Infinite Ocean Walkthrough

The follow up to The
Last Rose in a Desert Garden is more of Jonas Kyratzes’ examination
of philosophy and moral attitudes of our time and of people in
general. The claustrophobic environments, messages on the walls,
and absence of other people to “talk” to serve to create
an environment of emptiness, despair, and hopelessness. Though
not a sequel, thematically this game is a sister piece to Jonas
Kyratzes’ earlier
work.

There is no clear background
story or firm conclusion, so every player will have their own interpretation
of what happened before the game and what will transpose at the
game’s conclusion. In my email conversations with Jonas,
however, he has made clear that the story is NOT an open-ended
one: there is significance in everything in the game. On his site,
he has a self-styled hint
page of questions designed to move the player’s thinking in the
intended dramatic direction. I suspect that I will have to play
this game again to make sense of the clues and understand the “big
picture”.

The game is short but,
again like Last Rose in a Desert Garden, is full of quality writing.
It’s akin to reading a strong short story (such as Shirley
Jackson’s “The Lottery” or even J.D. Salinger’s “The
Catcher in the Rye”) and comparing it to the latest Dean
Koontz or John Grisham novel. Yes, other games may be more widely
known and played but popular opinion does not equate with critical
acclaim.

Sounds are sparse and
further add to the loneliness. I am always in awe of what one person
can achieve in a game (especially considering the hundreds of awful
games I’ve seen and played that are designed by teams of
people). The game is completely in black and white and there is
a block-like quality to the architecture in keeping with corridors
and rooms.

The game begins in what
may I interpreted to be an abandoned spaceship…

Room with a Typewriter

Here am I in an abandoned
structure of some sort. It’s deathly silent.
I feel I should remember something but I don’t. I’m completely
alone-not even accompanied by my memories. At odds with my modern surroundings
is a typewriter on the table. Who would use a typewriter in this day and
age?

I turn to my left and
pick up a circuit board near some overturned chairs and a table
with a still warm cup of coffee on it. Still warm. Perhaps there
is someone still around after all. I turn back and cast my eye
once again over the typewriter. Is it familiar? If only I could
remember clearly… I turn to my right and this time I note
a plastic card. I pick up the access card and go thorough the door
behind the typewriter.

Room with a Porthole

I pick up a screwdriver that someone has left on the floor. Perhaps the most useful tool
I could find, it may help me get out of here. At my left, I
look out at the universe through a porthole at eye level. Turning to
my right, I notice two computer terminals. The left-hand terminals
allow me
access with a touch. Reading through the journal entries, I make a mental
note of Jerry’s log password, “ABCDEF”.

I repeat my actions with
the right hand terminal and read entries from the SGDS computer.
I discover more references to passwords. The SGDS Control password
is “0470400” but the SGDS Power Management password
is incomplete: “845878” and then jargon characters.

I turn to my right and
exit back to the room I had been in before. The clock on the wall
is stopped at 11:58.

Room with the Typewriter

At my left is another
door. I enter a room that contains several strange columns rising
from floor to ceiling on the other side of the room. There is a
series of notes scattered on the floor. The third one contains a code
without
reference to what it meant: “52891013567”.

At my right, I find another
terminal, though this is in poor condition. I undo the access panel
with the screwdriver and replace the circuit board. It flashes
to life and I access it. This is the SGDS Control Panel (LCL).
I log on with the “0470400” password.

Reading through the data
contained on the access screen, I repair door 5A.

I then leave the room
and return to the room with the porthole.

Room with the Porthole

After re-entering this room, I cross the room and go through the door immediately
opposite.

Room with a Pinboard

I turn around and catch
sight of a note pinned to well-used pinboard. The note reads “Orieno”, obviously yet another password. I then turn
to my right and pick up a loose note on the ground. It, too, contains a
password but the last digit is difficult to read: “256719” or
perhaps “256712”. I then turn around again and use my screwdriver
on a loose panel, removing a cable and bringing it with me.

I access the adjoining
terminal and take note of the Emergency mode password: “567832518”.
I turn to my left and exit from the room by the door.

Room with many Terminals

I am surrounded by terminals
in what must be some kind of control room. The terminal in front
of me is broken, with wires hanging out. I fix the cable
using the one I had found. I access the terminal and enter the password “Orieno” to
bring the terminal online.

I turn around and access
the left-hand terminal. I find another part of the power management
password: “587832”. Putting the two together, I come
up with the complete password: “84587832”.

I turn to my left and
exit through the door.

Empty Room

I turn immediately around
and pick up the electronic log belonging to Jerry. I enter “ABCDEF”. His entries make mention of the ICR Password: “37089” and
part of the Emergency Mode password: “9367528” followed by
gibberish. I return to the room with the porthole.

Room with the Porthole

At my left, I access
the left-hand terminal. I enter “37089” as
the Information Control Room password. I leave and return to the room with
the pinboard.

Room with the Pinboard

I immediately leave this room from the door at my left-a room I have not been
able to access before.

Second Room with Many
Terminals

At left, I access the
left-hand terminal. The files reveal another component of the Emergency
password: “251801”. I then access the right hand
terminal. I enter the password “256712” to deactivate the IO.

I then turn to my right
and access yet another terminal. The entries speak of the procedure
to deactivate emergency mode. Power management needs to be set
to automatic and Information Override needs to be switched off.
I realize I have switched off IO already so now I have to find
the power management area. I access another terminal before leaving
the room and pick up a disk that is ejected.

I am pretty certain I
haven’t overlooked the room in my travels. I return to the
room with many terminals because I remember I have seen another
door there.

Room with Many Terminals

I go over to the other door I have seen before. A sign on the wall warns of
danger to any that would enter. I suspect that this may have applied to
an earlier time and the answers to my presence are likely going to be found
on the other side of the door so I enter slowly and cautiously.

Warning Room

To my surprise, there
is very little of note about this room. At a terminal at my right,
I insert the disk I have found earlier. I an able to access
it. I enter the password “84587832” but nothing happens. The
door doesn’t open.

I turn around and am about
to leave when I notice another electronic log. I read through the
entries and then return to the second room with many terminals.

Second Room with many
Terminals

Accessing the terminal, it requests a twenty-three-digit code. I put the three
partial emergency codes I have found together and enter the number:

93675289101356783251801

Emergency mode is deactivated!

I return to the warning
room.

Warning Room

The door is now open flooding the room with light. I enter the infinite ocean
not quite certain where it will take me. Heaven? Hell? Another galaxy?
Is it the end the end of the world? I have nothing to lose.