Rosetta Escape
Room escape games are some of the best things in the world, at least I think so. However, when you've played enough of them, things start to feel a bit...well, samey, don't they? After all, how many shaky pictures have we knocked off of walls? How many left/right directions for buttons (or cranks) have we deduced from pictures/dolls/figurines, whatever? How many times have we searched for keys, screwdrivers, wrenches, or other helpful bits of hardware? Wouldn't it be nice to have an escape game with some unique and original puzzles? Well, dear readers, we do now. Welcome to Rosetta Escape by Otousan.
Rosetta Escape, in fact, has many of the usual conventions. Screwdrivers? Check. Keys? Check. Finding objects? Check. But what lies at the heart of this amusing little game are a series of unique, original, heavily color-based puzzles that infuse a breath of fresh air into the stale, standard escape. Even better, many of the puzzles are randomly generated, so they change each time you play the game.
Rosetta Escape begins in a basic, four-walled room. There's no set up (and no musical accompaniment) to let you know what's going on. You're in a room, and of course you want to get out. Move around using the arrows at the sides (or bottom) of the screen, click on things for a close up or to pick them up, and bend your mind sideways to escape this amusing little puzzle. Finding things is pretty easy, due to the wonderful changing cursor that lets you know where the hot-spots are. Solving the puzzles? Well, that might take a while. Pull up a chair and prepare to spend some time solving your way out.
Although Rosetta Escape is a Japanese game, no knowledge of the language is needed. Any letter puzzles are in English, and everything else is a complicated code of colors, tiles, symbols, and funky drawings which, if interpreted correctly, will help you get out of the stark space. Otousan (which means "father" in Japanese) has created a fun, challenging little world in which to get lost for a few minutes (or hours, depending). The only complaint is that a save feature of some sort would have been nice, especially if you get hung up and want to walk away for a while.
The backgrounds are pretty basic and somewhat cartoony, but the heart of the game is in the puzzle solving. Original, enjoyable, and in some respects different from many of the room escape games out there, Rosetta Escape is a fantastic way to while away your time in the middle of the week. I only wish my dad made escape games this good.
Walkthrough Guide
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Archaeologist's Notes
The ancient race I am researching seems to use its own number system. I have obtained an object resembling a child's toy, with beads on a post. The egg at the very bottom represents the number 1, the leaf 2, and so on up the post.
I have also discovered a game of sorts the race played. They take a number of colored tiles with the corners painted in certain ways, and try to put them together so adjacent corners match. I have gotten very good at this game; the trick is to begin by isolating tiles that could only possibly begin in one location on the grid, or that must be adjacent to one another. I have installed a rudimentary security system in my office based on this game.
Another artifact of the race recently came into my possession: a finely crafted mask. The mask was found with some transparent colored beads that could be set into the mask's eyes, allowing the wearer to see everything in a certain color. It might have been used for seeing things through rose-colored glasses, or for decoding secret messages.
The race has its own symbols for addition and subtraction, too: a closed eye for the former, and an open eye for the latter. Their = sign appears to be an ear. I'm not entirely sure why they chose these body parts to represent those symbols, but they'd probably be just as mystified with our scheme. I also noted through those arithmetic tablets I found that their zero is represented by a cloud.
What a discovery I made today! It seems the race did not use base ten like we do; rather, they use base nine. Now that nine-by-nine grid I found the day before makes a lot more sense, and I know why there seemed to be one bead too few on that toy. Still, why? Did they only have five fingers on one hand and four on the other? No, that doesn't make sense. I must continue to research this.
I found another game the race plays to pass the time, using bird figurines. I have the fundamentals jotted down in my notebook: an equal number of each bird is set up on each end of a line, facing one another, with a single empty spot in between the two sets. One bird at a time is moved, one step forwards or jumping over a single bird in front of it, until the birds have swapped places. I've found the perfect strategy for winning this game: distribute the birds in such a way so that they alternate colors down the line. I am very good at the race's games; what I wouldn't give to go back in time and dazzle them with my skills!
Posted by: SonicLover
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September 29, 2010 7:43 AM
Rozetusta Escape Walkthrough
General Information
Watch for the changing cursor, it indicates hot-spots.
Some items can be picked up again after being placed, you might need to use them again.
Many of the solutions change each time you play the game, so the walkthrough will give a general idea of how to solve a particular puzzle.
Hope you're good at math.
Good luck!
Exploration
You begin facing a couch (in a shade of orange that makes the eyes bleed). There are 3 pictures on the wall behind the couch. Click on the picture on the left for a close up.
This picture appears to be tiles behind a frame and glass. Notice on the right side of the frame there is a small 3 digit code box.
Click on the 3 digit code box for a close up and notice that it is framed in red, and that the digits are letters. Back up twice.
Click on the picture on the right. Again, tiles behind glass and a 3 digit code box. Click on the box to see that it is framed in green and that it is also letters. Back up twice.
Click on the central picture for a close up.
Okay, the first of several strange pictures. The dude in the picture appears to be pointing to two things: (1) a leaf, and (2) a large peg that looks like the old Towers of Hanoi game with two rings on it.
Click on the picture and you will notice that the frame and glass swing away, revealing 3 small blurry dots at the bottom of the picture. Click on those dots for a close up.
In close up you can see a picture of a leaf and the number 2. I'm sure that will make sense eventually. Back up twice.
Click beneath the couch for a close up and take the tile hidden there. Back up.
Turn left and you are facing the door that you will eventually escape from. To the right of the door is a panel in the wall, click on it for a close up.
Looks like we need a key. Back up.
Click on the orange carpet on the floor in front of the door for a close up. This will reveal another tile underneath the right corner of the rug. Take the tile and back up.
Turn left and you are facing a low cabinet with two doors, each needing a two digit code (this time numbers). Above the cabinet is a picture on the wall, and there are three items on top of the cabinet.
On the left is a yellow bird with a design similar to the one being worn by the dude in the central painting. In the middle is a gray grid that is empty.
Click on the item on the right and you will see two posts with rings, each ring having a symbol on it.
You can click on the posts again for a closer close up if need be, but you will see that, from top to bottom, you have the symbols for: a sun, a bird, a snake, a chick (baby bird), a fish, a flower, a leaf, and an egg (or just a circle).
Back up and turn left.
You are now facing a desk with two gray slabs (or papers) on the wall above it. Click on the gray slabs for a close up.
The slab on the left has a series of symbols, each line having 5 symbols. Most of these symbols are ones seen on the posts on the cabinet, but there are a few unfamiliar ones as well. The slab on the right is incomplete. Back up.
Click on the desk for a close up.
Open the bottom drawer and take the circle with what looks like eyeholes.
Open the middle drawer and take the tile (you should now have 3).
Notice the notebook on top of the desk? Click on the notebook to pick it up.
Click on the notebook again to open it. Notice on this page the red birds facing left and the green chicks facing right.
Click on the page to turn it and you will see some instructions. These are basically instructions for a jumping peg puzzle. Each character can move one move in the direction it is facing, or can jump over one other character to an empty space. Characters cannot move backwards or jump over 2 characters.
Click on the notebook again to turn the page and you will see a jumble of colors. Note the symbol in the lower right of the page, it looks like the circle (mask) that we just picked up in the desk drawer.
Back up twice and turn right to face the cabinets.
Puzzle solving time!
The 3 Tile Puzzle and the Left Cabinet
You should now be facing the low cabinet.
Click on the picture on the wall above the cabinet for a close up.
Notice that there are spaces for 3 tiles in the picture, and that there are red circles and blue bars around the outside, which are clues to the placement of the tiles.
I can't give you an exact solution for the symbols on the tiles, as they change from game to game. You need to solve for the colors in the corners of the tiles, those don't change.
From left to right, the tiles should be: (1) The tile with red in the upper right, upper left, and lower left, and blue in the lower right, (2) The tile with red in the upper left and lower right, and blue in the upper right and lower left, and (3) The tile with red in the lower left and blue in the other three corners.
Screenshot.
Once the tiles are properly placed you will be directed to the lower left cabinet. Note that the symbols on the tiles correlate directly to the 3 digit code on the cabinet.
Now you just need to figure out what numbers the tiles represent.
To solve the number values for the symbols, you need to combine the hint on the central picture (the guy pointing to a leaf and the second ring on the post), the leaf = 2 on the picture, and the posts sitting on top of the cabinet.
All indications point to the leaf being 2, and it is near the bottom of the column of rings.
This should tell you that the number values go from 1 - 8 (the number of rings) and from bottom to top.
Therefore, the symbols stand for: egg = 1, leaf = 2, flower = 3, fish = 4, chick (baby bird) = 5, snake = 6, bird = 7, and sun = 8.
The symbols on the tiles are usually different each time you play, but the numbers = symbols will stay the same. I.E. egg will always equal 1, leaf will always equal 2, etc.
Therefore, use the symbols on the tiles (and on the cabinet) to get the code. If you have fish, fish, fish, for instance, the code would be a simple 444.
Enter the 3 digit code into the door and back up once.
Click on the door handle to open it and take the item (phillip's head screwdriver).
Click on the picture above the cabinet again and notice that the background plate is being held down by phillip's head screws. Use the screwdriver to remove the screws and click on the plate to remove it.
There are now 9 slots in the background for tiles. Notice that the tiles you placed earlier are no longer in the correct places (they don't match the background).
Pick up the 3 tiles and also pick up the 2 red balls in the lower right corner of the picture.
Back up.
The Left Couch Picture
Turn left until you are facing the desk. You should have your 3 tiles back, as well as the mask and the red balls from the picture.
Click on the desk for a close up.
Pull up the mask from your inventory and use the red balls in the eyeholes.
Close down the mask and click on the notebook on top of the desk. Keep clicking until you are at the page with the multicolors and the little mask symbol.
Use the mask from your inventory over the colored mass and three letters will appear: E I A.
Put the mask back into your inventory, back up twice, and turn left to face the couch.
Click on the left picture for a close up and click on the 3 digit code on the right of the frame.
This is the code with the red border, and we just used the red balls (lenses) in the mask to get the code from the notebook.
Enter the code E I A and back up once.
Click on the picture to open the frame and take the six tiles.
You have now uncovered another picture, this one of the strange dude playing with the post and the symbol rings, with five symbols above him.
The symbols are: leaf, lips, egg, ear, and flower.
Notice the 3 fuzzy dots at the bottom of the picture? Click on them for a close up.
Now we have 2 + 1 = 3.
Could the symbols and the math equation be related?
We know that leaf is 2, egg is 1, and flower is 3.
Therefore, the lips symbol would stand for the plus sign, and the ear symbol would be an equal sign.
Back up twice and turn right once to face the desk.
Click on the gray slabs on the wall for a close up, then click on the left slab to look closer.
This slab is like the Rosetta Stone, it will help you decipher some simple symbols you haven't seen yet.
Notice the first line, leaf lips leaf ear fish, which using the symbols we know is 2 + 2 = 4.
The second line is egg lips flower ear fish, which is 1 + 3 = 4.
The third line introduces a symbol we've not seen before, a cloud.
The third line is cloud lips fish ear fish, which is ____ + 2 = 2. Therefore the cloud symbols stands for 0. (0 + 2 = 2)
The fourth line introduces another symbol we've not seen before, an eye.
The fourth line is fish eye leaf ear leaf, which is 4 ___ 2 = 2. Therefore, the eye stands for a minus sign (4 - 2 = 2).
Back up twice and turn right once to face the low cabinet.
The 9 Tile Puzzle and the Right Cabinet
You should now be facing the low cabinet and the picture on the wall behind it. Click on the picture for a close up.
Now there are spaces for 9 tiles, and you should have 9 tiles in your inventory.
Again, you will be placing the tiles according to the colors in the corners. In the end, each corner should match the corner of the tile next to it (or the color on the background).
Notice that a new color has been added, green.
Solve for the green first, so the tile with the green in the upper left corner goes in the upper left corner of the picture, and the tiles with green in the lower right and lower left corners goes in the lower left of the picture.
After that, it's pretty easy to solve. The symbols change, but the colors in the corners do not.
Screenshot.
Once you solve the puzzle it will take you to the lower right cabinet door and the 3 digit code there.
Again, the symbols will be different each time. Simply substitute the numbers and math symbols as needed to get the solution. This time rather than single numbers you will be doing simple math problems with 1 digit numbers.
Once you have the numbers in, back up once and click on the door handle to open it.
Take the standard screwdriver from inside the open cabinet.
Click on the picture above the cabinet again for a close up.
Use the screwdriver on the screws holding down the background plate to reveal yet another plate beneath. Yep, the tiles are now in the wrong place so put them back in your inventory.
Also pick up the green balls (lenses) from the upper left corner of the puzzle and back up.
The Right Couch Picture
Turn left to face the desk and click on the desk for a close up.
Pull up the mask from your inventory and remove the red lenses from the eyeholes.
Now place the green lenses in the eyes and close down the mask into your inventory.
Click on the notebook to pick it up and click until you have reached the back page with the color jumble again.
Use the mask over the color jumble to find the letter code I B J.
Back up twice and turn left to face the couch.
Click on the right picture above the couch, then click on the 3 digit code boxes for a close up.
This is the code with a green frame, so use the letters you got from using the green lenses, I B J.
Back up once and click on the frame to open it.
Take the tiles.
You have now uncovered a picture showing the strange dude pointing to some kind of grid. There is the symbol for flower and snake in the upper left.
Notice the 3 fuzzy dots at the bottom, click on them for a close up.
Flower snake does not equal 36, according to this. Back up once.
Look again at the grid.
Note that the grid has 9 rows and 9 columns.
Back up and turn right twice to the low cabinet.
The 15 Tile Puzzle
Click on the picture on the wall above the cabinet for a close up.
You now have to place 15 tiles in the empty spaces. This one is a lot harder because the green is somewhere in the middle.
Remember to match all of the corners. Below is a screenshot of the finished puzzle so you can see where the colors go.
Screenshot.
Once the tiles are placed properly the plate will disappear, revealing a black safe door with more symbols. Now you're solving for 2 digit numbers.
On the left side of the safe is a piece of paper, pick it up.
On the paper is a yellow key, take it.
Notice that the paper is in 9 rows and 9 columns, with numbers in each cell.
Time to solve the math problems on the safe.
There are two ways to do this, one using the paper with the grid and one using math.
Basically you are looking at a base 9 math system.
In a base 9 system, the easiest way to get the correct number is to take the number given by the symbols and subtract the first digit from it.
For instance, if you have the egg leaf symbols (1 2), you would subtract the first digit (1) from it. In the base 9 system egg leaf would stand for 11 (12 - 1 = 11).
If you had the leaf sun symbols (2 8), subtract the first digit (2) and you would get 26 (28 - 2 = 26).
If, however, you don't want to do it this way, you can use the paper grid to the left of the safe.
Remember the picture of the dude pointing to the grid?
The symbols there were flower snake (3 6). However, as the dots at the bottom of the picture said, flower snake does not equal 36.
Since we are using a base nine system that runs from 0 (cloud) to 8 (sun), the rows in the grid should be numbered the same.
That would mean that the top (first) row is row zero, the 2nd row is row 1, the third row is row 2, etc.
The columns would be numbered normally from left to right, 1 through 9.
Look closely at the picture and the guy is pointing to row 3 (the 4th row down) and column 6, which corresponds to the flower snake symbols.
Now look at the paper to the left of the safe. Row 3 (4th row down), 6th column has the number 33 in it.
If you solved using the base 9 system, flower snake (3 6) minus the first digit (3) equals 33. In the base 9 system, either using the grid or the math, flower snake represents the number 33.
Look at the safe door. You should have two number symbols, then an math symbol (either the lips or the eye for plus or minus), then a second two digit symbol.
Using either the base 9 math method or the paper grid solve for the two digit numbers, then either add or subtract them to get the 2 digit numbers that go in the code boxes.
For instance, snake snake eye fish bird is a two digit number, a minus sign, and another two digit number.
First solve the two digit numbers. Snake snake (6 6) minus the first digit (6) is 60, so snake snake is 60.
Fish bird is 4 7, minus the first digit (4), gets you 43. So fish bird is 43.
60 - 43 = 17. 17 would be the code to go in the box.
The symbols used changes each time you play, but the underlying math remains the same.
Once you've placed the numbers in the code boxes, click on the yellow handle on the right of the safe to open it.
Take the black key, back up, and turn left.
Getting Out
You should now be facing the desk. Use the yellow key you got from the number paper to open the top drawer of the desk.
When you open the drawer you will find the missing piece of the gray slab that goes above the desk. Back up.
Click on the gray slabs for a close up and use the missing piece on the right slab.
You will see that there are more equations here, 2 digit equations that further demonstrate how to add with the base 9 numbers.
Once you found the yellow key in the paper you could go to the desk, get the slab, attach it, and use that to help you solve the base 9 numbers. However, it is not necessary, and you can complete the game without ever having opened the desk drawer.
Back up and turn left twice.
Click on the panel to the right of the door for a close up and use the black key on it.
Click on the panel to open it and you are confronted with four symbols, 2 chicks facing right and 2 birds facing left.
Remember the drawings in the notebook?
This is a simple jumping peg puzzle.
First, pull up the mask from your inventory and remove the green lenses from the eyes.
Remember from the notebook that the chicks were green and the birds were red.
Add the green lenses to the chicks on the left, and the red lenses to the birds on the right.
Once both sets of lenses are added the symbols will color in and the puzzle will activate.
The object is to get the green chicks from the left side to the right side, and the red birds from the right to the left.
Click on the green chick on the right (the one nearest the birds) to move it one space forward (the green chick should now be right next to the red bird).
Now click on the leftmost red bird to make it jump over the green chick. You should now see (from the left) green chick, red bird, green chick, space, and red bird.
Move that red bird on the right forward to the empty space, so that now you have chick, bird, chick, bird, space.
Click on the rightmost green chick to jump it over the red bird to the far right space. Then click on the other green chick to jump it into the space vacated by the first green chick. You should now see space, bird, chick, bird, chick.
Move the left red bird forward one space to the far left space (bird, space, chick, bird, chick).
Now jump the right red bird forward to fill the empty space left by moving the other bird (bird, bird, chick, space, chick).
Move the left green chick forward once, and you have reversed the positions of the birds and the chicks. The button in the upper right should now read "open".
Once you solve the birds/chicks puzzle, back up once.
Click on the door to open it and click on the open doorway to escape.
You've now escaped to a barren desert! Good luck with that!
Posted by: grinnyp
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September 29, 2010 2:09 PM