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.
Check out the entire Tipping Point series, including Chapter 5 on iOS!
As soon as the game starts to seem too simple, you may suddenly find yourself stuck, and pushing towards your own Tipping Point.
Cheers to Stelios for submitting this one! =)
Walkthrough Guide
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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
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March 25, 2008 9:55 PM