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Key & Compass presents:
Domestic Elementalism
by fireisnormal

Domestic Elementalism is a web browser interactive fiction game written with Javascript and is © 2017 by fireisnormal. It was an entry in IF Comp 2017 where it took 10th place overall, and 3rd place for Miss Congeniality.

In this game, you play as a witch whose home is based on the four classical elements (fire, water, earth, and air). Unexpectedly, every room is malfunctioning; every aether gauge reads empty. You need to restore the elemental affinities to each room and find out why this happened in the first place.

This solution is by David Welbourn.

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.


Map

Attic kitchen bedroom FireRoom EngineRoom(back) EarthRoom AirRoom EngineRoom(front) WaterRoom living room bathroom d u

Note that this map should be understood as topological, merely showing which rooms are adjacent to each other. Compass directions are not used in this game, and the map presented here may not match how the author envisioned the game geography.


Simplified Walkthrough


Full Walkthrough

> continue

Engine Room (Front)

> feeding > Back to room

> aether engine > power level > Continue

> Fire room > Back one screen

> Water room > Back one screen

> Earth room > Back one screen

> Air room > Back to room

> Go to other end of engine room

Engine Room (Back)

> veins, arteries and capillaries > pipes > Back to room

> Enter Fire Room > Continue

Fire Room

Let's examine everything, picking up stuff when we can:

> tiles > Back to room

> oven > Back to room

> fridge > food > Back to room

> microwave > Back to room

> countertop > drawers > Take steel butter knife > Back to room

> fairy lights > Back to room

> burned roses > human cultures > Back to room

> Take steel chair

> Exit room

Engine Room (Back)

> Enter Earth Room > ">" > continue

Earth Room

> floors > rug > Back to room

> wardrobe > clothes > Back to room

> dresser > Take chisel > Continue

> Look in Mirror > Continue > Back to room

> bed > Back to room

> living walls > flowers > Back to room

Take a moment to examine and experiment with your inventory:

> chisel > Sharpen knife (Can't, steel is too hard for the chisel.)

> Continue

> Change to fire (Ortho change denied; you're too weak.)

> Continue > Back to inventory

> steel butter knife > Change to water. (It's now a limestone butter knife.)

> Shapen knife (Using the chisel. The knife is now a pointy limestone knife; the chisel is gone.)

> Continue

> Change to fire. (It's now a sharp steel knife.)

Go near the bed...

> bed

...and cut it with the sharp steel knife.

> Cut > Continue > Back to inventory

> Take earth quilt. Take bone saw. Exit room.

Engine Room (Back)

Learn that the attic key is missing:

> Go up to Attic. > Continue

> Go to other end of the engine room > Enter Air Room

Air Room

> cloud > Back to room

> corner > Back to room

> coffee table > glass > Back one screen

> paper flowers > these > Back to room

> TV > Back to room

> window > Back to room

> Take poker (It ought to be a fan) > Continue

> fireplace > chimney

> earth quilt > Change to air (It's now an air quilt.)

> Deposit quilt > Continue

> sharp steel knife > Remove bricks > Continue

> Back to inventory

> Back one screen

> birds' nest > Take attic key > Continue

> Exit room > Enter Water Room

Water Room

> tiles > polystyrene > Back to room

> bath > Climb on bath > Continue > Back to room

> sink > Back to room

> mirror > Back to room

> fountain bowl > Back to room

> poker > Change to water (It's now a plunger.)

> sink

> Unclog sink > Continue > Back to inventory

> bone saw > Change to air (It's now a throwing star)

> Take soap > back to room

> bath

> Throw at shampoo > Continue > Back to inventory

> Take shampoo

> Exit room > Go to other end of engine room

> Go up to attic (using the key) > Continue

Attic

> creatively stimulating > anyone else > holds you in place > Back to room

> livelihood > potions > Back one screen > desperate > Back to room

> dusty > Back to room

> Bookshelves > heaps

> Valerie Flick's (she combines elements) > Back one screen

> Keldora Hart's (does 'kettle magic') > Back one screen

> Isioma Okoro (scientific approach) > Back one screen

> the Petrichor Coven (dense theories) > Back one screen

> Yan (mixed presentation style) > Back one screen > Back one screen

> 'On Materials' (links materials to elements) > Back to room

> tiny dollhouse > Stroke fur > ">" > ">" > Continue

You can now change things to all four of their element forms.

> Go down > Enter Fire Room

Fire Room

> oven

> throwing star > Change to water (It's now an ice pick.)

> Swing pick at ice > Continue > Back to inventory

> take tongs > Back to room

> Take ice spheres > Continue

> oven

> ice pick > Change to fire (It's now an axe.)

> Back to inventory

> steel chair > Change to earth (It's now a wooden chair.)

> Chop up chair > Continue (You now have a large pile of wood.)

> Put wood in oven > Continue

> shampoo > Change to fire (You now have curling tongs.)

> Light fire > Continue > Back to inventory

> Exit room > Enter Earth Room

Earth Room

> living walls > flowers

> curling tongs > Turn on curling tongs (The flowers open.) > Continue

> Back to inventory

> tongs >

> pipette > Fill pipette (Now have a pipette filled with nectar.) > Continue

> Exit room > Enter Fire Room

Fire Room

> fairy lights

Assuming the pipette filled with nectar is still in focus:

> put nectar on fairy lights > continue

> Back to inventory

> Back to room

> Take mixing bowl

> oven

> mixing bowl > Change to fire

It's now a saucepan.

> Back to inventory

> soap > Put soap in saucepan > Melt soap > Continue

You now have 'questionable shampoo'.

> Change to air

You now have a misshapen hairdryer.

> Back to inventory

> Exit Room > Go to other end of engine room > Enter Air Room

Air Room

> cloud

> curling tongs > Change to air. (You now have a hairdryer.)

> turn on hairdryer.

The cloud only moves if you also have both hairdryers in your inventory. You need both.

> Continue

> take glass bottle lid.

> Exit Room > Enter Water Room

Water Room

> bath

> ice spheres > Throw ice in bath > ">" > Continue

> take ship in a bottle

> ship in a bottle > Change to fire

You now have a space rocket in a bottle.

> empty bottle

You now have an empty glass bottle.

> Back to inventory

> glass bottle lid > Change to fire

You now have a wax bottle lid.

> put lid on bottle

You now have a bottle of air.

> Change to water

You now have a bottle of water.

> Back to room

> fountain bowl

> put water in fountain bowl > Continue

> Exit room

Engine Room (Front)

> aether engine > power level

All gauges are full, and you realize your home is alive and needs affection.

Go to every room and Pet, Praise, and Hug everything until the house becomes active. Go nuts. I can't predict exactly how much attention is needed, so I can't be explicit about this part. Make sure to express your affections to each room's individual furnishings, not just the rooms as a whole.

When you've won the game, your choices are to play again, visit the author's Twitter page, or close the program.


Extras

Characters

Mentioned:


Credits

From the ABOUT popup window:

MANY THANKS TO THOSE WHO TESTED THIS GAME:

Sam, Stephen, Colleen, Ellie, Mathbrush, Kate


Inventory

Initial versions of an item are underlined. Unneeded versions of an item are italicized.


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