Stuck–Part 1

Stuck
Part 1

By Stuart Yoder

Have you ever been stuck in a game? You know, encountered a puzzle you couldn’t solve? Me neither. Of course I have! And, you probably have, too. Most likely more than once. Maybe even as many as two times! But, with a little persistence and reasoning, you eventually solve that puzzle and get that wonderful feeling of victory and accomplishment that only an adventure game can give. I think getting stuck once in a while is what makes for a great adventure gaming experience and great memories. Come with me as I revisit some of my favorite stuck moments.

My favorite is in Zork Grand Inquisitor. You begin the game with one item in your inventory: a vacuum cleaner. What’s an adventurer suppose to do with a vacuum cleaner?! My first thought was that I was suppose to sell it, so I became a door-to-door salesman in Port Foozle. Well, I soon found out that my selling skills needed honing. I couldn’t even give the thing away! Then I reached the underground, still carrying that stupid vacuum cleaner. I think I tried to use that vacuum cleaner on just about everything in the underground: on the umbrella tree, on the bees, on the two-headed beast, and on and on and on. When I finally found that hole at the bottom of the candy machine and clicked the vacuum cleaner on it, I just laughed. I knew before I flipped the switch to turn on the vacuum what was going to happen: it was going to suck the candy I needed right out of the vending machine! What a great puzzle! I love it! That’s why I play adventure games.

Speaking of Zork, I also thoroughly enjoyed Zork Nemesis. One of the places you visit in that game is the Monastery. In the Monastery, you lower a bell rope. Hmm? A bell rope. Pretty easy puzzle: just pull the rope, ring the bell, and something will happen. Nope. Nothing, just a ringing bell. Okay, you probably have to ring it in a pattern. Nada. Do you know how many times I rode that rope up and down? A hundred times? A thousand times? A million times? Then in a flurry of wild clicking, I clicked at just the right moment and out the window I went! I couldn’t believe how long that simple puzzle took me to conquer. But that’s the beauty of simple puzzles: they’re so simple, they’re hard.

One of my favorite it’s-so-easy-it’s-hard puzzles is found in The Neverhood. At one point in the game you run into the mouse-and-cheese puzzle. The objective is to get the mouse through a maze of mouse holes so that he eventually ends up at the cheese. Easy concept, but not so readily solved, at least not for me. I had that mouse running in and out of mouse holes so much I’m surprised he didn’t stop in a fit of exhaustion and say, “Enough already! I’m getting tired and hungry. Cheese! Cheese! I need cheese!” I eventually had to get a hint on this one. That’s right, the great Stu had to get a clue. It turns out the mouse is giving the solution away by pointing to the correct series of holes to get to the cheese! So easy, which is why I made it so hard. I was trying too hard; I was making it harder than it was. I never tire of being reminded of that lesson, which by the way, is a lesson that applies well to life. Don’t try so hard; don’t make it so difficult. Deep, huh?

When sharing favorite stuck moments, I have to top it off with Obsidian. The last puzzle in the Bismuth Realm is trying to figure out how to transfer the flight controls to the mechanical co-pilot so he can fly us out of this realm into the final realm. I was stuck on this one for quite some time. But, no hints this time! I was determined to figure this one out for myself. I will never forget the sheer joy of accomplishment when it finally hit me, by paying attention to the audio and visual clues, that he wanted me to play the board game that you must play earlier in the game on my flight control switches. It literally gave me a buzz that I have often enjoyed while playing a good adventure game. I play adventure games because they get me stuck. And being stuck forces me to think, to reason, to create, to play, to see beyond the reasonable, to see that all things can be solved if we are open-minded enough to allow the solution to happen to us.

So, enough about my experiences. How about you? What is your favorite stuck moment? Did being stuck affect your life: couldn’t sleep, thought about it at work, etc? Share it with other adventurers who will understand. We’ve all been there, and we all know the thrill of solving the once believed unsolvable.

Please send your “stucks” to Stuart. Who knows, I might get so many e-mails about a certain puzzle that we just might have to create a Stuck Hall of Fame!

Enjoy the adventure!