I played this a couple of days ago, and last night I realized something about how different players’ experiences might differ. And I want to ask about it, but any discussion is likely to be at least mildly spoilery, so I should put that warning up front rather than try to spoiler-wrap everything, I think.
Anyway, my question: during the quiz section at the beginning, the game asks me what I am likely to have in my purse. I selected the poetry book, which then did indeed turn up in said purse. I thought at the time that this was a cute joke; and then by the time the poetry book is useful in a puzzle, almost at the end of the game, I’d forgotten that I’d gotten it that way. But now I’ve remembered that: what happens if you pick something else? Do you get another object that’s also useful in some fashion? If so, how do you get past
the puzzle involving the Wife’s head and the beatnik bar
? I could try to find this out, but it seems like I’d have to replay almost the entire game, possibly multiple times, if my hunches about this are correct, so I thought I would ask the hivemind instead.
[spoiler]After gaining access to the stage by smuggling coffee in with the telepad/telepod and giving it to the guard, I chose to create a poem together with Traudl and then always chose a rhyming couplet. She grows progressively more agitated and the audience begins laughing and she gives you the Head in exchange for a promise to never recite poetry on her stage again.
I didn’t end up using the item I received from my choice in the intro. Perhaps each item is an alternate solution to a different puzzle?[/spoiler]
[spoiler]if you don’t pick the poetry book, you can get the head by sufficiently annoying the beatnik girl. In short, you have to rhyme everything, which makes her more and more annoyed until she hands over the head and tells you to get lost.
I actually did choose the poetry book, but didn’t hand it over when the game offered me the option that first time. And I never got that option again; the next time I talked to the girl she would only ask me to make poems with her. So I had to use the second method.
As far as I can tell, the other possible choices do nothing, but I didn’t play the game over again to see.[/spoiler]