner or later you'll have to enter that cave... Well, time has come.

And God said...

But caves are usually dark - and this one is no exception, believe me. You have a lantern, but it's not lit... Well, light it! To do so you'll have to get something ignitible.
Go back to the hut and this time go left. You're on a beach and in front of a palm tree.
One of the branches seems dead beyond repair. Bad luck for the tree - good luck for you: dry palm leaves burn damn well! Click on the dry branch and take it once it's fallen off. Exit right.
You're at a kind of open air log-fire place. Just the perfect spot to light fire. You have the branch, place it on the ashes and ignite it - how? You have no matches or lighter - but you have the sun, you only have to concentrate the rays... Thanx, Tommy :)
And there is fire! Now you can light the lantern by holding it to the fire.
All set for a little (...) cave exploring!

Potholing

Go to the cave. Realize the big "XI" on its wall. Well, it's 11 in roman numerals, right? 11 - remember that. Enter the cave. You're in. Before you start getting helplessly lost inside, catch a glimpse of that longish green something lying there just above your inventory strip. Take it. It's a "Decoder tube" What can you decode? A code, of course. Do you happen to have some kind of a code? Yes, you do. So, combine them: click on the tube and, while it's closeup, click on the code sheet and drag it above the tube just like as if you were trying to get a sheet of paper in a typewriter. The sheet should slide in. You see strange faces and arrows. And "1" on the left. You need line 11 (or line XI...). You can scroll down by clicking the right, black end of the tube enough times. Once you've reached line 11 you feel the end is nigh, right? Well, to navigate thru the cave is still tricky. It took me a while to realize what the faces are there for.
The maze in the cave is simple - you always arrive two entrances - one left and one right. First you may think the arrows on the code tube show which tunnel you have to take - but no. What you have to realize is how to use the "faces".

Faces and tunnels

If you look closely you'll discover that the wall between the two entrances always look like some kind of a face that resembles those on the code sheet. First you see something like a goat's face between the two tunnel entrances - you can even make out the nostrils and the eyes. If you check the code tube, you see that after the goat's face (second face) there's a right arrow. So, take the right tunnel.
Now the wall looks like an owl's head, doesn't it. Owl's head: left arrow. Go left.
This time the wall doesn't resemble anything, but there's only one face-type, the gray human-like face, so just assume it is. Grey human face: left arrow. Go left.
Now it's getting weird. You've arrived at a half goat-half owl head shape. Goat/owl combo: right arrow. Go right.
Human-goat mix. Left arrow. Go left.
Owl-human. Right.
Tucan-stairs combo. Wait, that's not on the code-sheet... What the...
What the??? Stairs?
YOU'RE OUT!!!
Let's hope Chapter 3 soon follows...

Posted by: bioLarzen | December 4, 2007 6:52 PM

Get ready for a Tipping Point Chapter 3 walkthrough!

Opening

So, you come up the stairs in the middle of a jungle huh? wonder what's going on. Try going left.

What's This?

Hey, look, a ladder! Might be useful. Better take it. Now let's take a look at that stump.

Something's Buggy...

Is that a bettle? Looks like he's scared of the mouse. maybe we could lead him somewhere, like a leaf perhaps? After you get the timing jus right, grab the bettle from the spider web and move back to the right.

A Treehouse?

Our parrot friend is still there. Maybe if we go right this time... Woah, a treehouse! If only we had some sort of ladder... shame...

It's Rather Windy

Let's have a look around, shall we? there seems to be a glass shard we can take on that windchime. Let's try moving to the left by that curtin.

A fallen Comrad

Diddn't see that coming... We gotta help tommy. Ohhhhhh, a feild guide and a shinny button! Open your feild guide. Looks like we're making a cocktail!

Making a Cocktail

Move to the right and click on the table in fromt of you with the bowl.It would seem that first we need some hot watter. Better flip the switch on the bottom of the kettle. There, now pour some in. We also need some wine viniger, which is on the right hand side of the table. Hey! We're in luck! We happen to have one golden tree bettle!

Where's the Fruit?

But what about our fruit? Remember it by the parrot? Let's retrace our steps. There's no way we can reach it, but the parrot can. What if we reflected the sun off of some glass shard so that the parrot would follow it to some friut and knock it down for us? Just wondering.

Looks Tastey.

Let's add the fruit and turn it into a paste to finish our cocktail. Yummy. Let's hope Tommy likes it better. Hey, is that a cassette on the shelf above the viniger? Better take it.

Orgazinational Problems

Looks like Tommy needs his rest. Wait. Is that another cassette swinging above his head? Take that one too. There might be a cassette player or something. Lets go to the table to the right of the cooking counter.

The Device

Woh, what a mess!It looks like we can take that circuitboard in the back. Hey, it's even labled. Why don't we put the start button on. Hey, it's a start! Now, let's look at that Merman.

My Mermin

You can turn it on by the switch on the right hand side. Let's try a pattern. How about having every light but the center light up? Hey, it worked! Let's pull the keypad off and attach it to our circuit. Now, about that Atatri...

Look, an Atari!

Firts, let's turn the TV on, with the button on the bottom right. After hearing about our snake venom, lets push the button on the top-right of the Atari keyboard. It turned on, but we can't do much else now. Why not have a look at that cassette player?

Play that Music

Hey, it's sort of funny on the pink tape how it says "2 can" because it sounds like "Tucan". Haha. Lets play it. They play button it the left button on the right side.

Poor Tucan

Woah, he sure can bust a move. We should go back ouside and see what happened. Leave the treehouse. Click on the Tucan. He's OK! and what's that on the tree? it looks like a... lion? Now would be a good time to check that black tape. Walking the lion? Wow. Let's go back to our cassette player.

In the Jungle, the Mighty Jungle...

Eject the pink cassette. *Busted* Let's put the black one in and play it. Anything happen to the lion? Now those eyes are creeeepy. There must be a combonation, Right? Remember those stickers in the cassette? They weren't there for no reason. Blue and red eyes... Wait. Can we click on his mouth?

Math... Ugh.

Hey, a keypad! if only the black cassette had one more clue... wait. It does say one more thing. "Twelve squared plus twelve". That makes even less sense. That's 156, right? Try putting it in the keypad and pressing enter. Cool. Take the stop button, the sunglasses, and the battery.

Sweet Shades

You can put the Button and the battery on the circuit board now. All we need was the LED. Remember where we found the bettle and the ladder? Put your sunglasses on there. Teleport up? I'd love to. Why don't we go back to the treehouse.

Spoke and Spelled

Hey, is that a spoke and spelled on the desk? Neat! And it has a LED! But how do we get it? First turn it on. *Easter Egg: type in help and the screen says "Not Helping"* Why not type in teleport and press enter for the heck of it? Pick me up. Haha, that's funny. Add the screen to the circuit board. It's complete!

I love Video Games

Hey, did you notice that the cable from the Atari fits perfectly into the side of our device? Oh, I see. It's a controller. Move your little man around, after pressing start of course. You can attack by pressing the center button and then the direction you want to shoot in. Move to the left, and defeat the enemy for your first gold. Move up and do the same, then move all the way to the right. One more enemy. Take him out, and you should have over 1000 gold. Into the castle!

Upgraded

Move up and to the left. Talk to the man, who will add the software you need to the *device*. Detach it and go see Tommy. He's awake!

Our Final Encounter

Wow, the story goes deeper than I thought. That dang parrot again! Let's pay him one last visit. Let's move him back to the center of the branch. A clearing! Let's go!

You have now finished Chapter Three of Tipping point! Congratz to you!

Posted by: rkr7 | March 25, 2008 9:55 PM

205 Comments [leave a comment]

I'm already stuck.

What do I do once I'm on channel 804 and it says destination 11:15? I know the remote changes the numbers but I don't know what on earth I'm supposed to set them to.

Posted by: tishtart | December 4, 2007 2:20 PM

yeah, i'm on the second level, but am pretty stuck right now, waiting for some other comments on here.

it's a pretty imaginative game, though.

Posted by: iangasm

| December 4, 2007 2:29 PM

@tishtart

Keep clicking the hands of the pocketwatch until they line up to 11:15, that should give you the clue you need.

Posted by: Patrick Corrigan | December 4, 2007 2:34 PM

I've got the palm leaf in the fireplace and have a key and a lantern but that's it. Stuck.

Posted by: adam tasker | December 4, 2007 2:35 PM

Hmmmm. Alas, I cannot actually play the game, as once it loads to 100% it just stops without ever actually beginning the game...

Posted by: Wirevix | December 4, 2007 2:37 PM

got to 2nd level. got the key. guess i'm trying to find some fire source, for the lantern and fire pit... any help?

Posted by: francis | December 4, 2007 2:37 PM

-tishtart

Open the watch and click the hands until they line up with 11:15, that should give you the next clue.

Posted by: Pooter | December 4, 2007 2:37 PM

use the watch to set the time.

Posted by: Anonymous | December 4, 2007 2:37 PM

Remote:

press buttons on the remote up/down left right to enter number, push OK

Then click on the top of the watch

I think.

Posted by: slgalt

| December 4, 2007 2:37 PM

Just finished Chapter 2. Great little game.

The way they implemented the maze at the end was extremely clever. Looking forward to Chapter 3!

Posted by: Jonathan | December 4, 2007 2:38 PM

I have the metal detector, key and lantern and the leaf is on the fire.

Posted by: oopher | December 4, 2007 2:40 PM

Francis/Adam

There's a loose panel inside the ship where you can use the key.

Posted by: Pooter | December 4, 2007 2:41 PM

Tip for the last part:

Use the number outside the cave to line up the correct symbols on the decoder. Look at the left and right side of the cave and match them up to the animal doodles.

Posted by: Pooter | December 4, 2007 2:43 PM

excellent thank you

Posted by: adam | December 4, 2007 2:44 PM

Cool game. I really like the way the item interaction worked. Still one pixel hunt in the second chapter. A reminder that even the best gamers need visual clues sometimes.

Posted by: Matt Lemieux | December 4, 2007 2:49 PM

After adding channel

and getting Destination 11:15, check watch. What can you do with it?

Posted by: Darren | December 4, 2007 2:57 PM

I have the lantern, the shovel, and the metal detector.

The metal detector detected something outside the cave opening, but the shovel will not dig it up. ??

The cave is dark. Is there a way to light the lantern?

The sound of the ocean is sooo nice, and I have to get back to work. darn it.

Posted by: Marian Wynn

| December 4, 2007 3:05 PM

Please, someone post a walkthrough- thank you!

Posted by: Caya | December 4, 2007 3:10 PM

I cant seem to dig up anything, I used the detector and it goes of like crazy, but when I try to dig there the shovel just floats back to the inventory, I dont know what is the actual target and what part of the shovel and detector sprite is the actual pointer but it feels like I've clicked everywhere

Posted by: jOHAN | December 4, 2007 3:10 PM

I am stuck, cause I do not have a clue how to light the lantern...
Can somebody leave a hint or something..
Thnx

Posted by: paris36 | December 4, 2007 3:14 PM

I'm stuck in front of the cave.

The metal detector sounds alert but I cannot use the shovel on that spot .It goes directly in inventory...Any hint?please?

Posted by: chicmariana | December 4, 2007 3:15 PM

Don't mistake the occasional metal detector's blip for detection. It has to make a loud signal.

Posted by: hoverfish | December 4, 2007 3:17 PM

Could Pooter or someone else be more specific about

the location of the loose panel inside the ship

? I am just not finding it.

Posted by: Zack Weinberg | December 4, 2007 3:18 PM

The reflection at the very beginning, so...impossible, so...surreal!

Posted by: bigyak | December 4, 2007 3:19 PM

Nevermind.Got it.Power of posting.

Posted by: chicmariana | December 4, 2007 3:21 PM

I have the same problem with metal detector.

It starts shining and making loud sound, it's obviously the place where I must use showel. But it doesn't work. Bug?

Posted by: bacchus | December 4, 2007 3:31 PM

It doesn't want to load or something. I clicked "Play game and it loaded to 100% but it's not doing anything >.>

Posted by: greenfourth | December 4, 2007 3:34 PM

How to use the shovel:

When using the metal detector, and it goes off...make sure to look at where it is actually pointing to. The shovel will light up when you are in the right spot.

Posted by: Teal | December 4, 2007 3:34 PM

I'm also stuck with the metal detector - definitely found something but just can't dig.
Great atmosphere to the game tho.

Posted by: jayB | December 4, 2007 3:40 PM

Wow! Very clever design overall : )
Not too terribly difficult, but very fun to go through and logical order of actions. Also, it's nice that the game doesn't require an ear for music or will be a problem for those who are color blind (I hate to hear that people can't enjoy a good game because a puzzle physically stops them! The maze was very original, and well constructed.

Posted by: Christine Fisher | December 4, 2007 3:41 PM

I cannot for the life of me figure out how to interpret this code.

The number outside of my cave is "XI," which is 11, right? I put my paper on line 11 in the decoder. The first box on the code is half goat, half owl, but the first room in the cave is a full goat. I tried just following the arrows on the paper, but that didn't get me anywhere. I've done this just about every way I can think of, but I'm getting nowhere! I need a hint, please!

Posted by: Neddo | December 4, 2007 3:44 PM

Neddo:

It sounds like you have made certain assumptions about order. You know what they say about assumptions...

Posted by: elliselle | December 4, 2007 3:50 PM

And, of course, as soon as I posted that I figured it out.

Posted by: Neddo | December 4, 2007 3:50 PM

I've got through to the end of chapter 2 and look forward to chapter 3. It was all quite quick once it got going, but very worthwhile. The maze/code stuff was excellent.

Posted by: JayB | December 4, 2007 4:05 PM

What's with the decoder?I can't figure it out what to do?

Posted by: chicmariana | December 4, 2007 4:10 PM

I think I might have figured out the cave.

With the decoder set at line 11, it almost seems as the first choice (left or right) is not included on the decorder. Try going left first and then follow the order on the decoder. It seems correct, but leads nowhere. Anybody else have a similar experience?

Posted by: Kenny | December 4, 2007 4:14 PM

Yeah. Any help on the

plank in the ship where you can use thee key?

Posted by: rkr7

| December 4, 2007 4:16 PM

So I found where to use the key

in the left sotrage room, in the middle of the back wall by the floor

but it seemed to do nothing...which makes no sense at all.

Posted by: Pinky | December 4, 2007 4:18 PM

Never mind. The good old tab key cheat worked just fine ;)

Posted by: Pinky | December 4, 2007 4:21 PM

got the decoder figured. and made the end of the maze. XI is right. just don't focus on the cave so much, relax your gaze.

Posted by: kahli | December 4, 2007 4:33 PM

How do you light the fire in the lantern? Where do you get the leaf?

Posted by: James | December 4, 2007 4:37 PM

The trick to the cave was so cleverly designed and well executed.

Each room of the cave has walls that make the face on the decoder. In each room you need to choose the tunnel matching the arrow of the face.

Posted by: Alex Hazlewood | December 4, 2007 4:40 PM

walkthrough!

1.fallen asleep.
2clicked on bird with watch.
3clicked bag of chips.
4click left leg.
5opened watch
6clicked picture
7went to channel 804
8dialed number
9did everything voice told me to
10put watch time to 11:15
11put in 105top 40bottom
12got dried leaf (tree area)
13put dried leaf on firesite (firesite)
14got shovel (ship area2)
15got battery(ship ares3)
16put battery in metal detector(inside hut area)
17dug up key(cave entrance area)
18found chest.(ship area2 right side)
19put key in chest(ship area2)
20set leaf on fire with magnifying glass(firesite)
21got lamp(ship area1)
22lit lamp(firesite)
23got decoder tube(cave area1)
24put paper in tube(cave area1)
25went right,left x2,right,left,right
26click toucan 23948 times(for fun=))
27go up stairs
YoU wIn!(FoR nOw......)

Posted by: andy | December 4, 2007 4:40 PM

The decoder & the cave:

Put the paper in the decoder and scroll it to the number writen on the cave wall. Enter the cave and check the two junction. What does it look like? Do you find that "lookalike" on your decoder? Yes? Then follow the direction that the arrow points to!

Posted by: Juggernaut | December 4, 2007 4:43 PM

James
You need to find a

dead palm frond.

Posted by: jan.jan

| December 4, 2007 4:44 PM

there's a decoder at the start of the cave.

Posted by: james | December 4, 2007 4:45 PM

James, try the beach. Also WHERE is this darn decoder I keep hearing about?!

Posted by: Dom | December 4, 2007 4:45 PM

oh never mind, used walkthrough to find it. pmsl.

Posted by: Dom | December 4, 2007 4:47 PM

Well that was ironically easy.. The maze was ...?ish. I thought it would be a proper maze reading through the comments.

LOVED the idea of the maze though, lol at the eyes :)

Posted by: Dom | December 4, 2007 4:50 PM

The ad banner at the top is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too distracting.

Posted by: bioLarzen

| December 4, 2007 4:53 PM

If the shovel can be used only once, to

unearth the key at the cave's entrance

then I was more than lucky - that was the first place i tried the metal-detector - and voilá... :)

Posted by: bioLarzen

| December 4, 2007 5:12 PM

!! On the opening screen, where you're sitting in the living room, I looked out the window and saw a plane flying past, so I clicked it and the plane crashed. Oops!

Posted by: seventh degree | December 4, 2007 5:16 PM

Oops, how good i checked once again before i started to write a walkthru... I almost missed that one has already been submitted... :)

I beat the game fairly easily although i guess i had the luck of my life with the metal detector - the first place i tentatively tried it proved to be the place i wqas supposed to, i guess it saved me loooooooong minutes :) Also, tha cave-maze couzld have been much trickier but i was lucky once again to accidentally notice what i had to.

I liked the game all in all - although in the beginning

i tried to drop the potato chip everywhere for i was sure i was supposed to throw it somewhere before i gave up :)))

Looking forward to chapter 3.

Posted by: bioLarzen

| December 4, 2007 5:32 PM

Nicely done Myst-clone here, but the sloppy hit detection really kills it. Nothing is more frustrating than knowing exactly what item to use in exactly what spot, but still having to try it 50 times because the game gets too finicky about clicking the exact right pixel, while simultaneously replacing your cursor with a big oddly shaped item. I realize the idea with the shovel here being so picky is to make sure you can't just skip the metal detector, but there's plenty of other ways to impliment that.

Posted by: Googleshng

| December 4, 2007 6:44 PM

OK, i guess it might be reasonable to have a bit more detailed walkthru, so:

A BIT MORE DETAILED WALKTHROUGH

At home

Activating the channel

Travelling without moving

Exploring the beach

The Friend Ship

Shovel to the metal

Boxing Day

And God said...

Potholing

Faces and tunnels

Posted by: bioLarzen

| December 4, 2007 6:52 PM

Oops, enveloping all the walkthru-parts in one spoiler-box might be an improvement... Could you do that for me Jay?

Posted by: bioLarzen

| December 4, 2007 6:54 PM

Oops, a mistake in my walkthru... At the "And God said..." section, in line 7 it says "Exit left".

It should, of course, be "Exit RIGHT." (you can't exit left from that screen, it would lead you straight into the sea :)))

Jay, could it also be corrected? I'd really appreciate it.

PS: and sorry for all the typos.

Posted by: bioLarzen

| December 4, 2007 7:12 PM

Wow, Jay, you ARE quick :)

Thanx.

Posted by: bioLarzen

| December 4, 2007 7:13 PM

You guys sure do keep me busy all day long. :D

Thanks for the walkthrough, bioLarzen!

Posted by: jay

| December 4, 2007 7:17 PM

I have to say that, despite the trouble I had with the code, I think this game is really well done. It's gorgeous, of course, but more importantly it makes sense. You use the items in logical ways, and there's very little painstaking searching for just the right spot to click.

Add me to the list of people eagerly awaiting chapter 3!

Posted by: Anonymous | December 4, 2007 7:20 PM

Googleshng: The game handles that problem by giving the object in hand a yellow glowing outline when you've positioned it correctly. I didn't notice that at first either, but after I clued in, I never clicked wrong again.

Posted by: Psychotronic

| December 4, 2007 7:28 PM

I agree: it's a well done game.

Jay, thanx for both corrections.

Posted by: bioLarzen

| December 4, 2007 7:30 PM

Did anyone else notice the green dots

on lines 4 and 12 at position 1, after the code sheet was placed in the decoder?

Posted by: Marian Wynn

| December 4, 2007 8:11 PM

Very pleasant little game! Very much enjoyed the graphics and music. Hope more chapters come soon, and wouldn't mind seeing them increase in difficulty and complexity.

I know I know, I should be careful what I wish for... by chapter five it will be GOTmail at the seaside!

Posted by: Jac | December 4, 2007 8:44 PM

PS: I kept clicking on the Seagulls expecting something to happen but nothing did. Maybe, knowing Seagulls, I'm GLAD nothing did!

Posted by: Jac | December 4, 2007 8:47 PM

I was able to do this without any hints up until

the hidden panel in the ship. There is no way I ever would have found that if I hadn't looked in the walkthrough. I suppose it would be easy enough to find if you used the tab cheat on every screen, but that kind of takes the fun out of it, doesn't it?

Beside that one bit, it was not too difficult.

Posted by: Suho1004

| December 4, 2007 9:45 PM

When I hear, "Alternate Reality Game", I originally thought of something like this. I always like wandering through surreal worlds; the sense of wonder generally overwhelms my sense of frustration at something not working correctly the first time. I haven't gotten through the whole thing yet, but I like it so far.

Posted by: Gar | December 4, 2007 10:42 PM

I am also stuck

with the decoder and the number XI and the code paper. Don't know what else to do.

Posted by: bigyak | December 4, 2007 11:20 PM

Gar,

you might try The Lighthouse then. It's a PC adventure game in an awesomely created alternate reality. Superb one.

Suho, I think i would have no chance of finding that thing but i was lucky there also and found the hotspot totally by chance as i was reaching for an inventory item :)

Jac, I was trying on the seagulls also :) Thought that if they are clickable they must be clicked on, right? Well, no :)

Posted by: Anonymous | December 5, 2007 4:27 AM

this is upsetting
i cannot find the right spot to dig. i've been trying for ages. it seems to be in exactly the right place and it still doesnt work :(

Posted by: paul | December 5, 2007 5:07 AM

I dialed 867-5309 and got a message on the phone. Can anyone find any easter eggs on the phone?

Posted by: Chad | December 5, 2007 7:43 AM

in the walkthrough, it says IX is eleven... last time I checked, IX is nine in roman numerals.... just an FYI

Posted by: Tim Eagle | December 5, 2007 11:04 AM

Ok, thanks, I've changed the walkthrough to read "9" instead. But is that right?

Or should the "IX" be changed to "XI"? What is the correct solution?

Posted by: jay

| December 5, 2007 11:22 AM

It should be "XI," assuming the number is the same for everyone.

Posted by: Neddo | December 5, 2007 12:47 PM

Thanks, Neddo. I've updated the walkthrough accordingly. :)

Posted by: jay

| December 5, 2007 1:02 PM

I have tried several times to access Tipping Point. It loads to 100% and then nothing. I get a black screen with a red bar saying '100% Loaded . . .' and that is it. I left it alone for two hours and still nothing. By the way, I am old-fashioned and have dial-up. I use Window XP, and Netscape as browser. What is wrong?

Jay - You can delete this... As an aside, I have tried to use Typekey to no avail. I double checked my Id/Password by having them send it to me. I insert the member name and password and it comes back as login failed. Sorry for not using this service, but I have tried. I know it makes your job harder.

Posted by: me | December 5, 2007 1:08 PM

No worries, me. Sorry you're having trouble with both the game and TypeKey. We should have site registrations working soon, I promise.

As for the loading issue, perhaps try updating your Flash Player? That's the only thing I can think of that might be the problem. This game is relatively new, so maybe it needs the latest and greatest one available(?)

I hope that helps. You might also try disabling any browser extensions you have, as sometimes those interfere with Web pages.

Posted by: jay

| December 5, 2007 1:13 PM

Tks Jay. My you are quick! I did check and I have the current version Adobe 9,0,16,0 installed. So will turn off computer and try again only accessing Tipping Point and closing all extensions.

Posted by: me | December 5, 2007 1:33 PM

@Jay
@Tim Eagle
@bioLarzen

The walkthrough should have read "XI" and "11" respectively. At least that is what was on the ouside of the cave in the version I played. Are there possibly random versions of the cave for each player? At any rate, bioLarzen's decoding method is valid for whatever number you see on the outside of the cave. In my case it was XI, so I used 11 in the decoder and it worked for me.

Posted by: Zeke

| December 5, 2007 1:48 PM

Sorry, folx for messing up the roman numerals. I was in a hurry typing, it was way past midnight, i was tired and i had to wake up early. And that's an explanation not an excuse :)

I tried the game 3 times so I'm rather positive there are no variables in this game, all the values and places are the same every time. So the correct number is XI that is 11 in Arabic figures.

I promise the next time I'll be more considerate and proofread more carefully.

Posted by: bioLarzen

| December 5, 2007 2:35 PM

For me, "XI" provided no hints on the decoder, and the faces are weird, but the arrows tell the story:

Maze Directions

R L L R L R

Posted by: jdubba | December 5, 2007 3:14 PM

This is RIDICULOUS. I've been offering this bird the chip for almost 5 minutes, and in no way does it ever work.

RIDICULOUS. Well-crafted game? Not likely.

Posted by: JMC | December 5, 2007 4:43 PM

Fun game...and fairly creative. No problem finding what was needed to move on to each next step, but the faces in the cave was impossible for me. It was kind of annoying that the key would disappear each time I moved too. Copy and paste into Paint works great for a visual reference on these kinds of games.

Posted by: scoobysnack39 | December 5, 2007 5:33 PM

Hey on the part where you have to use the metal detector and the shovel just click a little bit above where you want to dig
Hope this helps

Posted by: lilly7590 | December 5, 2007 5:55 PM

A wonderful way to spend an afternoon. I found the game mentally stimulating and yet relaxing. The sound effects were very soothing. And except for not finding the chest the first time (lol) I didn't have to use the walkthrough. Looking forward to Chapter 3!

Posted by: Vikki Powers | December 5, 2007 6:52 PM

code for chap 3:

FREEKL

Posted by: reece | December 5, 2007 7:40 PM

At the very beginning, if you look out the window...

...there are airplanes flying past. Whee! Then you can...

try to catch one....

... Oops. Or not.

I like this game already...

Posted by: cora | December 6, 2007 12:38 AM

Wow! What a neat little gem! I can't wait for new chapters! Thanks for recommending!

Posted by: wendy

| December 6, 2007 1:26 AM

I'm enjoying this so far (which isn't very far at all). Is it essential to have sound? I'm playing at work, and while I can technically use headphones I'd prefer if it wasn't so obvious that I'm slacking!

Posted by: Architectonic

| December 6, 2007 5:22 AM

Architectonic,

as far as i can remember there are two times you need the audio: first

in the beginning when you phone to activate the channel on tv

and then

when you use the metal-detector

scoobysnack,
I agree: I didn't understand either why the code tube disappears every time I make a move in the maze. If the remote control could stay closeup while performing other activities then the code tube could have to... Plus it would even be useful.

Posted by: bioLarzen

| December 6, 2007 6:51 AM

Thanks, bioLarzen. Headphones go!

Posted by: Architectonic

| December 6, 2007 7:22 AM

That is sooooooooooo great! So cool, but I couldn't have done it without the help about the

faces in the caves!

Thanx everyone!

Posted by: wartimepunk | December 6, 2007 12:33 PM

...ok explain this to me.

Spoilers for maze:

I'm an idiot and can't do math, so I read XI=9 on the cave entrance, go me. (this was before I read the walkthrough or the comments here.) I scroll to the 9th line of the code. I follow the arrows as they are given, in order, from left to right, ignoring the faces. I arrive at a staircase with a toucan. Is this the right staircase, or a false one? It did say to be continued in chapter three when I went up the stairs. The game was fun but took sooooo long to load the various things and there's no fast forward, so I don't know if I want to start alllll over again...

Posted by: charmander

| December 7, 2007 8:26 AM

I'm with Architectonic (well not exactly -- I work at home, but I usually like to listen to other music and play with the sound off). Maybe it would be nice to tag games that require the sound (or that don't require the sound) -- "soundsafe" or something like that? That would make this great site even better. In the meantime, maybe I'll try this again later....

[And game designers: Install mute buttons if the sound isn't necessary! Okthxbai.]

Posted by: Matt Weiner | December 7, 2007 9:01 AM

hey all people that are having trouble with the chip to the bird:

place the chip by the birds head and click...the chip should fall and break on your knee... the bird will follow the chip and get off the remote.

wow this was a great game! I, of course, needed the walkthrough, but it was highly detailed and I enjoyed it all the same!

Posted by: Lynni Baker | December 7, 2007 6:44 PM

at the home scene, you're meant to follow the automated instructions but i dont understand the very last word he says... 'please type in the channel number you wish to activate then press ????' i've tried the # and the * but it doesn't work?

Posted by: Anonymous | December 7, 2007 7:08 PM

call these numbers

555-2356
555-5555
085-6321
666-6666

Posted by: kindjim | December 8, 2007 4:49 AM

What an evocative game. The plane crash easter egg is cute, too. Those kind of little touches set a game apart.

Posted by: joye

| December 8, 2007 7:23 AM

charmander:

yes, that is the correct set of stairs, and you did finish the second chapter. I do find it odd that if you misread the roman numerals, as you did, and follow the arrows while ignoring the faces, you end up getting to the exit anyway. One explanation is that the creator simply randomized the arrows, coincidentally giving the answer by reading left-to-right on number nine.

Posted by: EMDF

| December 8, 2007 2:59 PM

Some of the phone numbers:

555-4444 : little girl tells you she isn't allowed to use the phone, then sings a song
555-1234 : answering machine
867-5309 : japanese lessons

Posted by: Sean | December 8, 2007 10:23 PM

For tishtart
if your wondering what the 11:15 stands for click on the pocket watch and set the hands to say 11:15 then when you do that you can click the button at the top of the stop watch.

Posted by: aaron | July 12, 2008 11:04 AM

rad game totally messed with the old noggin, especially the merman, that was harsh!

Posted by: JesterSevens | July 13, 2008 1:23 PM

I'm stuck on level one. I set the time to 11:15. Am I supposed to set those numbers by pressing the TV? If so, it won't let me click them.

Posted by: Mr.Mitten | July 14, 2008 10:55 PM

the darn keyboard wont come off to put on the board O.o

Posted by: JIGuest | July 22, 2008 7:13 AM

could anyone do the flipin merman bacause i managed to turn all the lights off after they all came on in less than 10 minutes i spent 40 minutes on level 1 so im gonna spaend and hour on lever 3

Posted by: ernie | July 22, 2008 12:52 PM

Update