[01/24/14: Now available to play free in your browser!]
There's no story, no plot and no motive involved, unless you count the ongoing human narrative, the trials and tribulations of the workplace and the simple desire to get on the elevator and go home. Who needs a better reason to Escape the Office? Explore your surroundings, collect requisite tools for escaping and reach the best payday of all: that deep satisfaction earned when, your brain versus office equipment, you triumph. So forget about taking the copy machine out to an empty lot for a date with a sledgehammer.
Created by Afro-Ninja, known for logical puzzles and intuitive designs, Escape the Office is quick, fun and easy to play as long as you keep a couple things in mind when you begin. First, after collecting a usable object by tapping it on screen, drag it from the inventory and release when your finger is over the area you want to use the object (not where the object is since it hovers above your finger like a memo). Next, when played on a mobile device, there is no changing cursor to help you find interactive areas. So give attention to small details and tap everywhere that might yield a good result (there's no penalty in trying, unless you're trying to beat the clock or tap timer). Speaking of that, while the game is free, if you're stuck or need extra focus to play, an in-app purchase will provide some hints as well as a list of challenges to meet.
The game's brevity, with only a handful of basic dilemmas and a couple codes to ponder out, leads to disappointment for only one reason: it's too enjoyable to want to end it so soon. Only the most incurable of workaholics would want to linger in the office longer than necessary, yet these neatly rendered visuals and perfectly casual puzzles make for a relaxing getaway. It's fair to hope that the elevator ride would open to a new room, with more hidden keys and even harder to hack passwords. Meanwhile, though, Escape the Office is a great way to momentarily avoid other, less fun duties cluttering your inbox.
NOTE: This game was played and reviewed on the Nexus 7. Game was available in the North American market at the time of publication, but may not be available in other territories. Please see individual app market pages for purchasing info.
Walkthrough Guide
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Escape the Office Walkthrough
When you begin, you're looking at the window...
Click the blinds to open them. Hmmm, sun is going down, time to go home.
Notice that there is a small hook on the upper part of the windowsill. A good place to hang something.
Turn around to face the desk. Examine its drawers and the objects on it.
Pick up the NOTECARD. See that it has five dots of colors on it: red, red, yellow, blue, blue.
Open the left drawer to find SCISSORS. Take them.
Everything else about the desk you'll have to come back for later:
When you click on the right drawer, you find it's locked. You'll need a key to open it.
Trying to turn on the lamp, you discover it's missing a power source.
Finally, look at the computer to realize you need a password to access it.
Click the area in the background, to move out from behind the desk. Here you're directly facing the elevator doors...
If you haven't suspected it already, here you learn that pressing the elevator button does nothing. You're not leaving this place yet.
Turning right from the elevator, you see a printer and a picture on the wall.
The printer, like the lamp, is missing its cord.
In the picture, you see what might possibly be a useful key. But, the catch is, how do you break the glass to reach it?
Turn left twice to see the safe and a calendar on the wall.
The calendar has a few dates marked, but so far none of this information seems relevant.
As for the safe, it's also locked up tight. Maybe there's another way to access it?
With one more left turn, you're now facing the desk and the window behind it....Maybe you can notice something significant from this view?
Indeed, someone might trip over that gap in the rug...
Lift up the right corner of the rug: there's a POWER CORD! Get it.
Now go back behind the desk so you can turn on the lamp. Maybe it will shed new light on your keyless dilemma...
Dragging the POWER CORD from your inventory, hold your finger over the lamp base to connect the power cord to it.
Now tap the lamp to turn it on.
The shadow of a key can be seen in the shade. How do you access it?
Use the SCISSORS (found in the left side of the drawer) to cut open the shade and take the KEY.
Now you can take the POWER CORD off the lamp again.
Use the KEY to unlock the rightside desk drawer.
From inside the desk, get the STAPLER
... and a PRISM.
Now you have two new items to use. Let's start with the PRISM:
Turn around to face the window.
Hang the PRISM on the hook on the upper part of the windowsill.
Now turn to face the desk; the refracted light beams land on the keyboard. Zoom in on the keyboard:
The colored beams of light are hitting three keys, very conveniently.
Use your notecard* to know the order of keys to press, which gives you the access password to the computer...
TT8CC
*red-red-yellow-blue-blue
...Then tap the "ENTER" key to unlock the computer.
Now the computer is unlocked, but the printer is offline.
Take the POWER CORD back from the lamp and use it on the printer.
Then, open up the "Print Manager" on the computer and select "Print Remaining Docs".
Go back to the printer and take the DOCUMENT from the tray. Read it for another clue:
"Derek's special day
The employee of the month
He waited all year"
Take note of how this information is formatted.
Use this new clue to unlock the safe...
Look at the calendar again and try to find something that would correlate to the "special day"
Find the "Award Reception" on the calendar and note that date.
Also note that it's in October (the 10th month) of 2013.
Then, go over to the computer and bring up the "Safe-Guard" application. Enter the correct 8-digit number to unlock the safe.
SOLUTION:
The date of the reception is randomly generated, so answers may vary. Going by the order in which day, month and year were listed on the DOCUMENT, input the numbers in this format:
(date of the reception)102013
So, for example, if the reception is on the 14th, the safe code will be 14102013. If on the 18th, it's 18102013. Etc..
With the correct code entered, tap "UNLOCK" and you'll receive a "Safe Unlocked" confirmation.
(If it's not working, double check the date again. If it's still not working, you may need to check the game app is updated and restart the game.)
Leave the desk area and go open up the safe to see what's inside.
Inside the safe is a bunch of awards and a locked box. That box might look slightly familiar because you saw it in a picture...
Go back over to the printer view and zoom in on the photograph on the wall.
Yep, there's the box and its key in the picture. You just need a way to get to it:
You need a hard object to break open the glass...
Use the STAPLER on the picture.
...with the glass gone, you can now take the TEENSY KEY.
Go back to the safe and use the TEENSY KEY on the box inside.
Take the FLASH DRIVE out of the box.
With the FLASH DRIVE in your possession, you need to solve only one more puzzle to escape the office:
Go behind the desk and plug the FLASH DRIVE into the USB hub on the left side of the desk.
Zoom in on the computer monitor.
Open the "TOP FLOOR" app and play the game to bring the elevator to the this room.
The solution is randomized.
Each arrow, when clicked on, will either move the elevator or one of the other arrows.
One of the down arrows will move the elevator up...
...so keep clicking arrows until you get the down arrows high enough that, when you click on them, you can get the elevator to the top floor.
Once the elevator reaches the top floor, you've one the minigame.
When you've won, leave the desk area, click on the elevator doors, and leave!
Congratulations! You have escaped the office!
Posted by: elle
|
May 23, 2013 8:12 PM