ROSS'S GAME DUNGEON: PUZZLE AGENT

[Ross Scott]

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Merry almost-not-Christmas! I managed to get this Christmas episode out pretty late, but it should still be Christmas in the timezones I'm aiming for! I almost covered this game last winter, but it got to be too late and there wasn't any snow left on the ground, so I saved it for this one, since we of course have snow everywhere. Everyone has snow. Everywhere. Enjoy the episode.

 

COMMENTS

[Grakiao]

I was not expecting this, I love puzzle agent! Thanks for the great episode!

[Descriptor]

Aw hell ya, Grickle is just the best thing.

My personal favorite animation in that series is Far, far, far, away up North.

Just the beautiful insanity of it warms my heart.

It's not something that relies on vulgarity or gore or offensiveness to be off-putting. In fact, it's totally innocuous and innocent.

And just friggen bonkers in all the best ways.

Hell, they should make a Puzzle Agent cartoon series, especially now that Twin Peaks and Fargo have come back.

I will say that I did like the sequel, although it got a bit confusing and rushed towards the end.

That bit with the Russian woman who also loved puzzles had me in stitches, though.

[SM64Guy]

Finally, a game I've already played has appeared on the Game Dungeon.

[Reverend_UshankaCat_]

I'm not a big fan of puzzle games, but I really like this art style. Nice episode!

[Kellerautomat]

Thanks a bunch for this episode! I wasn't aware of the game and love everything puzzle-oriented, so I immediately bought it and spend the afternoon playing through it. It was every bit as additcting and strange as advertised, so now I'm happy^^.

Oh, and Wallace and Gromit are great, don't worry:D

[Heliocentrical]

I was looking at Professor Layton at one point and considered getting it but the bits of story I saw in playthroughs to me looked really uninteresting. Maybe it gets interesting once you've played through the game and have the whole picture. But I'm not willing to invest time into something that doesn't grip me right off the bat. I will say however Puzzle Agent does grip me. The Grickle World looks like it's packed to brim with all sorts of weird stuff that I would be interested in alongside logic puzzles sounds like a win win to me unlike Professor Layton.

[cwnmamau]

I think this is the first Game Dungeon game I've actually played myself. When I saw which game it was I immediately thought "Of course!"

 

I'm normally not a puzzle-game fan, but I really enjoyed Puzzle Agent for the zany Fargo-meets-Wallace-and-Gromit story.

[Presence]

Now that was a very good episode, but please stop spoiling endings for story driven games. This is twice in a row now! It makes me have to pause watching and go buy and finish the game before I complete the episode. Which I did, but still.

 

I have trouble with games that have a totally silly premise. I'll still play them, but they never quite click with me. I definitely like the self contained puzzles though. I recently said of "The Room", it's nice to have an adventureish game without all the constant faffing about from screen to screen.

[Heliocentrical]

So here's my late Christmas present for everyone. I went and wrote down the entire office directory list for those who want to read it. It's pretty much impossible to read in the video due to the speed of the scrolling and slowing down the video to read them isn't exactly ideal. They're quite interesting. I think we've also come full circle with cow shed listed as one of the directories. It's D1 to be specific.

 

 

OFFICE DIRECTORY

COUNTER TERRORISM.....A2

COUNTER INTELLIGENCE.A4

CYBER JUSTICE................B1

ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME.B3

LABORATORY DIVISION...C2

AUTOPSIES.....................B2

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS.B4

CIA AT THE FBI.................C5

DEPT OF SURVEILLANCE..Q2

LIBRARY............................L5

MAIMTRON FACTORY......M5

MAMOGRAPHY.................B8

ON SITE DENTISTRY.........D8

VAMPIRE MILITARY..........V7

DEPARTMENT OF LISTS...G7

CLOSET MONSTERS.........R7

DEPT OF CHEESES...........Q2

HOUSEWARES....................N2

REALLY SMALL GUNS......V1

"PERSONAL" AFFAIRS.....U5

ANAARCHY IN THE FBI......T3

DEPT OF SEAMSTRESSES.D6

DEER HOUSE.................G6

MOONFIRE SPAM...........M3

RESTROOMS.....................Y8

SPIES...............................R2

ENGINEERING....................F2

HOT EAR...........................I7

DEPARTMENT OF SUITS..G8

ANESTHESIOLOGY...........W5

BUREAU OF WORDS..........L4

CRACKING TOAST............W4

X AGENCY.........................X1

INTERAGENCY DATING...U5

XXZYRXZ OUTPOST..........T7

COAL SCUTTLE.................S3

LAGOMORPHOLOGY.......M4

CEMETERY........................C6

DRMINARY........................S6

HOUSE OF PUPPETS........P8

DEPARTMENT OF FISH.....F5

WINDOW WASHING........Q6

BOMB DISPOSAL & YOU..C4

TOP SECRET.....................A8

TURKEY HATCHERY.........T5

THUMB TWIDDLING........K5

BUCKET RETRIEVAL.........L3

DWARF REMOVAL............J9

LOBOTOMIES....................F4

HABERDASHERY..............G9

STAIR PROTECTION..........S1

BUREAUOF NAVAL LINT...J2

COW SHED........................D1

DEPT OF SIGNAGE...........K7

CRYPTOZOOLOGY...........W5

SASQUATCH REASEARCH...X6

PUZZLE INVESTIGATION..Z9

 

[Presence]

Why is cryptozoology separate from Sasquatch research?

[hyperjon]

Regarding Magic Eye pictures, there's one technique to see the hidden image, and it's through crossing eyes. Basically you can use your keyboard as a reference point: stare at the keys and begin to cross your eyes until the keys kind of merge with each other, then look up at the image.

[danielsangeo]

Regarding Magic Eye pictures, my method always sounds different than others but I can still see them.

 

Here's how I learned how to do it:

 

1. First, practice by touching your two index fingers together, similar to this picture.

2. Now, look behind your fingers to something in the background. This will create a "double image" effect with your index fingers.

3. Try to create a mini "sausage" between your index fingers, something like this. This is the effect you're looking to do with the Magic Eye pictures.

4. On a Magic Eye picture, study the design. You will notice a repeating pattern. Do the "double image" effect on the picture, bringing together the similar patterns until they overlap.

5. You should now be able to see the 3D image.

 

You can also do the same with "3D images" and "3D videos" online that do side-by-side. Create the "double image" effect and bring together the two to create a "third" image (similar to the fingers "sausage") in the middle. You should be able to see 3D without the use of glasses or VR goggles.

[Nex]

There's people that don't like Wallace and Gromit?

[Presence]

Probably the biggest misconception I had about stereograms is I thought they'd be worth my time. So I spent two solid hours once to see a couple. And they just look like 3d models that have been textured in the same pattern as the background of the image. You want a quick stereogram, buy a Twilight Sparkle doll and paste ugly wallpaper all over her, then stick her in a shoebox that's lined with the same wallpaper. Oh look, what a valuable thing you have just done with your time.

 

Stereograms are like that spinning ballerina optical illusion where you can learn to swap which way she's turning. It's an interesting effect and says a lot about how the brain works, but it'd be insane for it to be some kind of pop cultural phenomenon. Some can do it easy, others have a really hard time, and in the end, it's one of the most worthless skills imaginable to train.

 

I suspect the whole reason people egg each other on with these is pure trolling. "What, you can't see the forest gnome? Just get real drunk, cross your eyes, and back away slowly from the poster."

[Evil Jim]

I could see the magic eye picture & it just looked like some overlapping triangles. You weren't missing much.

[ScottD.Betson]

i liked this video Ross, i know i like Wallace and Grommit, the studio behind them us also behind Peter Gabriels Sledgehammer video, aswell as Chicken Run, Shaun The Sheep and Flushed away, Wallace and Grommit is possibly one of my favourite animated shows of all time

[Presence]

I just completed Puzzle Agent 2, and you're exactly right about it. It's not stupid; obviously a puzzle fanatic wouldn't want to leave a case hanging like that, but they just couldn't keep from spoiling the tone of the first game. It also feels a lot more linear, since there's less times you can go back and talk to people about events that have happened or revisit previous sections.

 

And I HATE number chunk puzzles. "Oh, it's just the digits of tau split into odd chunks. That's a cool puzzle, right?"

 

NO, IT IS NOT A COOL PUZZLE.

[Descriptor]

I just completed Puzzle Agent 2, and you're exactly right about it. It's not stupid; obviously a puzzle fanatic wouldn't want to leave a case hanging like that, but they just couldn't keep from spoiling the tone of the first game. It also feels a lot more linear, since there's less times you can go back and talk to people about events that have happened or revisit previous sections.

 

And I HATE number chunk puzzles. "Oh, it's just the digits of tau split into odd chunks. That's a cool puzzle, right?"

 

NO, IT IS NOT A COOL PUZZLE.

Oh yeah, I hated those puzzles. Lol, hope you have prior knowledge, or else your screwed.

Didn't the 2nd game actually start with that one?

Awful.

 

And while I remember it, one thing I didn't like about the cost-per-puzzle mechanic was that the value was always the same (assuming you didn't fail it). I kinda wish they added a time component to make it more of an interesting score, and to keep the joke going.

[danielsangeo]

Subs up!