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  Carmen Sandiego was an idea that started in 1983 by a Broderbund programmer named Dane Bigham. He wanted to create a menu-driven text adventure game to be played Apple II computer and would eventually work with Broderbund's arts, Gene Portwood and Lauren Elliott. The game had the premise where the player would chase various crooks. Broderbund co-founder Gary Carlston suggested changing the concept to geography, and even get the player to use the World Almanac in finding the answers. Bigham focused on the interface while Carlston brought in David Siefkin to build the game's story, adding to the original idea of catching various criminals and would even make various personas. And so, a legend was born: Carmen Sandiego.  Many of the staff found the character appealing. Her name was mysterious and being a female character could help bring in girls to appreciate the game. The script continued to build out the lore of Sandiego's criminal organization, V.I.L.E. (Villains' International League of Evil) and the player's organization ACME Detective Agency ('A Company that Makes Everything'. I find it a great nod to Looney Tunes.) The player, starting as an ACME recruit, would then chase down the various villains, solving geography-based clues and raise up the ranks until the final hunt for Sandiego. Where in the World was a success for the company and even more so for an educational video game. It was more than educational. It was interactive, immersive, and made research and finding answers fun and exciting. What made the games even better was that Broderbund was not messing around with this product. The games were mostly consistent throughout its history. Minor details would change, like Carmen's origins and no set canon was put in place. However, the concept remained the same: chase bad guys using clues and your newfound knowledge of history, geography, and culture. The main thing Broderbund had going for them was how to market the game. The company didn't outright call it an 'educational' game, but 'exploration'. They play-tested the games in schools and considered prices for teachers. Response cards were in the boxes for kids and parents to write to the company directly. Kids were soon asking for it on their home computers, adding to the success. Then there were more games. Then, a TV show on PBS and eventually, Netflix. Concerts. Planetarium Shows. For this LP, we're going to play the one that got me into history: Great Chase Through Time from 1997. I believe it is considered a reboot of the Where in Time.. from 1989. They even shared the same name at one point. Regardless, this was a great update from earlier games in the series.  The game consists of 19 mysteries. They are very easy to solve, but still a lot of fun. There are puns, information, and some great insights to history for a kid. This is how I see this LP playing out:
*I'll record and put-up videos of the cutscenes because they are pretty cool. Also, Lynne Thigpen is in some of them, and she was the greatest. *I will put in little tidbits of basic research and articles in my posts. I will add some basic videos. If you studied Egyptian History or Japanese History or anything like that, your insight is encouraged, and I will even ask questions to bring up at the end of each mystery. *Gush about your love for the show and games. Seriously, they really nailed it with these games, and I would love to hear about your memories of playing them. Did you become a historian because of them? Did you gain a better understanding of history and various cultures? This is my first LP. I have been wanting to do one since I started lurking in 2010 and I wanted to start with a fun one that I haven't seen played yet and feel would garner great discussion. I've been inspired by many users in the past and I appreciate any feedback about how I'm doing. Feel free to PM me, as well. For now, let's get ready for fun, gumshoes!   Ann Tickwittee   Sir Vile
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Feb 14, 2022 20:02
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Feb 14, 2022 20:03
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 Welcome to the first mystery, gumshoes! Let's start off with a quick nostalgia bite.  (Click image for Video) I don't know about you, but I feel ready to take down some time criminals.  This is the main menu after the intro music. It's very basic. You'll see three choices of Case Log, Replay Opening, and Options.
*Replay Opening is replaying a credit sequence we haven't seen yet. *Options gives us a chance to turn off subtitles, sound, etc. The usual works. There's even a little option for the hearing-impaired which I thought was pretty neat. With that out of the way, and my lovely name displayed, let's play!  (Click image for Video) We start at the ACME Headquarters in the magical world of San Fransisco, California. Something seems to be...afoot.  In the middle of the night on top of the ACME awning, a dark figure is motioning toward the back of the ACME sign. The figure looks familiar, don't you think? "Let's go!" A woman's voice? Why does that seem oddly familiar?  Another dark figure pops out from behind the ACME sign and gets on the ground. Strangely enough, there's only one guard stationed at the front of the ACME Detective Agency. You'd think the place with experimental time travel capabilities would have put up more defenses.  After the dark figure incapacitates the ACME guard, more dark figures pop from the ACME sign and just...head right in the front door. Seriously, I think we need to talk to the Chief about our lack of defenses at the HQ.  What comes next is a great sequence.  The band of villains make it to what appears to be a lab of some kind. The shot leads to a strange container at the far end of the room.  Hm...Red hat...brown hair...red jacket? Hey, wait a minute...that has to be!  : Mine, at last! : The one and only ACME Chronoskimmer!The Chronoskimmer kind of reminds me of a mixture of PSP, Atari Lynx and and RG300X.  The V.I.L.E crew in all its chorus line glory! : Prepare for a wild ride, my friends. This new time travel device will allow us to tunnel back in time and steal history's greatest treasures.How rude.  : I'm going to drop each of you off at a different time and place in history. Your job is to steal a historical object. Each of you will receive a note revealing EXACTLY where to hide until I pick you up. Don't forget, tear up that note, so no ACME agents can track you down. : Chronoskimmer activated! History awaits!And so with that, the credit sequence is finished! Let's see how we can help the Chief.  (Click image for video) Oh look, there's the Chief now! Maybe we can tell her about how the defenses are severely lacking...  : Welcome to ACME Time Net, Time Pilot!Try saying that five times fast. : We got a major problem. Carmen Sandiego, the world's most notorious thief, just stole our Chronoskimmer. What's a Chronoskimmer? The only time travel device on the planet, that's all! Now, Carmen and her cohorts control it and they're on their way to steal historic treasures from the past! If they succeed, all of world history will be thrown out of whack!Whoa. That's pretty heavy. I mean, I feel like this could have easily been avoided with more guards, lasers, or maybe some moats. Maybe the moats with the alligators or piranhas in the water... : Only one person can stop them: YOU!Wait, what? How? I just started today, Chief! : I'll tell you how. Wherever the Chronoskimmer goes, it leaves a time tunnel behind. Think of it as a passage between two holes in the fabric of time.Internal J.J. Abrams joke intensifies. : It was a problem we not got around to fixing, and it's a good thing we never did, because now you can follow the thieves' trail through the time tunnels.Sure, I'll fix history as we know it. Too bad J.J. couldn't fix Star Trek. Bazing.  An inconspicuous blackhole appears! I guess that's the time por- : There's the time portal. So, jump in and I'll give you more details as you travel.Shouldn't I be wearing some kind of EVA suit or something? Do some precautions or something before diving into a blackhole that may or may not be dangerous? I don't think this is OSHA-approved, Chief. Chief? CHIEF?! : It's take-off time, time pilot!And so, we are presumably pulled into the Time Portal by our guilt of letting the Chief down.  (Click image for video) In the Time Tunnel, I start to question my life choices until Chief appears from the void. : When you're here in the tunnel I can talk to you, but once you're in the past I'll be out of contact. Hehe. In fact, I won't even be born yet.Yeah, real funny, Chief... : But don't worry, I'll send along an ACME Good Guide to help you. This first trip is a long one. You're going all the way back to Ancient Egypt where there's something vile on the Nile. Queen Hatshepsut should have taken the throne by now, but it hasn't happened yet. Find out why!Well, that sounds easy enough.  Another person appears. This must be our good guide for the mission. : Here's Ann Tickwittee now. She's got your Chronopedia and your ACME Time Cuffs. Carmen always leaves a note, telling her crooks where to hide, so, collect any note scraps you may find. And here's the most important thing, Carmen and her creeps have messed up history, so, do the world a favor and set things straight!Hey, no pressure, of course.  With our mission at hand, we are sucked back in time to Ancient Egypt.  It looks incredibly pleasant. I'm not sure how that boatman thinks about what he just saw though. I mean, a rift in space just opened in front of him...  : Whoa, time traveling always gives me a head rush. ~Cool~.I'm not sure if that's from the time portal by the way you said that cool, Ann...  : Oh, and remember, I'm here to help. If you get stuck, you can ask me for advice anytime!As you can imagine this is the tutorial mission. Ann directs us to what to do next, but we can indeed ask her for advice. : Have a question? Each of the good guides have a questioning stance when you ask them for help. This is Ann's and it's cute. Ann was a good choice for the first guide. Let's go ahead and ask Ann a question. Cool. We're in Egypt. What should we do now? : Let's start by talking to that boatman over there.It does become a bit more useful later on when you are genuinely stuck on things. However, being the tutorial level, it will be hand holding you. After asking a question, the option will be highlighted yellow, showing you have asked the question before. Okay, thanks Ann. Let's go ahead and talk to the Boatman.  : Welcome, strangers. You can talk to me by selecting any of the questions below.Well, he's friendly, so that's a good sign. I was worried I was going to be thrown in the Nile. He also appears to be knowledgeable about the area so let's look at the questions.  All right. I suppose we should start with the tried and true "Who". Who is Queen Hatshepsut?  Okay, that's cool. What is a pharaoh? : A pharaoh is a descendant of the gods who rule over all the people of Egypt.Uh...right. That seems a bit dramatic, but I've met musical theater kids. Where does a pharaoh rule from? : Ah! The very name yields a clue. The word pharaoh means "greatest house" -- and all the great pharaohs live in splendid houses indeed! Palaces, really.Okay, so a pharaoh is a person with a god complex who lives in a palace. Got it. Let's move on at talk about the reason we're here. What is troubling Hatshepsut? : It seems that Hatshepsut cannot properly bury her recently departed husband, the revered Pharaoh Thutmose II. Well, that sucks, but why can't Hatshepsut bury her husband properly? : She needs the Egyptian Book of the Dead to prepare her husband's mummy! But the Book has vanished!Did Henry Kissinger take it? How did the Book of the Dead disappear? : Some say that a strangely attired rogue stole the Book outright! The theft has sent a shock wave up and down the Nile!KISSINGER!  So now that we have a better idea of what we're looking for, let's see if we can get a lift on the boat. Can you take us to Hatshepsut's temple in your boat? : Certainly, but first you must assist me.Okay? How can we assist you? : That sack on the riverbank contains my supplies for preparing mummies. Please move it on my craft.Wow, dude. I mean, I know I'm a lazy goon, but that's just being Cleopatra at this point. Luckily, Ann chimes in. : To move that bag, Pilot, click down and hold. Then drag it up onto the boat.Yup! It's just that easy. We'll go over inventory in a moment. I'm gonna make the boatman wait, since he's too lazy to grab his own supplies. Let's check out the Sphinx! : The sphinx is a curious old creature, with a pharaoh's head and a lion's body. It was built during the reign of Pharaoh Khufu in the Old Kingdom, over one thousand years ago. Now that's old!That's cool. What about the pyramids in the horizon? : The Great Pyramid is considered the best-crafted structure on Earth. It's made of thousands of huge stone slabs, carefully fitted together. It's a staggering feat!I would say so. Do you think the pharaohs build it themselves or did they get some help? Don't answer that. What about the information on the Nile? : The Nile River floods once a year, and our farmers use irrigation canals to bring the life-giving water to their crops. The annual flood is a big event in Egypt!: The Nile flood also washes up a fertile black mud great for farming. This mud was so important to the Egyptians, that the color black represented Life.Just imagine the flood insurance. 'Sorry Amun, I can't cover the black mud stains on your home'. Anyway, just look at those stars, man! : Three thousand years of human history doesn't mean much to those stars. They've been shining for millions of centuries!That's one way to look at it, Ann. What does the boatman have to say about his boat? : My trusty boat can outrun a crocodile any day. Which is good, because the Nile has lots of crocodiles.That's reassuring, Boatman. Wow, with all that flavor text I forgot what we were supposed to do. Hey Ann. : How can I help?What should we do next? : The boatman asked us to load his bag. Try holding down and dragging the bag onto the boat!Oh, right. Well, if it gives a lift, I'll help. As I said earlier, it's as easy as clicking the mouse and dragging it to the boat. It needs to say something like 'Put x onto y' for it to work or snaps back where it came from. Fortunately for us, I put the bag on the boat! : I thank you for carrying provisions on board. It will be darkest night by the time we land. So please take one of my spare torches from the boat -- you'll need it!All right! Not only did we nab a boat ride, but we can also get a torch.  I wonder which one they want me to take? Jokes aside, you take the mouse and take all the way down to your inventory at the bottom of the screen. With our torch in hand, let's take a quick look at the inventory.  The first item on the left is our ACME Time Cuffs. After we find three note scraps, our Good Guide will activate them, and we can use them to arrest our V.I.L.E. criminal. The torch is afterwards, looking too phallic for me not to snicker. The ACME book on the right is our Chronopedia. It will contain information about the time period we're in and give some interesting facts to help us find our bad guy. We won't look at it until the Time Cuffs are activated though. : All is in order. Now my oars will carry us to Hatshepsut's temple!: We're ready to shove off. Take another look around if you like. If not, let the boatman know we're ready to cruise the Nile!With no more flavor text to pick up and nothing else to do, let's finally talk to the boatman and head out. : Hello, again! Can you believe the troubles besetting poor Queen Hatshepsut?Yes, tragic. Now can we leave for Hatshepsut's temple? : As you wish! Hold on while I push off!Ann runs like the roadrunner to the boat, and we are whisked away to no cutscene.  And a whole lot of questions. Next time, we talk to the Queen and try and find the Necronomicon...erm...Book of the Dead. My Face When fucked around with this message at 20:08 on Feb 14, 2022 |
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Feb 14, 2022 20:03
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Aaaaaaaa I had this game as a kid! And I loved it, too. Blew my little mind at parts. I am watching this with bated breath.
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Feb 14, 2022 21:16
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I'm in the wrong part of the world to have experienced these games but that's never stopped me wallowing in other people's nostalgia before. So far I like what I see.
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Feb 14, 2022 21:29
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Black Robe posted:I'm in the wrong part of the world to have experienced these games but that's never stopped me wallowing in other people's nostalgia before. So far I like what I see. Same here on all three counts. I love seeing old adventure games anyhow, they bring back nostalgia for the ones I had growing up.
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Feb 14, 2022 21:35
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Oh wow, this is a blast from the past. I'd completely forgotten this existed but I absolutely had this as a kid (though I don't remember much of it beyond the structure of finding three clues to the enemy's hiding spot, I don't think I ever played it all the way through). It'll be fun to see how well this holds up.
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Feb 14, 2022 22:35
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Explopyro posted:Oh wow, this is a blast from the past. I'd completely forgotten this existed but I absolutely had this as a kid (though I don't remember much of it beyond the structure of finding three clues to the enemy's hiding spot, I don't think I ever played it all the way through). It'll be fun to see how well this holds up. More or less same deal for me, except I actually did beat it. I do remember the 2nd to last mission pretty clearly though. Mostly 'cause its final step had me hung up for a little while, but that's a ways off.
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Feb 14, 2022 22:53
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I don't remember if I actually ever beat this or not; I was a stupid kid and found it very difficult.  Regardless, super stoked to see this LP! It was my first point and click adventure game, and I've got a lot of fond memories.
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Feb 15, 2022 00:04
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Looking forward to this! One small note: " It was a problem we not got around to fixing,"
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Feb 15, 2022 00:15
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I played the poo poo out of this as a kid. It ruled looking forward to the LP
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Feb 15, 2022 00:27
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Discendo Vox posted:Looking forward to this! Yeah, there's a few grammatical errors I need to clean up. I may have been a little overzealous and wanted to post it as soon as I felt it was ready. I'll be more mindful in future posts on the grammar.
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Feb 15, 2022 01:32
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Oh my god I loved this loving game as a kid and I never knew anyone else who played it. Looking forward to seeing more ridiculously aggressively 90s animation.
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Feb 15, 2022 02:36
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I remember this one, I played about all the games even the really old one for Carmen, seen the planetarium show. Good Times
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Feb 15, 2022 03:23
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yes please capture that dastardly Carmen Sandiego so chief can put her and her broad creamy shoulders in the acme dungeon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUxsIW3auGk
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Feb 15, 2022 03:48
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Never played this one in particular, but the originals (USA, World, Time and Space) took up a good chunk of my lunch hours back in the 90s. Is knowledge of science fiction authors going to be vitally important to this one? I believe that was the identifying detail in the original (Where In Time).
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Feb 15, 2022 08:14
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Each of the cases in this are self-contained, point-and-click adventure game style. The in-game Chronopedia for each era has the relevant clues, so there's not even an encyclopedia to lose.
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Feb 15, 2022 08:16
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I remember playing the original Carmen Sandiego games on Mac and DOS. I think. I had no idea that a late 90s remake existed. Looking forward to this.
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Feb 15, 2022 08:26
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I loved this game as a kid. I remember getting stuck in a few places, it was surprisingly tough for a kid? Or maybe I was dumber than I’d like to remember. I ended up donating the discs to an elementary school teacher, and it seemed like kids continued to like it. I’ve also thought about trying to replay it recently, so it’s great to see a LP of it.
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Feb 15, 2022 08:56
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Quackles posted:Each of the cases in this are self-contained, point-and-click adventure game style. The in-game Chronopedia for each era has the relevant clues, so there's not even an encyclopedia to lose. Thank goodness. (Used to be for copy protection of sorts, you'd need to input a specific word from the included encyclopedia to get promoted. I was the first in my class to nab Carmen, but couldn't get promoted to Chief cause the encyclopedia mysteriously went missing, and turned up next week when another kid made it, stealing MY glory.) Does this have proper sound, or is it computer speaker beeps and chiptunes?
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Feb 15, 2022 11:01
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Cobalt-60 posted:
Yes! At least I certainly hope so. I didnt have anything else open whilst recording. I had to boost the sound in the Chief scenes because it was really low so that may also be it too. Cobalt-60 posted:Is knowledge of science fiction authors going to be vitally important to this one? I believe that was the identifying detail in the original (Where In Time). If memory serves me, I believe so. It will certainly be late game talk, as we will be helping Soviet astronauts go to ~*SPACE*~. However, with all these wormholes, let's start a quick discussion. Where the heck did these wormholes come from? What is the science behind it? Who really put the theory on the map? What sci fi books has the best representation? We have our Stargates and Star Treks but i think the theory came from Hawking? Or was it Einstein? Hold on, I've been wanting to do this: ENGAGE. My Face When fucked around with this message at 13:24 on Feb 15, 2022 |
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Feb 15, 2022 13:08
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Cobalt-60 posted:Does this have proper sound, or is it computer speaker beeps and chiptunes? Proper sound, and complete, full voice acting. They even hired Charles Martinet for a role or two! He plays Beethoven, I think.
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Feb 15, 2022 18:28
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Played a few of the Carmen games, but not this one. It looks like fun. I just hope there’s a way to close the time tunnels after we finish using them. I also wonder where the other nine VILE crooks are in that picture and if any of them might be actual historical characters. Probably not, but you never know. Let’s go find Imhotep. He may know something about the Book of the Dead. Or were he and Hashepshut in separate eras? Probably-I never really studied Egyptology.
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Feb 15, 2022 21:30
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achtungnight posted:Played a few of the Carmen games, but not this one. It looks like fun. I just hope there’s a way to close the time tunnels after we finish using them. I also wonder where the other nine VILE crooks are in that picture and if any of them might be actual historical characters. Probably not, but you never know. According to my research, Imhotep would be Old Kingdom era, as he was chancellor to Pharaoh Djoser in the 3rd Dynasty. Hatshepsut is New Kingdom era of the 18th Dynasty.  No references to Brendan Fraser here.I'll have part two up tomorrow. With it will be basic research and some neat videos on the subject of Hatshepsut and Ancient Egypt. My Face When fucked around with this message at 21:47 on Feb 15, 2022 |
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Feb 15, 2022 21:40
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... I forgot how much I miss The Chief. She was such a huge part of my childhood
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Feb 15, 2022 23:29
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wedgekree posted:... I forgot how much I miss The Chief. She was such a huge part of my childhood Lynn Thigpen will always be The Chief. With the animated AI Chief being a fun, but distant, second.
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Feb 16, 2022 01:23
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berryjon posted:Lynn Thigpen will always be The Chief. With the animated AI Chief being a fun, but distant, second. She's missed. missed so much.
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Feb 16, 2022 03:11
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Ninja'd.
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Feb 16, 2022 11:09
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I only played the one for the older Amiga, the sound of the printer in that game is stuck in my head. Looking forward to this!
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Feb 16, 2022 17:56
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I want to say thank you to everyone who's posted so far. It's been a warm welcome and I didn't expect it. I hope to make you proud, goons. I'm not crying, YOU'RE CRYING! Anyway, we have a mystery to solve.  Last time, we had to pick up a bag and put it on the boat for a lazy boatman. We also learned about Queen Hatshepsut and our mission goal, the Book of the Dead. Speaking of the Queen...  No guards?! There is no way. There also seems to be a littering problem from the Queen too. Let's pick it up! : Hey! That must be a shred of the secret note Carmen wrote for her thief! Once we find all the pieces of Carmen's note, we'll be able to deduce the thief's hiding spot!All right! We are on the right track. Granted, this level is pretty linear, but appreciate the little things. Let's check out the first clue.  Hm. Well, who knows where that could lead to? At least, we're one step closer. Let's talk to Hatshepsut!  : Good day, travelers. Have you come to offer aid?I mean, I don't think we can leave without helping you, so, yes? What seems to be the problem? : All is in crisis! First my husband, Pharaoh Thutmose II, passed from this life. And now I cannot even arrange for his safe passage to the next world because someone has stolen the Book of the Dead!Kissinger, you lich! We'll find your phylactery eventually! Hey, wait...How can a book affect your dead husband's travel plans? : The Book of the Dead is not just any book. It helps us Egyptians prepare a body into a well-preserved mummy. The Book is then entombed with the mummy, to serve as a guide in the afterlife.Oh, okay. So, like a map when you're dodging the flames of Hell. Sounds useful. What will happen if your husband isn't properly buried? : If not properly mummified, my husband will be vulnerable to evil spirits! Only the Book of the Dead can guide and protect him in the realm of the dead. So fire AND demons?! Are you sure this book isn't also a weapon? Jesus, anyway, who are you? : And who are you, that you do not know? I am His Majesty Makare Hatshepsut -- esteemed pharaoh over the Upper and Lower lands of Egypt.Whoa, easy, ma'am. I meant no disrespect. I'm just gathering information. Wait, did you call yourself "his" majesty? : Indeed. I am a woman, but since Egyptian pharaohs are typically male, convention demands that I be addressed as a man and wear an official beard. It is a strange situation, but nothing I cannot handle.That's what she said. Well, it does seem like a peculiar situation. Tell me, Queen, how did you become pharaoh? : When my husband Pharaoh Thutmose II passed on, his son Thutmose III was only five years old and too young to rule. I therefore took the throne for myself, and I've discovered it suits me exceedingly well.At least Hatshepsut found her niche! All right, Pharaoh, how can we help you? : Observe the distant tomb, in the Valley of the Kings. Within, my head priest labors at the side of my later husband. Please enter the tomb and help the head priest finish the mummification ceremony!Okay, thanks. First level and we're going to help bury some bodies.  : Hey, don't forget, we can always re-ask any questions we've already brought up.I think we have got all we need from the Queen, but let's see what advice Ann has. : How can I help?We've been through a lot in the past...uh...five minutes and I have the attention span of a fish. What's our main mission for Hatshepsut?  Oh right, mummies! Okay, thanks Ann. Before we go, let's check out what the ladies have to say about the surroundings. Let's start with the trees! : These myrrh trees weep precious oils valued for their healing properties and scented smoke. My traders brought them back from their voyage to Punt.Punt, like a football? : The voyage to Punt, near Somalia, brought back rare woods, precious oils, and detailed information about African plants and animals. Murals of these African species can still be seen on the walls of Hatshepsut's temple in the 20th century!Oh man. I was imagining Ancient Egyptians play football. That's cool about the voyage though! I really like the temple behind the ladies. What do they have to say? : The magnificent temples of Egypt are all the rage nowadays -- they're much more popular than those stuffy old-fashioned pyramids. My temple at Der el-Bahri is the grandest of all!: Queen Hatshepsut built many monuments. But when her nephew Thutmose III succeeded her, he destroyed most of them. This temple is the only one that will survive to the modern age.Honestly, doing research for our discussion has shown me videos of the temple and I have no joke. It really is incredible. Good job, Queen!  Ann here is giving us a pretty suggestive hint. We have an unlit torch in our inventory. What if we use the unlit torch on the lit torch?  A pleasant ding indicates we did the correct thing, and we have a lit torch in the inventory. I like to think that you nonchalantly put it in your pocket while its lit. I have problems. : Way to go! Now we'll turn up the heat on this case!Punny, Ann. Very punny. With that, let's head for the tomb and help that Priest!  Everyone is so pleasant for having lost a precious treasure. Egypt must have done things differently! : Hmmm. First, we meet a pharaoh with a fake beard. Now we need to make a body into a mummy. This is one strange investigation!We're in ancient Egypt via a wormhole and you think a Pharaoh with a fake beard and a making a mummy is strange? Okay, Ann. Let's talk to the priest.  : Greetings, strangers! It's just you and me, and of course, the mummy! Perhaps you'd like to help?I feel like this is the start of a bad horror porno. All right, what's the problem? : We've been hard at work here transforming dear Thutmose into a proper mummy, for his trip to the afterlife. But all my assistants have run off looking for the thief who stole our Book of the Dead. I can't finish this mummy all by myself!Oh! Okay, that explains the lack of people around here. What needs to be done to finish the mummy? : Well, actually...I'm at a loss. As head priest, I rarely have to do the dirty work myself. I'm really more of a mummy manager. So with my helpers gone, I don't know what to do next!...Are we going to have to help lazy people again? Fine, fine. How can we help? : Somewhere in the tomb lies a second set of mummy-making instructions. But protocol demands that the head priest, that's me, avoid getting dusty. Luckily, you scruffy looking visitors look perfect for the search. ...I'm not scruffy. How dare you? I mean, look at you! What happened to your head? : Ah, you must mean my ceremonial mask. This mask represents Anubis, a fearsome god with the head of a desert jackal.Right, right. I bet you're so ugly that you scare away the dead, that's why you wear the mask. So is Anubis the god of the dogs? : Hardly! Anubis is the god of the dead, who weighs your heart before you enter the underworld. Oh...well...you're still ugly. Hold on. Does the god Anubis really weigh my heart? : Not precisely. He weighs your heart against the Feather of Truth to judge your worthiness! After death, the worthy go on to the afterlife, while the evil are gobbled up by the ever-famished monster, Ammit.With all those hearts, it's a wonder how Ammit doesn't get heartworms. Eh? Eh? Okay, priest. If we find burial instructions, are we finished? : Not exactly. The instructions will help us finish making the mummy. But we'll still need the Book of the Dead afterwards. For now, let's just stick to the mummy-making!All right, all right. One step at a time. Okay, thanks. Before we look for the instructions, it's flavor text time~. Let's check out what's in those canopic jars. : What do you keep in these jars?: Those are royal canopic jars, where King Thutmose's liver, lungs, stomach, and intestines are quietly resting.: Ugh! Sorry I asked.Imagine the smell. What do the two have to say about the dead Thutmose? : I'll bet Thutmose II looked better when he was ruling ten million people.: We recently removed the pharaoh's internal organs and packed him in salty natron to dry out. He has had better days.I'm now also rethinking beef jerky. There are some containers with hieroglyphs on a shelf behind Ann. What does she say about it? : My ancient Egyptian is rusty. I can't quite translate the hieroglyphs on these jars. You probably have a better concept on the language than me Ann, so at least you have that. The burial chamber is behind the Priest. I wonder if we can get inside and try and find these instructions? : We cannot enter the final burial chamber until the mummy is wrapped for its journey. Let us wind up our task!Okay, so can't go that way. On the right side of the screen is a big ol' hole just waiting to be walked in. I guess that's our next goal. But first, hey Ann! : What's up, Pilot?I missed our objective because I was too busy thinking of slick comebacks for the priest. What's our mission for the head priest? : He can't seem to manage finishing the mummy himself. He'll need our help figuring out the final mummification steps.Oh yeah, because he's having to stay /clean/ instead of finding it on his own. Right. Where can we find the instructions mentioned by the head priest? : He mentioned that mummy-making instructions might be hidden nearby. Let's go explore the rooms in the tomb!Okay, thanks Ann. With that done, let's go through that big black hole.  Good job, Ann. However, yeah, it's really dark in here. I think there's something by Ann's foot though... : Our time thief was in this tomb and dropped a piece of Carmen's note!Nice! One step closer to finding the criminal. Let's check it out with the first note.  A form? Like a figure? A rhombus? Anyway, we need to find these instructions and I have a burning feeling we have a way to find it. Let's use our torch!  Using the hold and drag technique, we can shine the light on the hieroglyphics. The first image I see is the priest pouring what appears to be milk on the soon-to-be mummy.  The Hieroglyph above that is a bunch of weird images but the one thing I focus on is that slug.  The Hieroglyph next to Mr. Slug is another assortment of images, but I focus on Birdie. Yes, I say it like Betty from Kung Pow.  The image under Birdie is the priest wrapping that mummy up. That seems pretty easy.  The next hieroglyphic is minimalist and shows a face.  And below that is the priest putting a mask on top of a wrapped body. : Hmmm. Did you see those hieroglyphs on the wall? I wonder what they mean.Well, I'm not sure exactly what they mean, but I like to put things in order. If we put the bottom images in order from left to right, you have: Priest pours something on the body, Priest wraps the body up, and then the Priest puts the mask on top of the wrapped face. For me, the easiest way to remember the top hieroglyphics is think of the images I focused on: Slug, Birdie, Face. With that in mind, we should probably head back and help that Priest.  : We've seen the sights. OK, Pilot, let's start the ceremony!Slow your roll, Ann. Have you never heard patience is a virtue? So rude. Anyway, you see those containers on the shelf. There's five of them and they have the weird hieroglyphs labeled on them. You remember the order and the single image I focused on? Let's start with the first step and look for Mr. Slug. Mr. Slug is on the container closest to the Priest. We click and drag it to the body. Make sure it says 'Use container on body' or it'll just snap right back to the shelf.  : Correct. The oil keeps the skin soft.: Cool. The hieroglyphs on that jar really do mean "oil."Great! Let's wrap the body and from what I can see, Birdie is the container closest to the Ann.  : Ah yes, that's right. This resin-soaked cloth protects the body from air and helps it hold the proper shape. Even in death, a pharaoh must keep up appearances!: Excellent. More genuine hieroglyphs decoded!Perfect. Last one is the minimal amount of imagery and is the container with the Face in the middle between the two bottles we'll never use. This contains our mask!  : Praise the gods -- that's a wrap! We still need the Book of the Dead, but for now let's move the mummy to the final burial chamber.Good job gumshoes! We still have to find our thief though. Maybe the burial chamber will provide one more clue...  All right. Before we start sleuthing, let's do some final flavor text of the level. Let's start with the hieroglyph on the right, closest to Ann. : That serious-looking dude is Osiris, the god of the underworld. Not the best guy to take a loan from.Not sure I get the joke, Ann. Let's move to the next one with the bird head. : This slender, ibis-headed individual is Thoth, the Egyptian god of wisdom. A real philosophical sort. Thoth just makes me want to play Renowned Explorers. Next, let's check the guy with the big hat. : This gentleman is Amun-Re, the sun god. Legend has it that every twelve hours, he and the sun rode across the sky in a boat. That's a hot boat. Let's check with the lady next to Amun-Re. : That's Isis, the mother goddess, who brought the mummified Osiris back to life. Did he sing Evanescence while she did it? Nevermind. Let's check the last hieroglyph and that one looks familiar! : This hungry-looking fellow is Anubis, God of death. His jackal head represents the real jackals that roamed Egyptian graveyards. Don't toss him a bone!But toss Ammit all the evil hearts! Hey there's a cute little boat on the table to the left. Let's see what Ann has to say. : This little skiff took the ultimate plunge -- it transported the dead to the Egyptian Afterlife.I see Greek and Egyptian mythology seemed to intersect. Oh, hey, fruit! What's up with that Ann? : The Egyptians prepared for everything. Food and Drink were placed in the tombs of the dead for their long journey to the afterlife. If I did that, it'd be chocolate, hamburgers and Dr. Pepper. Hey Ann, what's with the gold statue on the ground? : These statues are called ushabtis. They were servants who accompanied the royal dead. I imagine them as Power Rangers that kicked the demons in the balls. Hey Ann, anything to add about the mummy case in the middle? : That's called a sarcophagus. It protected the dead from grave robbers, wild beasts, and evil spirits. Perfect! With all the flavor text out of the way, let's pick up the last note scrap.  Let's see the complete note!  Pharoah's resting place, form, king of gods? This is hurting my head. : I'll activate the Time Cuffs straight away! Once they're active, use them on the hiding spot indicated in Carmen's note. And remember -- the Chronopedia can help us figure out what the Carmen Note means!All right, the cuffs are unlocked, and we get the figure out where our thief is. Let's take a moment to check out that Chronopedia.     As you can see, the Chronopedia is filled with information about the time period. It's pretty handy, especially in later levels. We also found our answer within the pages, and it looks like Amun-Re is the King of the Gods. Let's drag those cuffs over the hieroglyph.  (Click Image for Video) : Bulls-eye! Carmen's note pointed to the king of the gods -- and the means Amun-Re, the Egyptian sun God! Ann saunters over and proceeds to kick rear end.  Congratulations! We've solved the first mystery! Let's head back to the void and let the Chief know!  : Let's go Sir Vile. We got a nice, damp ACME cell where you can kick back and rust. : You have put the lid on my dark deeds for now, ACME agents, but you shall never seal my armored coat. Muwahahahaha!I get a feeling this may not be the last we see of Sir Vile. Let's check in with the Chief! : Congratulations! You snagged that sneaky Sir Vile, bagged the Book of the Dead, and even managed to mummify a Pharaoh.Pretty good start for a ACME recruit, if I do say so myself.  : I salute you. Thanks to you the ancient ruler will have laughter in the afterlife and Egyptian history is restored. Great job! There's another case ahead if you want to take it. Ready to get right back to work?The game will give us an option to continue on to the next case or quit the game. You know, Chief, going to Egypt has made me hungry for beef jerky. I think I'll wait until next time. : Okay then, take a break. Great work so far. Come back soon.Thanks Chief. Give me a moment to gather some jerky and we'll move onto the next part of the post: The RESEARCH DISCUSSION ---  *Starred links were my favorites! Recommended Videos: Crash Course on Ancient Egypt in general (>12Mins) The Infographic Show on the Egyptian Pyramids* (>12Mins) Crash Course on Ancient Egypt's Pantheon (>15Mins) Gods Before Him on Greek and Egyptian Gods (>5Mins) SAMA on Herodotus and Egyptian Influence on Greek Myth (>22 Mins) TED-Ed on The Book of the Dead (>5mins) The Infographics Show on The Book of the Dead* (>7Mins) TED-Ed on the Mummification Process (>5Mins) Cogito on Hatshepsut (>17Mins) Puppet History on Hatshepsut* (30mins) Manuel Bravo on Hatshepsut's Temple* (>12Mins) TED-Ed on Hatshepsut's Erasure (>5Mins) Reccommended Articles: WorldHistory.org Bio on Hatshepsut Met Museum on Restoring Hatshepsut's Statue* Ancient Egypt is one of the longest, if not the longest, early civilizations that people think of when they think Ancient Civilizations. They conquered language, trade, war, diplomacy and did so in three different eras: Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, and New Kingdom. We're going over New Kingdom with Hatshepsut, who reigned for about 22 years during this time. There was a power vacuum after Pharaoh Amenhotep's death due to his lack of MALE heir. Thutmose I took over as Pharaoh to rule over Egypt, thus halting the fall of the civilization. Hatshepsut was born of Thutmose I and his Queen, Ahmose, making her of Royal blood. There were two other male heirs, but they passed away by the time Hatshepsut was 12. However, Egypt did not see women as fit to rule due to religious beliefs. Pharaohs, as you learned in the mystery, were considered embodiments of Egyptian Gods. In this case, Horus. Horus was prominent in hieroglyphics in Pharaoh garb and the Pharaoh would gain a name that identified him with the God. It was also a challenge to the Egyptians traditional view of order and justice, or Maat. This didn't stop Thutmose from grooming Hatshepsut into becoming God's Wife, essentially a title like First Lady, but an incredibly powerful one at the time. She had the best tutors in order to fulfill her duty as God's Wife and basically lived as royalty. When Thutmose passed on, the next ruler would be Thutmose II, a son from the former pharaoh and one of his concubines. Thutmose II wasn't the healthiest of people but would eventually rule and marry Hatshepsut. Thutmose II is her half-brother, so keeping it in the family. This made Hatshepsut regent for Thutmose II. Despite his health, Thutmose II did have a son, but not with Hatshepsut (they had a daughter: Neferu-Ra). This son would be born from his concubine. After only a couple years or so, Thutmose II would die, leaving Thutmose III, a baby with a throne. With similar situations that lead to the power vacuum before, Hatshepsut decided to use her title as Great Wife and a priest of Amun to her advantage, putting Thutmose III on the throne in a public display, continuing the Thutmose line. That's just the first taste of the greatness that was Hatshepsut's reign. She would become Thutmose III's regent and aided in grooming the child into being the future Pharaoh. During her time as regent, she would begin a calculated campaign into solidifying her legacy. She made sure to appoint people into power that would speak well of her, aid her in the future or was just favorable to her. Not only that though, many of these people were not a part of the Egyptian elite but dutiful servants. As Thutmose grew older, this allegiance to Hatshepsut would allow her to be Pharaoh. During her time as Co-Pharaoh, she would build many monuments and temples in her name. She made the trade deal with Punt, gaining a variety of goods and this trade would continue long after Hatshepsut's reign. Hatshepsut was very mindful of her position as pharaoh but didn't shy away from her identity as a woman. Statues of Hatshepsut would have her dressed as man, but written accounts of her still had her as a woman. She'd changed her name to Maatkare, 'Truth is the soul of the Sun God'. She also took the story of her birth and mythologizes it to her gain, saying Amun-Re was disguised as her father when she was conceived. During the 22-year reign, Egypt remained prosperous while Thutmose III would become a great military leader in his own right. That reign would come to an end. Hatshepsut would pass on, leaving a prominent legacy. However, for reasons debated, Thutmose III would begin destroying monuments of Hatshepsut, erasing the legacy that she had built. Since the Pharaohs believed that the memory of legacy would allow them to rest easy in the afterlife, Thutmose III essentially damned her memory to hell. Despite this, the temple of Hatshepsut was excavated in the early 1900's, revealing the story of the Queen that was Pharaoh. On that note, I give Hatshepsut, a Badass of History grade of A+. With this research I bring up the following discussions:
-It's clear that Hatshepsut used propaganda to her gain. How exactly do Egyptologists come to their conclusions on how successful a Pharaoh is? -If Hatshepsut failed, there would possibly be another power vacuum. Would the Egyptian Civilization have collapsed sooner because of it? -Do you think Hatshepsut's reign was progressive for Ancient Egypt? -What is your personal theory on Hatshepsut's Erasure by Thutmose III -If you still think the monuments were made by aliens, why? You may branch from the topics above and talk about anything pertaining Ancient Egypt or Hatshepsut. Just keep it civil. Next time, we'll start on Mystery 2! My Face When fucked around with this message at 19:31 on Feb 16, 2022 |
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Feb 16, 2022 19:19
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Mr Slug the hieroglyph is in fact Mr Snake. A Saharan horned viper, to be exact. 
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Feb 16, 2022 21:29
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Oh I loved this game as a kid! I never beat it. Last thing I remember is being on a boat. I also remember having a pretty big crush on one of the male guides which cleared some stuff up for middle school Rabbi Raccoon
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Feb 16, 2022 21:33
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My Face When posted:
I like how our timeline-fixer here has absolutely no concerns about potential consequences of saying this right in front of Hatshepsut herself. I remember hearing once that ancient Greeks believed the other contemporary civilizations all worshipped the same gods they did, just under different aliases. It makes some sense given pantheons holding largely the same roles and other similarities in mythology like the afterlife boat, but I don't know whether that was actually true.
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Feb 16, 2022 21:39
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Rabbi Raccoon posted:Oh I loved this game as a kid! I never beat it. Last thing I remember is being on a boat. I'm in the same boat with one of our later lady guides. You'll figure out eventually. Black Robe posted:Mr Slug the hieroglyph is in fact Mr Snake. A Saharan horned viper, to be exact. I'm not big on snakes, so I'm glad this was cleared up. It still looks like a slug, so Mr. Slug it shall stay...at least until I see one in person then it's a Viper. Alpha3KV posted:I like how our timeline-fixer here has absolutely no concerns about potential consequences of saying this right in front of Hatshepsut herself. I appreciate the correlations, actually. It just shows how storytelling was so prevalent during this time, just the names change, and I think it's neat. And about Ann saying that in front of our Lady Pharaoh, I mean, the boatman was so chill about a RIFT IN SPACE AND TWO WEIRDOS POPPING OUT. Also, getting that close to Hatshepsut, trusting us with a pretty important process. I mean...lots and lots plot holes here. Ray Bradbury is shaking somewhere.
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Feb 16, 2022 22:10
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I bet some young companies are planning to lock down the time tunnels and turn them into Stargates. It would be a good way to deal with them. In Greek mythology the god of the underworld was also the god of wealth. Not sure if Egypt did the same but if so it would explain the loan bit. I wonder if any henchpeople are smart enough to ignore or burn Carmen’s instructions. Probably not. Hoping we can visit the Wild West, the World Wars, the Mesozoic Era, and Victorian London at some point. Pirate times, medieval times, and Ancient Rome too. If we do the future I want to see both a prosperous and a post apocalyptic one. If we team up with a certain Guerilla Games redhead whose second game comes out on Friday, we’ll get both in one level but I doubt they’ll do that. 
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Feb 16, 2022 22:51
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Fun fact: So many Ancient Egyptian statues had broken noses as a form of Ancient Egyptian iconoclasm. There was a ritual belief that statues of someone held a link to that person in the afterlife, so smashing the nose was an attack on the person's spirit. Source: https://www.cnn.com/style/article/egyptian-statues-broken-noses-artsy/index.html Apparently, Thutmose would end up doing this to various of Hatshepsut's own statues as part of cementing power. Rabbi Raccoon posted:Oh I loved this game as a kid! I never beat it. Last thing I remember is being on a boat. Lemme guess. Rock Solid? And I'm going to assume Renee Santz for My Face When.
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Feb 16, 2022 22:55
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Quackles posted:
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Feb 16, 2022 23:07
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Alpha3KV posted:I remember hearing once that ancient Greeks believed the other contemporary civilizations all worshipped the same gods they did, just under different aliases. It makes some sense given pantheons holding largely the same roles and other similarities in mythology like the afterlife boat, but I don't know whether that was actually true. That is true in a sense even if the logic used to reach that conclusion was a bit faulty. Aside from polytheistic religions tending to have those similar divine portfolios, there are Greek religious traditions can be traced all the way back to Sumeria if you look closely enough. In a specific case, the worship of Innana/Ishtar/whatever name they use for her this week made its way to Greece over the years and eventually morphed into Aphrodite. I'd like to say that I learned that through the result of deep research and understanding, but honestly I'm summing up this video here by OSP which gets into slightly more details on the subject. Quackles posted:Lemme guess. Rock Solid? I didn't know that Solid Snake had a cousin in this series. As someone less familiar with it did that name get written down before or after MGS hit stateside? (yes I know about Metal Gear 1/2 shaddup )
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Feb 16, 2022 23:53
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Fun fact: Heiroglyphics aren't actually pictographs, they are a syllabary/ alphabet like other Mediterranean language writing systems. Each character had a letter or consonant-vowel pair assigned to it, letting them spell out words. Some of them were still used as nouns by themself, "heron" instead of "he-ro-n", though and could act as a itself too (pic of heron instead of spelling it out). It's amazing they could translate it, even with the Rosetta Stone because of how complex the writing system could be. Plus, the writers apparently loved using the complexity to do word play, adding to the difficulty
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Feb 16, 2022 23:57
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Came for crime solving, staying for the history lessons!
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Feb 17, 2022 00:58
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