The Watchmaker
2001 Trecision
Designed by Christian Cantamessa, Edoardo Gervino
Real-time:
Failure is fatal, with no auto-restore.
*) freeing Darrel from the sand trap -- Not much to do, and it's obvious, so
the time constraint might not even be noticeable.
*) time projection video -- A clue is shown in a video, and there's not enough
time to write down (memorise) the clue. However, you can play it over.
*) restart the clockworks -- There's a fair bit of fiddling. It's not hard to
get it done in time, but it's easy to make a little mistake turning the dials
so that you have to go around again, and then the time gets tight.
*) sneaking past Krenn -- A synchronisation challenge, and then a tight time
constraint. The interface makes this one very hard.
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Reasonability:
*) indicator numbers (cistern) -- If you don't look at them (you have to go
into 1st person mode, and there's no reason to do so), you won't know the
combination in the end-game, where you can't come back. A long dead-end.
*) cutting the padlock -- The cutters are too small to cut a lock.
*) Anna's chess pieces -- It's hard to see what they are, even in 1st person
mode.
*) bag in secret altar room -- You have to use it to get the book in it, then
again to get the rest of the stuff. Everything should have been transferred
the first time, or at least an indication that there's more.
*) analysing the cassette -- When you do it, you don't know why you would do
it, since the player doesn't know what the analyser does. Then, there's no
reason to connect the resulting number with the CIA password (other than
meta-reasoning: you know it, it fits).
*) magpie nest -- Pixel hunting. Why would you bother to look in the nest?
Only because it flashes as a hotspot.
*) broken plaster -- Pixel hunting. Just a few pixels lost in the general
variation.
*) lion's mouth -- Why would you put a medallion in it? (Just the first time.)
*) throwing padlock at window -- Almost any object should work. Why must it be
the padlock?
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Difficulty:
*) defeating the Hunter -- You have to have the conception before the parts
make sense. Unfortunately, just about any object should work for throwing
against the window.
*) coin statue -- Good challenge, requiring the leap from coins to weight of
coins, to a method of getting that weight.
*) getting keys from cook -- Especially since it's the first time in the game
where you have to coordinate both characters.
*) rose blood -- Nice ruse requiring knowledge of the character.
*) locked trunk -- The hard part is noticing the clue in the video.
*) the chess board -- The challenge isn't that tough, but recognising the
key clue can be a stumper.
*) opening the van door -- Would that even work? I would think it would make
the door impossible to open. There's also the problem that the same trick
should work all over the place.
*) making a second star -- A clever, multi-stage problem.
*) getting Anderson out of his office -- A fairly involved plan.
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Comments:
*) envelopes, altar candlesticks, etc. -- There're too many drawers and
cupboards to look into. It becomes tedious, not fun.
*) What is the relationship between the legal firm that hired Darrel and
Multinational (MN)? Why does MN/Anderson allow you to snoop unfettered,
yet not allow you into the old wing?