THE

EPSILONOUTCOME Game Manual

Writing, graphics, animation, music, and programming Kenneth Perrine

Testing Richard Henwood

Book Arts Karen Perrine

Game Engine AGS, by Chris Jones

Copyright (C) 2020, Kenneth Perrine ifth word of the ed. You will not be asked for the f Notice: This game is not copy-protect opies of copyrighted games is bad, unless third paragraph on Page 3. Making illegal c s. you've not been given the okay to make copie Overview where you control the An adventure game is an interactive story in this game is a guy. main character onscreen. The main character The goal of the game is to send help and complete your mission, breakdown. You must while avoiding alien abduction and mental oundings and bring discover the secrets of your for eign surr together pieces that are the key to your success. Otherwise, you will wander aimlessly for along, long time. Installation on a personal computer: Follow these steps to run your adventure game me and extract it or run the 1. If you haven’t already done so, download the ga installer. have the option of running the 2. If you are running Windows, you may with AGS adventure games. “Winsetup” configuration utility that comes if your system This game is meant to be immersive; it is recommended, game in a window. supports it, to run in fullscreen—not to run this

Tips for the Adventurer on playing an adventure game like Here are some tips and unsolicited advice vary. this one. Pick and choose what you want; your mileage may the world using the instructions in 1. You can move around and interact with help, there is a walkthrough the next section. For those of us who need included at theend of this manual. game’s world, save your game often. 2. Because of the dangerous nature of the (Sorry to those who play an Even so, it is impossible to die in this game. save often adventure game so they can die in every way possible). But covered all of his bases when he because the poor developer may not have if there could be a system dealt with testing the game. Goodness knows to review a missed clue in a crash or a bad state. And you might want a particular bit of music again. conversation, r eplay a sequence, or listen to 3. Look around at as much stuff as you can, and take anything that isn’t nailed down. (Well, actually, you need to eventually take a ladder that is nailed down, but that’s a different matter). Read carefully forimportant clues. 4. Key clues come in conversations with other characters, so exhaust all possible conversation topics. 5. Map your progress through the world by drawing something like what’s to the right. Make notes about landmarks, objects found, and other things that may be interesting. In this game, a scr een may change as events occur and characters appear and disappear. If you get stuck, try walking through all of the locations to make sure that nothing new has appeared, as these new things are needed for completing the game. 6. Play along with a friend. Be social. Two heads are better than one and two sets of eyes will spot more clues. 7. If a character refuses to do something or offer a desired topic conversation, don’t work too hard to try to work around it. The character may be more willing to cooperate when the time is right. Likewise with using and finding objects. The game was never intended to be a pixel- hunting exercise. 8. If you’ve tried everything, use Google to find a walkthrough. Walkthroughs usually magically appear after an adventure game has debuted online. Playing the Adventure When playing the game, the scr een or window is filled with a background, objects, and/or characters, and you interactwith them by using the mouse. Or, if you have one of those newfangled tablet PCs, youcan tap with your finger. Title Screen When the game first appears, the Epsilon Outcome title is displayed along with three icons. This is what they do: New: Begins a new game. The opening cutscenes introduce the game’s story, and when the regular game icons appear, the new may be skipped by play. The cutscenes game is r eady to . pressing the ESC key previously-saved game. Load: Restores a who started the game by Quit: For those handy. accident, this comes in

Game Actions of the screen upper-left hand portion Icons appear in the the rest of the a left click or tap on . These pick what during normal gameplay screen will do, including: is clicked tion of the screen that Examines the por n. Magnifying Glass: ly-useful informatio useless drivel or occasional or tapped, giving that is object or character Interacts with the to Hand: Causes action. causing the main character may end up or a clicked or tapped; this added to the inventory, to be pick ed up and walk, an item character. to be started withanother conversation the System Bar Inventory Window and k: Opens the n the Backpac ed inventory item o e the currently select ive Inventory: Us item is used on the Act ed. If the inventory ry at is clicked or tap p pulate the invento place th aracter tries to mani r, then the main ch selected. main characte o active inventory item ppear here if there is n item. Nothing will a f these ling thr ough three o a shortcut for cyc d, ight mouse button as gnifying Glass, Han Use the r , Active Inventory, Ma gnifying Glass, Hand espective icon. functions (Ma actually click on the r c.) without having to Active Inventory, et ings being examined, cially close-ups of th In some screens, espe r and the word creen may disappea ns on the top of the s lose-ups, the ico tion. To exit these c pear in the lower por “Exit” will ap rders of the screen. r along the empty bo click or tap on “Exit” o

Bar to appear. Inventory indow and System ses the Inventory W d. The Backpack Icon cau le, the game is pause The While these are visib as ill also do this. haracter is carrying The TAB key w ms that the main c ow lists all of the ite n inventory item Inventory Wi nd le, a click or tap on a ntory Window is visib icons. While the Inve will cause one of these things to happen, depending upon which of these is active: Magnifying Glass: If this icon is active, then sometimes-useful information will be displayed about the inventory item. For example, if you have scissors in your inventory, examining the scissors would tell you information about the scissors. Hand: If this icon is active, then the inventory item will become the active item, and the mouse cursor will change likewise. For example, if the Hand Icon is active and you click on the scissors inventory item, then the scissors will become the active item. You can then use the scissors in the game. Apply: Then, if an active item is already selected while the Inventory Window is open, that active item can be used on another inventory item. So, if the scissors are the active item, and you have a sheet of paper in your inventory, then clicking the scissors on the sheet of paper would likely cause the sheet of paper to be cut up. Manipulate: If an active item is selected and that same item is clicked or tapped in the Inventory Window, then that item can be manipulated. This can also be done by double-clicking on an inventory item, or using the inventory item on the main character. For example, if you have a flashlight in your inventory, you would manipulate it to switch it on or off. Close Inventory: A click or tap on the Backpack Icon or outside of the Inventory Window will close the Inventory Window, resuming gameplay. The active inventory item can then be used on the current screen. System Bar The System Bar is the bar of icons that partially appears at the bottom of the screen whenever the Inventory Window is opened through the use of the Backpack Icon. The System Bar may also be opened fully by pressing the ESC key. This is what the icons do:

Fast: This will toggle on and off the ability for the main character to walk fast. This can be done to optionally speed up gameplay. This border will difficulty in any way. A yellow does not increase the game’s on. appear when this functionis switched so that the point in time may be Save: Saves the game-in-progress appears, you may enter a estored. When the Save Window later r on the “Save” for your saved game before clicking description will be overwritten. Even If you select an existing saved game, it button. is recommended to though it is impossible for the main character to die, it make it easier to go back and save often under different descriptions to ecover from possible bugs in the game, review a conversation or sequence, r etc. Unless the curr ent game Load: Restores a previously-saved game. ent game is lost when a game is had recently been saved, the curr restored. About: Displays game credits. to save the current game before Quit: Closes the game. Be sure closing; otherwise it will be lost. Conversations you will encounter characters that can be Throughout the game then a conversation, select the Hand Icon and talked to. T o begin the character. A list of topics will then appear at click or tap on the on be selected by clicking or tapping bottom of the screen. These can are conversed, while new Many topics will disappear as they them. Normally the topics may appear as a character discloses information. the conversation for the time being last conversation topic will end until you decide to converse again.

Key Shortcuts used during the game These keyboard shortcuts may be has options for saving and ESC: Toggles on and off the System Bar which appears, the game is paused. restoring games as wellas quitting. While it TAB: Shows the Inventory Window F5: Makes the Save Window appear F7: Restores a previously-saved game CTRL+Q: Quits the game Introductory Walkthrough Epsilon Outcome gameplay. This walkthrough will acquaint you with the Watch click on the New Icon to begin a new game. At the game’s title screen, in. The out how much trouble you ar e the introductory sequence to find sequence will end on a screen that shows the joining of three trails outdoors a garage door. next to a mysterious structure with

Two icons appear on the top-left of and your scr een: a hand (for “do” “walk to” actions) and a magnifying glass (for “e xamine” actions). Let’s investigate the surroundings. Select the Magnifying Glass Icon, and: Click or tap on the garage door. Click or tap on the big bush next to the garage. Click or tap onthe area where the trails join together. the bottom of the screen. Click or tap on the brush that is at Let’s try of that gave absolutely no good information whatsoever. Great. All or tap on the door. opening the garage. Select the Hand Icon, and then click screen. Make sure the hand icon is still Brilliant. Still nothing. Let's try another that heads toward the top of the selected, and then click or tap on the trail ection). The main character will now screen. (Let's say that this is the north dir walk north and the screen will change. xt to a radio Interesting. Here is alittle shack ne north next to tower. There is a trail that goes ’t really see it the shack (even though you can nd another because it goes downhill) a direction that goes off to the left, or west). Let’s Click on the look at what’s around her e. magnifying glass icon, and: the tower. . Click or tap on left side of the tower the rungs on the Click or tap on door. radio shack of the tower. Click or tap on the that’s at the base little gray block Click or tap on the Hand something. Select the around; let’s now try to do Alright, we’ve looked and: Icon, door. radio shack . Click or tap on the left side of thetower rungs on the of the tower. Click or tap on the that’s at the base on the little gray block Click or tap idea of . You may have an screen right now . can be done on this other parts of the game Not a whole lot for in items you’ll want to look very left of kinds of inventory g or tapping on the what to the left by clickin . exiting to another scene For the meantime, try een will change left trail. The scr the screen near the es, and a power pole with wir e there’s a trail and of e’s a screen wher r didn’t plan out all Okay, now ther se the game’s autho ewy. That’s becau orientation is scr the well. As it is, the main the game’s screens very om the east end and heads cter enters fr maybe chara west end. Or, down a hill toward the ed the cting trail that orient there was a conne over to the west a bit and then main character don’t worry south. Anyway, down toward the ound. Select the magnifying about it. Look ar and: glass icon, pole. Click or tap on the power on the trees. Click or tap somewhere path. Click or tap on the . geographic marker Click or tap on the icon and hing. Select the hand cting with somet screen. Let’s try intera the bottom of the Well, that’s that. . Now walk off or tap on the geographic marker click car. Let’s first check working on his dead een is a guy who’s and then: Aha! On thenext scr ifying glass icon, ngs. Click on the magn out the surroundi Click or tap on the car. Click or tap on the road. Then, click or tap on the character.

Now, let’s try interacting with the guy. This will be done with the hand icon. Select the hand icon, and then click or tap on the character. He will begin talki ng to you by sayi ng “Dude!” That’s because that is the type ofperson he is.

He’ll say stuff to you. Find out if he knows anything about the area. Work through the conversation topics until you can get no further. You will car. This is a puzzle to solve eventually find that he wants battery cables for his can provide to you in within the game, as there may be something that he to be persistent with him. exchange. Or maybe not. You may need

That ends the Introductory Walkthrough. You should now have an idea of what the Epsilon Outcome gameplay is like.