Beta testing for "Tripping the Light Subconscious", very large IF game

Playing Beta Testing Requests and Discussion
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“Tripping the Light Subconscious” has been in development for…well, a long time. I first started coding it with ADRIFT and then switched to Inform.

The game describes the journey through the player’s subconscious in order to heal them. You will find homages to Xenos, Asylum, Raaka-Tu, Bedlam, Asylum II, Labyrinth, the Colossal Cave, and several other very old IF games (some from the old TRS-80 days).

The game itself is made of numerous small puzzles along with three over-arching, meta-puzzles to end the game. Its size and scope is like the original Zork I game, with perhaps the difficulty of Zork III thrown in at times. Puzzles range from the obvious to the obscure, from beginner to expert.

It has comedic elements which may not be suitable for children.

Please reply if interested. Thank you for your support!

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Hello! I am here. I love this concept and I would love to test it! What’s the deadline?

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No deadline. I’ve been working on it for 15 years, another few months isn’t going to kill me!

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Woah. Fifteen years. Dedication! Okay, how do I help?

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PM me and we can exchange emails. I"ll take an help I can get, so any aspect of the game you would like to troubleshoot would be great!

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This sounds great. I like the idea of a homage to the older classics for the TRS-80. I haven’t played all the ones you mentioned, but I’ve played a few of them. Unfortunately, I’m tied up with other comps for the next 6 months or so, but if you get desperate, or you can wait a while, let me know.

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I can wait, I will keep tweaking it. Just let me know when you’re ready.

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Done!

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Not sure if this is the right place for this, but I guess we can reuse the thread and keep it all tidy. At the beginning there is a warning that I’m missing something, and I think I know what it is: I must take the book from the drawer, and for that I need to clog the sink drain with toilet paper and let it overflow so it’ll catch the therapist’s attention.

Is that right, Matt? I can’t for the life of me find the right verb to do this, but if I’m right I’ll keep trying. I guess if I “solved” it and it’s only a matter of finding the right verb, I’d appreciate a hint.

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Usually shouldn’t you DM the person you’re testing for, to not give away spoilers during testing phases?

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I thought other testers might want to interact too. Let’s see, I’m in contact with him via DMs too.

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I’m okay with it!

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I’ll reply with the correct action when I get home tonight. What your reasoning is is absolutely right, you need to clog the drain. try “stuff” something in the drain or “cram” something into the drain. I believe that will do it.

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Okay! A couple things. What are the numbers for in the first section? Also, I have a couple puzzles I may need hints on. They are-

  • Big Red Button / combination lock (toll booth)
  • The energy wall in the library
  • Metal book (What?? How do I read this?)
  • How to talk to NPCs
  • The (number)s/ quartermaster
  • Big pit!
  • Electrical box
  • Something to do with the Jeep behind the station
  • Is that depression in the sand a red herring??
  • Control panel in Frogstar World
  • Vending machine???
  • hatch in cul de sac
  • Where do I go from here? What am I supposed to do? It’s not overly clear what my goal is right now. I have all the items I could gather. Seriously, I have them all. Even the dynamite. (I put them in the toilet paper tube). I think I may not be using the correct verbs, maybe?

Sorry if these answers will be totally obvious, but I’m a little stuck and my brain isn’t really working right now. Any help would be appreciated <3

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Big Red Button: There’s a ladder that leads to the top of the building behind the building. You are a ways from solving this one with the energy wall still up. There’s an object in the library (Starbucks) that will help.

Energy wall: You need to hang a garment on the coatrack

Metal Book: Type CONSULT BOOK ABOUT _________

Numbers/Quartermaster: This is something that you’ll need to solve the library riddles to break.

Big Pit: You need a heavy object to serve as the weight and a rope to tie to the very heavy object. The object will sink into the mud, giving you a way down.

Electrical Box: Just turn it off. Of course, the duck balloon starts to collapse. You’ll have one chance to get the correct electrical part from the circuit board.

Jeep: It’s just a distraction.

Depression in the Sand: No, this isn’t a red herring. You need to dig the sand with something to get to the bottom of what’s in there.

Frogstar World: Though you can solve it now, it is an endgame puzzle. Consult the guide about Kirk, Spock, and Bones. Then consult about id, ego, and superego. This will give you a start.

The Vending Machine: You won’t know what to do here without a couple of objects from Philadelphia

Hatch: This is the final puzzle of the game. You’re a ways from there.

THank you for playing! Any feedback you have is valued.

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Two more things:

First, the library is a complex puzzle. I would save the game before you enter as you have to do the right combination of things at the right time.

Second, to talk to characters say, ask Faulkner about cardigan, for example.

FYI, you’ll need the cardigan to hang on the rack.

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