The curtain is about to go up. Please be seated.
All maps by Will Mallia.
Welcome to a Sierra On-Line graphic adventure written to look like a play, and manages to make use of the traditional "whodunnit" mystery-solving genre. This is the first of the two games in the short-lived Laura Bow series written by Roberta Williams.
The time is 1925. Tulane University. New Orleans, Louisiana. Our hero, Laura Bow, is sitting down reading a book. Her friend Lillian asks her if she wants to come to a family reunion at her Uncle Henri 's estate. Notice that "family reunion" is in quotations. This can't be good. After convincing her that the place is creepy enough to be interesting, Laura decides to join in.
Two nights later, Laura and Lillian head down to the estate by boat. They are greeted by the butler, and find out that everyone else has arrived and that they're in time for dinner.
At dinner, Fifi the maid wheels in Colonel Henri Dijon. His time is near, and is giving his money away to his family equally. If anyone dies before he does, their share will be divided equally between the surviving parties. This can't be good, either, and not just because this causes quarrels and speculation among everyone not named Laura and Lillian, who get up before this all gets out of hand.
Act 1
It's 7 PM, as dictated by the clock. If you see it in game, you either missed something or something is about to happen. Prepare for a ton of trial of error, as things happen on a timer...unless of course, you're reading this blog.
You are now in the guest room with Lillian. As Lillian freshens up in the bathroom, Laura thinks to herself that everyone is acting very strangely. She thinks of what her father would do.
"Honey, if things don't feel right, they probably AREN'T. Observe the situation closely, yet be unobtrusive. Explore your surroundings quietly and carefully. Try to question the others without raising suspicion. Notice small details. Take lots of notes. And above all, be careful."
These things couldn't possibly be any more important than now.
Laura will take the notebook and pencil from her suitcase automatically. You'll be using these throughout the game. You won't be able to read the notes that you take throughout the game until you've beaten the game, strangely enough.
If you read the About text in the pause menu, you'll find out there isn't really a quest, but an interactive story in which you have to interact with the characters, know the story, and of course, survive. The more you put into the game, the more the game will give back. You'll have to notice subtleties and be very observant, as well as interact with everyone, look at everything and explore things, but it will definitely pay off.
Whenever you enter a room, you'll automatically get a description of the room as if you used the "look" command.
You can open your suitcase, but save for the clothes for the weekend, there's nothing useful inside it.
Look at the painting s in the guest room. You'll notice the picture of the girl on the opposite wall (which you can't see), and you'll notice the girl's eye have a strange, hollow look to them.
You'll also notice there's a small door below the three pictures that you can see. You can open it, and you'll find out it's a chute of some kind. If you look inside, you'll see a narrow chute going into complete darkness. If you enter the chute, you will die. Go close the chute.
Yes, I'm using bold again to tell you that you'll die. Deal with it.
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