Adventures of Helpfulman is a TADS 2 interactive fiction game and is © 1999-2000 by Philip Dearmore.
In this large but flawed superhero game, you play as Helpfulman, one of Porthaven's newest heroes. Your girlfriend, Aquagirl, just ditched you at the graduation dinner, and soon, your professor urges you to leap into action. Which heroic deeds will you perform to earn your cape, win back your girl, and save all of Porthaven?
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on version 1.0.0 of the game.
SPOILERS AHEAD. Reading a walkthrough prematurely can sometimes diminish one's enjoyment of an interactive fiction game. Please make an honest effort to play the game before reading this walkthrough.
Dining Room—East of the Hologram
> about. commands.
That's a lot of commands, but I should point out that FOOTNOTES shouldn't be listed since there are no footnotes in this game.
Examine your stuff first.
> x me. i.
> x belt. x buckle. (push it to get a tool)
> x handbook. read it. (You must perform four heroic deeds to earn your cape.)
> x smoke. x blood. x acid.
> look up belt. look up buckle.
> look up smoke. look up blood. look up acid.
> push buckle. (nothing happens)
> take buckle. push buckle. (A blade pops out.)
> x blade. push buckle. (The blade retracts.)
> put buckle on belt.
By the way, if you "push THE buckle", you can get the blade without removing the buckle from the belt first. I only learned the buckle was detachable after I finished the game. Weird, eh?
And what else is here?
> x table. x napkin. take it. open it.
> x knife. x fork. (Note the lack of a spoon.)
> x patrons. x hologram. x beam. x carpet.
> nw.
Dining Room—North of Hologram
Your history prof invites you to sit with him. You do.
> x professor. (He cautions you to keep your vulnerabilities in mind.)
> ask him about vulnerabilities. (70's and 80's nostalgia can cause convulsions and death!)
> ask him about strengths. (resourcefulness)
He mentions you have heroic strength after eating Sea Monkey™ food. There might be other foods that do the trick as well.
> ask him about cape. (like a master's degree)
He mentions there's a situation outside you should get in out, but first scope it out using the roof's telescope. And, of course, don't use the elevator or the stairs to get up there.
> ask him about food. (just order a lot of it just in case)
> ask him about convulsions. (remember the disco ball?)
Odd that there's no mention of your powers or abilities.
> x paintings. (one of Galileo, one of crab nebula)
> x pillars.
> stand. w.
Dining Room—Waiter Station
If the waitress isn't here, wait until she is. You cannot find a spoon here on your own.
> ask waitress about spoon. (+3; she gives you one)
> x waitress. x spoon. x window.
Note: Any attempt to go north into the kitchen results in a waiter pushing you out.
> e. sw. se.
Dining Room—South of the Hologram
> x speakers. (hidden)
> x suns (or moons).
> ne. e.
The Galaxy Bar
> x bar. x box of cigars.
> x bartender. x mirror.
> x stools. x glasses (or bottles).
> n.
North of the Galaxy Bar
> x TV. x coin. take coin. (can't: jammed)
> turn handle. (can't: jammed)
If you try to pry the coin with the knife, the knife breaks. If you try to pry the coin with the fork, you find it doesn't have the leverage.
CAUTION: Don't turn the knob when the coin is unstuck. You'll get a useless gumball instead of the coin you need elsewhere.
> pry coin with spoon. (+2; The coin is now unstuck.)
> take coin.
> s. s.
Entry to the Galaxy Room
> x board.
You don't need any info from thte specials board, but here's the alt-text: "Specials. Congratulations SHU graduates! Filet Mignon with Italian spices is $45.99. Baked Alaskan Blackeyed Cave crab with rice pilaf is $95.89. Honey-glazed skrod is $12.49."
> se.
Galaxy Tower Elevators
> x button. s.
Galaxy Stairway
> x rail. (follows the stairs down as far as you can see)
> u. n. w s.
Galaxy Tower Gift Shop
> x clerk. x phone.
> e.
Further in the Gift Shop
You cannot examine any of the listed toys.
> x toys. x dust.
> w. sw.
Southwest Corner of Gift Shop
> x telescope. (has a coin slot)
> ne.
Galaxy Tower Gift Shop
Only playing and failing in a previous session teaches you that one coin won't give you sufficient viewing time with the telescope. You need a second coin, and it inexplicably comes from here.
Yes, you ask a shop clerk for free money, and he actually gives you a coin. Yes, I needed a hint for this one.
> ask clerk about telescope. g. g. (+3; you get a second coin.)
> sw.
Southwest Corner of Gift Shop
Every time you look at something in the telescope, you're repositioning the view and will see other things. You need to look at things in the right order (before time runs out) in order to find whatever it is you must see.
> save.
> put coin in slot. (+1; time starts)
> look in telescope.
> x foot.
> x footprints.
> x ball.
> x gleaming.
> x concrete wall. ("Click!" The scope shuts off.)
> put coin in slot. (+1; time restarts)
> x lot.
> x street.
> x dumpster.
> x bumper. (+2; A police officer is engaged in a shoot out.)
Only now that you know a hero is needed are you willing to CHANGE from Mark Dent into Helpfulman. But you are unwilling to change in public, and the only place in the entire game that's considered private enough for changing in is a stall in the men's room.
Seriously. Even your own bathroom at home isn't considered private enough.
> ne. n. e. s. d. n. nw. e.
Hallway in the Galaxy Room
> x door. x mens. x womens.
> x painting. (chaotic)
> x plant. (unimportant)
By the way, if you try to enter the women's room, a screaming woman kicks your shin and you retreat, unwilling to try that again.
> ne.
Men's Room
By the way, if you use the urinals, you must use the sink afterwards.
> enter last stall.
Last Stall in the Men's Room
> x toilet. (Yuck. The last user didn't flush.)
The smell forces you to leave.
Men's Room
CAUTION: If you flush the toilet as is, it overflows, then maintenance staff usher everyone out from the room and lock the door, making the game unwinnable.
You need to remember reading (in your handbook) that acid is also good at cleaning. Probably not good for the plumbing, of course, but that's not your concern. You're a hero, not a plumber.
> enter last stall.
Last Stall in the Men's Room
> put acid in toilet. (The smell forces a retreat.)
Men's Room
> enter last.
Last Stall in the Men's Room
> flush toilet. (+3; success)
> change. x me.
> x door. (The graffiti says "Steve was here.")
Oh, by the way, "out" doesn't work here. The stall exit is to the west, which you can learn from the EXITS command.
> exits.
> w. s. w. se. s. u. n. n.
At the Base of a Raised Helipad
> x sign.
In your hero guise, you have no problem ignoring the danger sign.
> u. w.
Standing on the Edge of a Helipad
So, you might be wondering why you're here. The professor did say there was a faster way to the street besides the elevator or stairs, but nothing in the game has suggested you can fly or survive a 90-storey fall. In fact, it's not clear what superpowers, if any, you have.
Sigh. Take a leap of faith.
> jump.
You freefall, hit the pavement, and stand up somewhere dark.
In the dark / Below the Surface
> z. z. z. z. z. z. z. (Repeat waiting until your eyes adjust to the dim light.)
> look. x sludge. w.
Below a Manhole
> x rungs. u.
Foot of the Galaxy Tower
You're too late. A police car drives off with the suspects. A reporter finishes interviewing Aquagirl, then everyone leaves.
Your goal now is to perform four heroic deeds so you can earn your cape. This can't help but improve your status in everyone's eyes, including Aquagirl's.
> x crushed cone. (reflective tape torn)
> take it.
> x gate. ("Closed for Renovations")
Let's go home first. You live in a duplex in the southeast corner of your territory, and if you head south, then east, to get there, you can scope out the beach that you saw in the telescope.
> s. s.
Corner of Fifth and Pine, South Side of Street
Remember, you're allergic to 70s and 80s nostalgia, and this shop has shag carpeting that is deadly to you. You dare not enter the shop until you have protective footwear.
> x shop. (can ENTER it)
> x sign. ("Nostalgia")
> x window. (grimy with city dirt)
> s. s.
Sandy Beach
Obviously, you want whatever that glint is at the back of Scurvy Fred's, but you can't enter there from here.
> e.
On a Beach
The boy and his sandcastle are unimportant, but you can still chat him up a little.
> x sand. x boy. (Jeremy)
> ask boy about castle.
> x couple. ask boy about couple.
> n.
Back of the Duplex
> x porch. (You see a hole in the lattice skirt.)
> enter hole.
Under Your Neighbor's Porch
> take house key. (+3)
> w. e.
On Your Neighbor's Porch
> unlock door with house key. n.
In Your Neighbor's Home
> x table.
> w. (locked)
> e.
Inside Your Neighbor's Living Room
> x table. (made from wood and rope)
> x rope. untie rope. (+2)
> take rope.
> w. s.
On Your Neighbor's Porch
Of course, you don't need to re-lock your neighbor's door, but it's not as if you want anyone else to break in and steal stuff. You're one of the good guys.
> close door. lock door with house key.
> w. w. n.
In Front of Your Home
> x door. x mailbox. (empty)
> s.
Entry to Your Home
> close door. e.
Your Livingroom
> x card. take it.
> x table. x TV. x rug.
> turn on TV. turn off TV.
> x recliner. x pocket. take all from pocket.
> x envelope. x order form. x remote.
> put form in envelope.
> lick envelope. (no need to do that)
> close envelope.
Your home has six indoor locations, and this is the only one that matters, but let's look at your other rooms anyway.
> s.
Your Kitchen/Dining Room
> x table. x stove. x fridge. x microwave.
> n. w. w.
Your Bedroom
The books and bookshelf are unimplemented.
> x bed. x door. (closet or bathroom?)
> open closet. enter it.
Your Closet
Uh, nothing is actually implemented here.
> n.
Your Bedroom
> open bathroom. enter it.
Your Bathroom
> x shower. (spotless)
> x sink. (horrific)
> x toilet. (average)
> n. e. n.
In Front of Your Home
> put envelope in mailbox. close mailbox.
It will be some time before the envelope is picked up, and much longer until a package is delivered in its place. Come back here after you're completed three heroic deeds.
Around this time, a Mr. Longfellow from the Bureau of Public Property gives you a citation because of the damage you did to Fifth Street.
> x citation. (The fine is sizable, but just ignore it.)
> w. w. w.
Front of Scurvy Fred's Fish Emporium
> x sign.
> s.
Scurvy Fred's Fish Emporium
There is no mention of a garbage can in the room, but there is one.
> x floor. x tables. x mess. x can.
> ask Fred about mess.
CAUTION: It's not good enough to PUT MESS IN CAN. You must instead CLEAN MESS.
> clean mess. (Fred hits the side of the register to open it and gives you a quarter.)
> x quarter.
> x case. x clippings. ("Big Willy" was the big fish that got away.)
> x hook. x door. x barrels.
> ask Fred about hook. (It happended in the park's pond.)
> ask Fred about pond.
> s. (Fred won't let you go that way.)
Return here later.
> n. nw. n. n. w.
In an Alley
> x garbage. x cat. x fence.
> x dumpster. (shut; "Waste Management Services")
> open dumpster. (lid held tightly shut from beneath)
Did you remember that SCARE was listed as a command?
> scare cat. (It wanders off east.)
> open dumpster.
Ratman emerges, relieved the cat is gone. He explains that a superhero chased him out of his own part of the city.
> x Ratman.
NOTE: You can't refer to Ratman as "him".
> ask Ratman about superhero. (He calls himself D-Day, seems to have every power, and is probably the impeached Mayor Pemper since Ratman's seen D-Day come and go from Pemper's mansion.)
> ask Ratman about mansion.
> ask Ratman about cat. (He has a dreadful fear of cats.)
> e. n. e.
An Island in the Middle of a Busy Intersection
> x fence. x sculpture.
> s. (stepping over the fence)
In a Planter off Hemlock Street
> x statue. x pedestal.
Give that fish the ol' push-pull routine:
> push fish. pull fish.
> push fish. pull fish.
> push fish. pull fish. (+3; the statue falls off)
> take fish.
> n. e.
Mall Entrance—Under Construction
> x workers. x manhole.
> ask workers about manhole. (Ernie is missing.)
> ask workers about map. (+1; you get one)
> ask workers about flashlight. (+2; you get one!)
> x bulldozer. x compartment.
> d.
In a Sewer System, Under a Manhole
> turn on flashlight.
> x map. (The route is north, east, east, south, north, east.)
> n. e. e. s. n. e.
You find Ernie who was stuck here without a light. You both go back to the surface, and this rescue counts as a heroic deed in your handbook.
Mall Entrance—Under Construction
> i. (You no longer have the map or the flashlight.)
> se.
Parking Lot
> x sign. read it. ("Porthaven Park")
> e.
North Side of the Porthaven Park
> x trees. x grass. x flowers.
> s.
Porthaven Park, in a Grove of Trees
If you scared the cat out of the alley, it's here now, stuck in a tree.
> x pond. x cat. x trees. x tree.
> pull tree. z. z. (+1 Heroic Deed. The cat crawls down the tree. Then a girl carries "Tiger" away.)
By the way, if you let go of the tree when the cat is partway down, the cat is catapulted away, which is definitely not a heroic deed.
> s.
Porthaven Park, by a Pond
> x pond. x photographer. (hippy-ish)
> ask photographer about pond. (You can't talk to this guy; he's too engrossed with nature.)
> save.
Once the fish statue is in the pond, you have a very limited time to get the photographer to act before the thing sinks below the surface.
> put fish in pond. (+5; but it's sinking)
It took me ages to guess the correct syntax:
> show fish to photographer. (+2)
> x photo.
> n. w.
West Side of Porthaven Park
> x grass. x table.
Head back to Scurvy Fred:
> n. w. w. w. s. s. s. se. s.
Scurvy Fred's Fish Emporium
> show photo to Fred. (+3; he's off to the pond)
> open case. take hook. close case.
> s.
Back of the Fish Emporium
You did see how Fred opens this register, yes?
> x register.
> hit register. (+2; a rubber fish is inside)
> take fish. x it.
> look in fish. take small key.
> close register.
> unlock door with small key.
> open door. s.
Behind the Fish Emporium
There are no "crates", "crate", "barrels", or "fence", but there is a "barrel".
> x barrel.
> move barrel. (no)
> search barrel. (how?)
> look in barrel. (nada)
> look behind barrel. (You acquire a pair of weights.)
> x weights. (clip them onto a belt to stay underwater)
You're going underwater next.
> n. n. n. nw. w. s. s. w.
Before an old Pier
> put weights on belt.
> s. d. d. s.
Under the Sea
You can't reach this location without the weights.
> take hipwaders. (+5)
> n. u. u.
On the Pier
> remove weights. x hipwaders.
The hipwaders, when worn, protects you from shag carpeting.
> n. e. n. n.
Corner of Fifth and Pine, South Side of Street
> wear waders. enter shop.
Nostalgia Shop
Refer to the cashier as "Reggie", not "cashier". This name comes up if you wait here long enough.
> x case. x rack. x Reggie. x headphones.
> s.
Back of the Nostalgia Store
> x clothes. x lamps. x beanbag.
> search clothes. (You take an orange vest.)
> x vest. ("Free")
> n. n.
Corner of Fifth and Pine, South Side of Street
> remove waders.
> n. w. n.
Corner of Hemlock and Fifth, Southwest Corner
> x lady. (trying to cross hemlock, has a small black purse)
> ask lady about street.
> help lady. (can't: need a crossing guard or a suitable outfit)
> wear vest.
> help lady. (an orange vest isn't quite enough)
Do you remember that crumpled cone you picked up ages ago?
> pull tape. (+2)
> tear tape. (finally, the tape is a separate item)
> put tape on vest. (+3)
> help lady.
The lady crosses the street, walks past the warehouse, and thanks you. That's your third heroic deed.
Then you throw the vest into the nearest garbage can. Except it's still in your inventory. (Shrug.)
> e. e.
In Front of a Cathedral on Hemlock Street
> x sign. ("Parish of St. Pius the XVII")
> s.
At the Entrance to a Great Cathedral
You don't need this religious tract, and it's a huge text-dump I can't imagine anyone really wants to read, but, y'know, it is part of the game, so I'm including it.
> take tract. x it. read it.
> x archways.
> n. e. s. s. s. se. e. e. n.
In Front of Your Home
> open mailbox. take package. x it. open it.
> x food. take food.
> w. w. w. nw. w. n. n. n. n.
Hemlock Street, in Front of a Warehouse
> n. (You search, but you don't find an entrance.)
> w.
Corner of Fifth and Hemlock, North Side of Street
> x fence. (9 feet tall with points at top)
> n.
Fifth Avenue, by a Gate
> x gate.
> s. w.
Hemlock Street by the Iron Fence
> x bushes. x mansion. x tree. x branch.
> tie rope to hook.
The hook is now on the rope, but you can no longer refer to the hook.
Silly me, I kept throwing the rope at the branch, but no, you need to:
> tie rope to branch. ("You toss the rope up...", grr)
> u. n. d.
West Side of the Pemper Estate
CAUTION: Going northeast from here ruins your chance to earn a cape. There's also a TADS-1026 error.
> x mansion. n. d.
By a Large, Steel Door
You need super-strength to get past this door. Eating the food gives you that strength, but only for a few turns.
> x door.
> eat food. hit door. (+5; it falls off its hinges)
> n.
Inside What Smells to be a Meat Cellar
All the raw meat to the west is uninteresting and unexaminable, so I'm skipping it.
> n.
In a Dark Cellar
> w. w. w.
In Some Rows of Raw Cow Hides (6)
You sense something different here.
> x meat. (They're humans! And you spot a slip of paper.)
> take paper. read it. ("SHOE Emergency #- 411")
> e. e. e. n.
Still in a Cold, Dark Basement
> x button. x mirror.
> touch mirror. (A red dot appears on your palm. You pull it back.)
> push button. (goes in part-way; you hear a loud hissing west)
> z. (The button pops out on its own.)
> push button. w.
In a Dark Cellar by a Door
You see the mirror door slide closed.
> x door —or— x mirror. x dot.
> w. (The mirror is in your way.)
> touch dot. (It appears on the back of your hand. You pull your hand back.)
> e.
Still in a Cold, Dark Basement
> push button. turn it. (+3; it tocks into position)
> w. w. w.
Shower Room
> x shower. open curtain. (You find a hanging human body and tub of blood.)
> x body. (It was Ratman.)
> x pool. x shower. x monitor. x probes.
> x computer. read it. g. g. g. g. g.
Would you believe I missed all that backstory when I first played?
> x phone. dial 411.
SHOE can help, but they need you to distract the grounds-security so their squad can enter the mansion.
> u —or— e.
Top of a Narrow Staircase
CAUTION: Entering the kitchen while the cook is still there is fatal.
> x cook.
> scare cook. (no: too far away)
> drop smoke. (The cook screams "Fire!" and runs.)
> s.
Inside a Smokey Kitchen
> x fridge. pull pull. (+4; the fire alarm goes off)
The officers find dirt on Pemper, but not him. That's your fourth Heroic Deed.
You go home, send off the Deeds page in the mailbox, and put the handbook on your bookshelf.
Your Livingroom, in the Lay-Z-Boy™ recliner
Days later, you remember it's Aquagirl's birthday. You need to find her a unique present, but what's open at this time of night?
> x me. (You're still "Helpfulman".)
> stand. look.
> take planner. x it. read it.
Aquagirl's birthday is today, May 8th, and there's a "'79" note.
Head to the mall; part of it is open now.
> w. n. w. w. w. nw. n. n. n. e. e. n.
Mall Entryway
Look around a little, but there's not much to see.
> e. ne.
The Mall, In Front of a Sculpture
I suppose, if this game had a sequel, you'd use this deer sculputre as kindling, but today you leave it alone.
> x deer. x benches.
> w.
In the Mall
There's nothing in the hat store to even look at. Enter the jewelers instead.
> sw.
Delvin Jewelers
> x gems. (One pair of cubic zirconium "diamonds" is at $19.45 + Tax.)
> x diamonds. x jeweler.
> ask jeweler about diamonds.
You will need some cash before you can buy them.
> e. s. e. e.
Behind the Escalators
> x ATM.
> put card in ATM. (Now type your PIN.)
> type 5879 (from the "May 8, '79" in the planner)
> type 4 (your balance is $20.47)
> type 1 (+4)
> take card. take bill. x it.
> w. w. n. sw.
Delvin Jewelers
> buy diamonds. (+4)
> e. s. w. w.
Mall Entrance—Under Construction
Go to the sandy shore next.
> w. w. w. w. s. s. s. s. s.
Sandy Beach
At this time of night, it's low tide.
> s.
Out on the Beach at Low Tide
Do you remember the "gleaming" you briefly saw when using the telescope? That was from some earrings.
> search sludge. (You find the earrings.)
> x earrings.
> put diamonds in earrings. (+3)
> n. n. n. n. w.
Corner of Fifth and Pine, West Side of Street
The diamond earrings act as your passport into Aquagirl's building's vestibule. You must be carrying them directly when going northwest from this street corner.
> nw.
Narrow Entryway
> x door. (thick glass)
> x window. (You see someone in office chair watching a horror film on TV.)
Hm. Shouldn't there be a button to get his attention?
> knock. ("I don't know the word "knock".")
> knock on window. (The manager unlocks the door. Grr.)
> w.
Complex Lobby
This is the most furnished room in the entire game. Enjoy it.
CAUTION: Going north from here without the apartment key puts the game into an unwinnable state. The passage north is one-way; the author failed to give the player any way back to the lobby.
> x carpet. x chandeliers.
> x table. x lamp. x paneling.
> se.
Management Office
CAUTION: DON'T examine the apartment key. There's a serious bug that happens if you do. When I tried, I couldn't enter any more commands afterwards.
> x manager. x TV.
> x desk. x drawer. (They're the same thing.)
> chew blood. (+4; the manager screams and leaves)
> take apartment key.
> nw. n.
T Junction
Inexplicably, there's no exit back the lobby. Also, the maintenance door is a red herring; it's always locked.
> w.
Hallway by the Elevator
> read sign. ("Out of order")
Use the stairs, hero.
> w. e. u. e.
Hallway (on fourteenth floor)
> x door. (Lady Blue's apartment door)
> knock on door. (no answer)
> unlock door with apartment key.
> e.
Aquagirl's Living Room
> x magazine. read it. take it.
> x furniture. x table. x sofa.
> x dogear. (corner of reality pulled back)
> open dogear. (+5)
> x hole.
CAUTION: Entering the hole is too dangerous. You can't put anything into the hole. You can't close the hole.
HOWEVER: The hole has a back to it. That side of space-time is much nicer.
> look behind hole. x back. enter back. (+4)
The screen changes from black text on a white background to white text on a black background.
Between two Hard Places
You're now in an alternate dimension I'm going to refer to as Dark World. And, as near as I can tell, you're currently squished between the cover of a comic book and the plastic sleeve it's stored in.
> x colorful wall. x plastic.
> read colorful wall. (can't from here)
> x landfill. (trash looks huge)
The only way to escape this location is by cutting the plastic wall with your buckle blade. The restaurant knife and the fake diamonds are not suitable cutting tools, apparently.
Don't forget to separate the buckle from the belt first or the blade won't pop out.
> remove buckle. push buckle.
> cut plastic with blade. (+3)
> push buckle. put buckle on belt.
> exits. e.
Outside a Large Theatre
> x comic book. take it. read it.
> x wastebasket.
> x Jaws. x Psycho. x puddle. (It's vomit.)
> x architecture.
> w.
Outside a Large Theatre, at the Boxoffice
> x office. x posters. x sidewalk.
> n.
Entry to the Theatre
> x creature. (in theatre garb)
> n. ("Keep out!" yells the creature.)
Curses. Sweetums from the Muppet Show here blocks you completely. Since you're a super-hero with no combat skills, you'll have to find another way inside.
> s. w.
At a Dark Corner
> x litter. n. e.
Narrow Exit Hall
> x light. x frail door. x sign.
> e.
Large, Dark Room
> x curtain. e.
On a Large Platform
Hm. Nothing you can do here just yet.
> w. s.
In Front of a Large Curtain
> x curtain.
You can hear Mayor Pemper ranting angrily about something, but you can't make out any actual words. And the curtain is another impassible barrier.
> n. w. s.
In the Theatre Prop/Storage Room
> x props. x sword. x mask.
> x desk. push desk. (portal revealed)
> x portal. exits. s.
Dull, Gray Room (south side)
You are now in a set of locations I'm calling the Dark World Prison. You start on the south edge of the upper level, which is a 3-by-4 grid of dull, gray rooms; see map 10. Although none of these gray rooms appear to have exits, most of them do have two to four exits in the cardinal directions, and you can always go downwards through the floor to the lower level, which is a 3-by-4 grid of large caverns. You cannot, however, go back up so easily.
(By the way, I mapped the prison rooms by dropping a different trash item in each location, but I won't require you to do that.)
The prison exit is in the northwest corner of the dull, gray rooms, and Aquagirl is in the room just south of there.
A floating glowing sphere, which you may not touch or take, is passing through all the outer edge rooms on the upper level. Its pathway is clockwise, and it only stays one turn in any room. Since there are ten outer rooms, it takes ten turns to complete a full cycle.
In the southwest corner of the large caverns is a platform, which is the only way back to the dull, gray rooms. Stand on the platform. A turn later, you teleport to whichever dull, gray room the sphere is currently in.
So, the way to rescue Aquagirl and escape from this prison is to carefully time your teleports from where and when you last saw the sphere.
> w.
Dull, gray room (southwest corner)
> z. (repeat waiting until the sphere enters this room)
> d. z. z. z. z. z. z. z. z. z.
> get on platform. z. (+3)
Dull, gray room (south of northwest corner)
Aquagirl tells you that Mayor Pemper appeared out of nowhere in her apartment and imprisoned her here.
> ask Aquagirl about Pemper. (He can drain powers.)
> ask Aquagirl about plan. (He's making a gigantic portal that will take the inhabitants from this land and dump them into Porthaven for revenge.)
> ask Aquagirl about portal.
> ask Aquagirl about platform.
> x Aquagirl. (Her special talent is to liquefy.)
> Aquagirl, follow me. (+3)
> z. (Repeat waiting until the sphere re-enters the room.)
> d. s. s. z. z. z. z. z. z.
> get on platform. z.
Dull, Gray Room
> x square. e.
Large, Dark Room
> e.
On a Large Platform
The combined weight of you and Aquagirl activate this platform.
> z. (You're both teleported to...)
Inside a Warehouse
You're now inside the warehouse at Hemlock and Fifth that has no entrance.
> x desk. x books.
> x book. (which?)
> x control.
> take it. (The large sphere arrives.)
The "book" is a remote control, and taking it starts the endgame sequence. You need to destroy the sphere before the sphere destroys Porthaven.
> s.
Front of Warehouse
The sphere follows you and flattens several crates. It follows the remote control wherever it goes.
> put control in slot. (+3. The sphere crushes the wall like tinfoil.)
> s.
Hemlock Street, in Front of a Warehouse
> take control.
Head for the sea, where you found the earrings.
> s. s. s. s. s. s. s.
Out on the Beach at Low Tide
Make sure you throw the control IN or INTO the sea. Throwing "at" the sea won't work.
> throw control into the sea. (+4)
*** Congratulations, you have won! ***
Of course, Pemper is still at large, still has all his powers and inventions, and still has minions, but a win is a win, right?
This game is peppered with artwork that usually shows up in response to examining things, but sometimes as a result of a significant event. The side menu, when enabled, also uses images. Here is a sampling of screenshots of just some of this artwork. Samples were reduced in size. Please play the game to view the artwork in their intended sizes and contexts.
(Admittedly, every character but yourself is minor, but I had to try to organize them somehow.)
Main characters:
Minor characters:
Background and cameo characters:
Mentioned:
Found dead:
This is the response to ABOUT:
Adventures of Helpfulman
A Day in the Life of the Heroic Mark Dent
An Interactive Comic Adventure, version 1.0.0
Developed with TADS, the Text Adventure Development System.
Copyright © 1999-2000 Philip Dearmore, all rights reserved.Version: 1.0.0
The Adventures of Helpfulman is a Tads/HTML-Tads text adventure. There is one important unique verb called 'change' that you will use at the correct part of the game to go from your mild-mannered self to a superhero. You can get a list of commands by typing 'commands' at the prompt, and 'help' is also available. Hints are available in a separate text file called HELPFUL.HNT. I was going to make hints available only in a registered version of the game, but decided to release the game as freeware; thus the hint system isn't refined, but it should work if you're stuck. If you find bugs that you just can't live with or you want to contact me, my e-mail address at
email redactedshould be available for another few years. Other help or hints should be available on rec.games.int-fiction[1] or the if-archive at ftp.gmd.de[2].Thanks to beta testers Dan Shiovitz, Gunther Schmidl, Muke Tever, and Mark Silcox.
Special thanks to Stephen Granade for being the "go-between" for every part of this project!
[1]: Few people use newsgroups these days; instead, visit intfiction.org (The IF Community Forum).
[2]: The IF-Archive moved from GMD; it's currently at ifarchive.org.
Also, entering the front lawn of the Pemper estate triggers a response suggesting a serious failure ending, but the game spits up a TADS Error instead of an ending.
Likewise, entering the hole in reality's top side should also end the game, but doesn't.
There's no inventory limit in this game, so I encourage you to pick up everything you can. There's also a pseudo-maze near the end of the game, and your trash items can help you map it out by dropping a different item in each room.
This is the response to SCORE:
In a total of T turns, you have achieved a score of N points out of a possible 100. This ranks you as your-rank.
Points are awarded as follows:
The known ranks are:
This walkthrough was funded via Patreon with
Ko-Fi is a way to send me small one-time donations. Every little bit helps, and thank you!