The show must go on, unless of course there's a big burly dude waiting to break your fingers. Though he learned from his previous mistakes and arrived to host the Game Developer's Conference prepared, Double Fine's Tim Schafer never expected to have to prove he really is, y'know, Tim Schafer, to a giant of a security guard who won't let him onstage. In the adventure game Host Master Deux: Quest for Identity, created by Benedikt Hummel and Marius Fietzek, Tim's got to track down everything he needs to convince the burly gatekeeper he's the one and only. He'll need a Schafer-like beard, more Schafer-ly attire, and some classic Schafer-esque jokes, but rounding all of that up is going to be anything but straightforward. Or sane.
Use the [arrow] keys to move and jump, and tap [spacebar] to interact, with the [1-5] number keys used to select dialogue options. You can only carry one item at a time, and hitting [spacebar] will cause you to try to use it, or you can use the down [arrow] to drop it at your feet to be picked up again whenever you like with the same key.
Though drastically different in style from 2009's misadventure, Quest for Identity is definitely no less funny, albeit in a more surreal way. The art and animation are adorable, with a funky and fitting (though somewhat repetitive) soundtrack by Major Bueno. While all of the puzzles are weird, they also make a strange sort of sense within the game's quirky world concept, so experimenting and paying attention to your surroundings will get you pretty far. It's on the short side even with a few different endings, but despite a little tediousness from trooping back and forth with only one item at a time, it's still a fantastic, gleefully giggly adventure to brighten your day.
Walkthrough Guide
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Host Master Deux Walkthrough
The Shirt
Talk to Greg (the guy at the buffet table in the backstage room) and ask him to lend you his shirt. You can keep asking for different ones until you get one you like.
Of course, the shirt's too big for you. Go to the laundry room (first floor, all the way to the right). Put the shirt in the washer on the far right.
This puzzle takes experimentation. Obviously, you want the washer to shrink the shirt to just the right size without any unwanted side effects. The left button changes the detergent type (which affects the side effects), the middle button changes the temperature (which affects how much the shirt is shrunk), and the right button starts the washer. If you screw up, go back to Greg and ask for another shirt.
Here's the solution: detergent to "King Spring" (second from the top), temperature to "Hot" (also second from the top). Once you've got your perfectly shrunken shirt, hold it and press SPACE to put it on.
The Beard
On your way to the mansion, note the beard bird. Take the cookie crumbs it was snacking on.
Put the cookie crumbs on the bird feeder on the balcony (second floor, all the way to the left). If you leave and return, you'll note that you've attracted the bird but can't get it to stick around.
Go to the kitchen (first floor, first room past the stairs) and examine the white bottle on the counter in the foreground to get a sleeping pill.
Put the sleeping pill in the bird feeder with the crumbs. Leave and return and watch the bird drop.
Go to the path up to the mansion and find the bird. Take it and press SPACE to wear it... or try to.
Note the golden thing under the carpet in the foyer (first floor, room with the stairs). Press SPACE while standing under it to get it: a key.
Try to head all the way to the right on the second floor, and you'll run into a locked door. Obviously, the key unlocks it.
There's some glue on the side of the rocket in the lab (second floor, all the way to the right). It won't come off by hand, though. Fetch the knife from the kitchen to cut it free.
Press SPACE while holding the glue to splatter some over your chin, then go take the bird again and apply it in place. It'll stick this time.
The Humor
The door in the floor of the studio (first floor, second room past the stairs) leads to the joke vault. Since the only other real object of interest in this room is the drum set, that probably has something to do with opening it. You can reach it by jumping on the stairs to the left of it, but you can't play it... or can you?
Go to the den (second floor, first room to the left from the stairs). Examine the shelf on the left to get the drumsticks... and wreck the TV. Oops.
Go use the drumsticks on the drums to play them... but nothing happens. Mash for a while, then quit.
Go to the bedroom (second floor, first room to the right from the stairs). Put the drumsticks on the shrine for a blessing, then take them back.
Play the drums again. This time, after a bit of mashing, the door will open. Don't forget to put the drumsticks down.
Drop into the trapdoor and go right, then continue down the path. Take the conspicuous box to the left of the dome.
Go to the bouncer while still holding the box, and tell the bouncer a joke.
Endings
(Normal end) After the bouncer leaves, head off to the left past where he was standing.
(Awesome end) Instead of going on stage, take the lighter the bouncer dropped and return to the workroom (second floor, all the way to the right). Light the fuse, then quickly jump into the open hatch. (Don't interact with the ladder, just jump.)
(Tragic end) Light the rocket's fuse, but don't climb into the rocket before it launches. Then, go out on stage as in the normal end.
(Disappointment end) Same as the normal end, but take a sleeping pill at some point during the game. (Keep pressing SPACE while holding one and Tim will eventually relent.)
(Whiplash end) Awesome end + sleeping pill.
(Close call end) Tragic end + sleeping pill.
Posted by: SonicLover | March 27, 2013 9:47 AM