Just when you thought it was safe to return to your weekday... bum-bum... bum-bum... bum-bum-bum-bum-BUMBUM! Bam! Surprise escape! Place of Light is more than willing to devise the most devious of traps in the most ordinary of circumstances. In Loom Entry, you find yourself trapped in an entry hall with cryptic clues and puzzles hidden everywhere amidst the neatly arranged shoes and photos of cute baby animals. It's like being a character in a more homey Dan Brown novel, only without all the terrible... uh... everything. Just click to play, keeping an eye out for different perspectives and sneakily hidden clues, and use the gray bars that appear at the edges of the screen when you move your mouse over them to navigate. It might look simple, but don't be surprised if you have to kickstart your brain, open your eyes extra wide... and grab a pen and paper to find your way out.
Place of Light has a knack for creating puzzles that has a wonderful domino effect of progression and understanding. It's not uncommon for clues to lead to clues which solve a puzzle, that nets you another clue. Clues are, literally, everywhere. But instead of annoying you, creates a sense of cohesion that a lot of other escape games lack. You'll wind up having to use your brain more here rather than simply cycling through inventory items, rubbing them against every available surface and hoping to luck into a solution. It's not "adventure game logic", it's deduction, pure and simple. It does sort of make you wonder who you're going through all this trouble to visit, though. All the comfy shoes and animal pictures give a vague sort of "Grandma's House" vibe, but after all you've gone through, Nana better have some killer cookies and milk waiting for you. Chocolate milk, straight up.
It's not perfect, however. The lack of a changing cursor to indicate a hotspot may make the game more challenging, but also more frustrating for those of us who hate pixel hunting. Perspectives can also bite you in the behind, since a few objects can only be manipulated if you're facing them from a certain direction, and you're never quite sure if you're just not looking at that umbrella from the right angle, or if you just keep missing the spot you're supposed to click on. Naturally, this is something you escapists with finely honed seek-and-find instincts will find little trouble, but relative newcomers or more casual players might find it a bit discouraging.
But if you're looking for quality puzzles and a bit of a challenge, it's Loom Entry through and through. Place of Light has hit it out of the park once again... and then promptly locked it in a box with six keys, put it inside a safe with a complex mathematical code, and hid that safe in a room you'll need a rubber chicken, a pair of bunny slippers, and some Elmer's glue to access. Hey, I'm not judging how you get your kicks. Some people juggle geese.
Walkthrough Guide
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Walkthrough
Testing, testing, one, two, three... can you hear me, Agent V?
You're in the entryway? Good. Er... I don't see you on the camera... wait, I think you're in the trap room! I'll guide you through the secret procedure to get out. Don't you worry.
You're facing the door with the window-like pattern? Turn right. Look in the umbrella stand. There should be a spade and an 8. No, you don't need the umbrella, leave it alone.
Now look on the right side of the cabinet. There should be a code there. O and X? I thought so. I know that code; any shape that can be traced with a single line without doubling back is an O, and any shape that can't is an X. That means the letters E-N-T-R-Y correspond to X-O-X-O-X.
Oh, and do you see those scissors stuck in the crack below the code? Fetch them for me... you can't get your hand down there? Never mind then, we'll worry about that later. Back away and turn right again.
You're facing the door with the blue slit? Oh, tilt your head up; you look silly with your back hunched like that. Now look closer at the top of the slit. Remember that dot pattern: left, middle, middle, left, right, middle. And the three strawberries; they're important too.
Back away and check out the little paintings. In particular, that one with the three strawberries looks interesting. Can you see some hidden buttons over it? Try pushing them in the order from the blue slit: left, middle, middle, left, right, middle. Club equals 7? Good to know.
That painting up top with the silly colored dots looks important, too. Make a note of the way the dots are arranged.
Now turn right one more time and check out the door you started out facing. In particular that little box on top. You can enter a series of O's and X's there, can't you? Well, try what the code from the side of the cabinet told you: XOXOX. You pressed the red button and you got a little gray disk? Excellent.
Turn and face the cabinet again. This time look at what's on that gaudy plaid cloth. I think that disk you found will stick in the hole in the picture frame. That arrangement of rectangles looks a lot like the small paintings, doesn't it? Try pressing the button. Hm, write down the order in which that symbol flashed on the rectangles. Make a note of that symbol, too: looks like a T with a line over it.
The plant pot's boring, but see if anything's under it. Under the cloth. A heart with a 2, eh? My intuition paid off after all. Now open the cabinet itself. I think we can arrange those shoes to match the colored dots from that one painting on the wall. The one the frame pattern didn't include.
You don't remember it? Oh, you're useless without me, Agent V! Move both green shoes and both blue shoes towards the left, and spread the red and yellow shoes apart. Now try opening that door on the bottom... a screwdriver? Score! Is there anything you know that needs a good screwing? ...Besides Lady Z, I mean?
According to the surveillance camera, there's a screw on that brown picture frame over the cabinet. Try it there... alright, it came loose. What's behind it? Some strange diagram about a window and something peeling off. Ooookay then, back away. Look again at those little paintings on the opposite wall.
Let's see... if I remember the frame pattern correctly, and since I've got a supercomputer backing up my memory there's no way I don't, then the order is: the five glass seashells, the penguin, the four chicks, the two dolphins, and the three strawberries. Interesting. Hey, try that thing that looks like a hand dryer over the umbrella stand; I've got a good feeling about it.
That's the same symbol as from the frame code, isn't it? Five digits? Well, you know what the numbers are from the paintings, right? ...You don't? Ah, Agent V, it's a miracle you remember your own codename! How hard is it to remember 5-1-4-2-3? Good, now open it... a key and a paper suggesting a very messed-up keypad. OK-1-8, 4-3-0, 9-AC-7, 2-6-5. Just leave it there for now, you can refer to it later.
Ah, you're at least smart enough to consider that maybe it's the key to your freedom. It fits the door with the blue slit... what the heck? That's no door! Well, at least you now have a shiny new hook and line. Try using it to fish those scissors out from beside the cabinet. Yes, got them! Now try using them to cut the string on the cabinet above the shoe cabinet. Yes, there was a cabinet above it; didn't you see it?
Inside that cabinet there's a diamond 3 and... what looks like a hoe. What use could a hoe be here? Hey, try it on that hatch in the floor below the stained glass on the other wall. Pried it open, nice job! It needs a combination of four digits that corresponds to four card suits. Well, you've seen four suits, right? Spade 8, heart 2, diamond 3, club X. Hang on. 823X? That can't be a four-digit code. And it's not a mathematical equation either, 'cause the X is at the end. Hmm...
Well, forget that for now. I just thought of something. That stained glass window has a familiar frame, right? Try peeling the bottom up like it's a poster. Aha, it worked! And the code's 150372. Interesting.
Oh, you know what you haven't touched yet? The screen beside the door to your right. It has a keypad on it. Er, you remember that piece of paper, right? This isn't like a normal keypad. If you want to enter 150372, you have to push the middle button in the top row, then the right button in the bottom row, then right in the second row, middle second row, right third row, left bottom row, and finally left top row to confirm it.
It gave you some sort of math equation? Hang on, I'm decoding it right now. I guess each symbol represents a different number (or X), and hollow and filled-in are different. The four suits we found are hollow, and the four we need are filled in. "CD82 X H = CS3HD", eh? Let me run it through the supercomputer... uh-huh... got it! The only possible solution to the cipher is "1482 X 7 = 10374".
That means the code for the box under the floor hatch is 0741. Go try it... it worked! We're a great team, Agent V, even though I have to do most of the thinking for you. The chest's full of gold? No, Agent V, leave the gold in the chest! It's probably booby-trapped. But see that key to the side? Take that and use it to unlock the other door, the one to your right.
And you're out! Unfortunately, Agent V, your performance was less than stellar, although your ability to follow orders is sublime. You'll get a D- for this training mission, I estimate. In the meantime, go take a walk in the woods.
Posted by: SonicLover
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June 23, 2011 12:19 PM
WALKTHROUGH
There are two main views per wall: an upper view and a lower view. If you can see something from one view but can't reach it, try another view.
Exploring
You begin facing a door. Click to zoom in on the handle. Looks like you need a key. Back up.
Click the gray bar near the top of the screen to shift the view upward. Click on the mechanism on the top left of the door. If you click the rectangular section, it opens to reveal a keypad where you can enter either X or O. Back up.
Zoom in on the dark rectangle to the left of the door. Click it to turn it on. There's what looks like a numerical keypad here, but something seems off. Back up.
Click on the white box to the right of the door. There's a locked door, and a place to enter a 5-digit code (though you can only use the numbers 1-5). Notice the symbol that's in those boxes before you put in any numbers. Back up and turn right.
You should be facing a couple of cabinets. They're tied closed. Underneath the cabinets is a painting. Zoom in on it and see that it's screwed to the wall. Back up.
Move to the lower view. You can see a cabinet with an umbrella stand to the left. Click the umbrella stand. Note that Spade = 8. Back up.
Click the plant on top of the cabinet, then the cloth under the plant. Note that Heart = 2.
Click the little picture on top of the cabinet. Notice those interesting shapes, and also the empty spot on the bottom right of the frame. Back up.
Open those bottom cabinets. Notice that you can move the shoes around, but you can't open the little door in there. Close the doors.
Click to the right of the cabinets. Note the X and O chart. Click underneath the chart, where the cabinet meets the wood floor. There's something down there, but you can't get it. Back up twice and turn right.
You're facing another door, this one with a step in front of it. Zoom in on the handle. This one needs a key too. Back up, then go to the upper view of the door.
Click on the top of the blue window in the door. There are three red shapes on top, with some yellow dots below them. Back up, then turn right.
Click on the stained-glass-thing to the left. Pretty, isn't it? Back up.
Click on the other pictures to the right. There are a number of cute animals here, but also some other interesting things. Click on the topmost picture. Do the colors look familiar? Back up.
Click the green picture frame above the penguin. This one has three red strawberries on it, with some buttons above. If you click the buttons, yellow dots appear on the berries. Back up twice, then go to the lower view.
There's a weird spot on the tile floor underneath the stained-glass. Zoom in on it. Looks like a trapdoor, but you can't open it with your bare hands. Back up.
Solving Puzzles
Remember all those yellow dots from the door? Go to the strawberry picture on the wall. Click the buttons in the order the dots appear on the door:
left, middle, middle, left, right, middle
Some symbols appear on the strawberries: Club = X.
X's and O's
Go to the X and O chart on the right side of the floor cabinet. All the symbols underneath the O have something in common, and so do the ones under the X. It has something to do with how the symbols are drawn:
All the symbols under O can be drawn with one line, without doubling back. The ones under X cannot.
Now you need to apply that to ENTRY:
The letters that can be drawn with one line without doubling back are O, the ones that can't be drawn with one line without doubling back are X.
Note that the font used in this game might make it a little difficult to figure out which letter is which. If the code you came up with doesn't work, take another look at the letters. If there were any you were unsure of, those might be the ones to switch.
Turn left from the cabinet and go to the mechanism on the top-left corner of the door. Open it up and input the X-O code you just figured out:
XOXOX
Hit the red button to the right, and a silver circle pops out of the slot. Take it.
Go to the little picture sitting on top of the cabinet. Put the silver circle you just got in the empty spot on the picture frame. Now hit the white button to the left. A familiar symbol appears in those colored boxes in a certain order. Write down that order, then turn twice and look at the group of smaller pictures on the wall.
Those pictures correspond to the colored boxes in the picture on top of the cabinet. Remember the order that symbol flashed up. The first one was the bottom-right picture frame, which has 5 sea shells. The first number in your code is 5. Go on in this way until you have a five-digit code.
Now turn right and go to the white box beside the door. Input the code you just got:
51423
Open the box and get the red key. Also notice the piece of paper in there. You'll come back to that later.
Go to the door with the long blue window and the step in front of it. Zoom in on the handle and put the red key in the lock. Click the handle, and... the handle opens. Take the fish hook.
Go to the right side of the cabinet where the X-O chart is, and zoom in on the area between the cabinet and the floor. Use the fish hook on the thing you can't reach down there. You now have some scissors.
Go to the tied-up cabinets near the ceiling. Use the scissors on the string tying them, then open them up. Take the hoe (?) from the cabinet. Also note that Diamond = 3.
Go to the trapdoor under the stained-glass-thing. Use the hoe on that little lip, then click it again to open the door all the way. There's a box in there with card suit symbols on it. But, if you try to enter all the numbers you have (Heart = 2, etc.), it doesn't work. You must still be missing something.
Go back to the group of little pictures on the wall. Click on the topmost one. This picture refers to the shoes in the floor cabinet on the opposite wall. Note the placement of the dots in this picture, then go to the shoe cabinet.
Put the shoes in the order dictated by the picture:
The green shoes on the top left should be close together to the left.
The red shoes on the top right should be far apart.
The yellow shoes on the bottom left should be far apart.
The blue shoes on the bottom right should be close together, but to the left.
GG__R_R
Y_Y_BB__
Open the little door and get the screwdriver.
Go to the painting on the wall above the shoe cabinet. Use the screwdriver on the screw, then click the painting to open it. There is a clue back there saying to look under a piece of paper. What in this room looks like the picture in the note?
Go to the stained-glass picture. Click on the bottom edge of it to look underneath. See the code 150372.
Remember the clue on the piece of paper in the white box next to the door? That clue applies to the keypad in the dark gray screen to the left of the door. Use the numbers from that clue to figure out how the keypad works.
The code you enter is the code you got from underneath the stained-glass picture: 150372. Then hit OK. A number of symbols appears on the screen. What do you do with them?
The card suit equation
Notice that some of the card suit symbols are filled in, and some are not. Aha! That's why the numbers you have didn't work on the box: you only have the empty symbols, while the box needs the filled-in ones.
You now have to solve that equation on the screen next to the door in order to figure out the filled-in symbols.
If you fill in the numbers you already have, the equation looks like this:
~CD82
x~~~H
_____
CS3HD
*The CDHS are Club, Diamond, Heart, and Spade. The ~ are just there as placeholders.
The thing to notice is that 8 times H will equal H, which is impossible (unless H = 0, but it doesn't). That means that 2 times H will have to equal at least ten, so that you have a number to carry over to the next column. That means H must be at least 5. Now you can use the process of elimination to figure out what number will work: start with H = 5 and go from there.
It shouldn't take too long to figure out that
H = 7
With that information, you can update the equation to look like this:
~C482
x~~~7
_____
CS374
You should have a little 3 next to the C up top, carried over from (4 x 7) + 5 = 33. Notice that there is a C in the top row as well as the bottom. This means that C x 7 has to equal a two-digit number starting with C. You can use the process of elimination again to figure out that
C = 1 and S = 0
You should now have all four card suits figured out:
Club = 1
Spade = 0
Heart = 7
Diamond = 4
You can now apply this to the box in the trapdoor.
Endgame
Go to the trapdoor under the stained-glass picture. Input the code you got from solving the equation:
0741
Click the handle of the box to open it, then get the key from the top-right corner of the box (it's hiding behind some coins).
Go to the door with the white box next to it. Zoom in on the door's handle and use the key on it. Click the key to turn it. Now click the handle to open the door. Click the wild white yonder and you're out!
Many thanks to SonicLover, I wouldn't have been able to beat the game without you!
Posted by: nerdypants
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June 23, 2011 9:18 PM