Key & Compass presents:
Falling to Pieces
by Gianluca Girelli and GDG-Entertainment

• Map
• Walkthrough
• Extras
  • Characters, Credits, Inventory, Score
• Thank You to my Patreon supporters
• Support me on Ko-Fi
• External links:
  • This story at Homepage, IFDB, and IFWiki.
  • Tweet about this walkthrough on Twitter.

Map

Walkthrough

Decompression Chamber

> about. help. credits.

> n. (nope!)

> open cabinet. g. take key. (+9)

> unlock door with key. open door.

> s. s.

preparation room

Yes, you left the door open behind you. Don't worry about it.

> x suits.

> e. e. n. (+5)

observation point

> x forest. x lake. x window. x bars.

> x desk. x chair. x magazine. take it. (about Ark something)

> s. s.

southern corridor

> x door. x grille. e. (+5)

maintenance room

> x picture. x workbench. search it.

> x screwdriver. take it. (+9)

> x sticker. take it. (+9)

> w. s.

situation room

You realize you're on a space station orbiting Earth, and the orbit is decaying.

> x monitors. x desk. x frame. take it. (+9)

> e.

control room

> x life support. x navigation.

> w. n.

southern corridor

> unscrew grille with screwdriver. (+16)

> w. s. s.

dark cave

> x bat. take bat. (+9)

> eat bat. (nope!)

> s.

front yard

> take pamphlet. (+9)

> x pamphlet. ("A...ham")

With the Ark clue from earlier, I now believe the game is trying to tell you that you're at Arkham, an insane asylum. Perhaps the bat was a reference to Batman?

> x fountain. x dolphin. x leaves. x bench.

> s.

reception hall

> x plants. e.

eastern hall

> x monitor. w. w.

western hall

> x monitors. x arrays. x porthole.

> e. s. w.

kitchen

> x stove. w.

galley

> x cabinets. e. e. e. (+5)

gym

> x mirrors. (+16. You have a pale complexion, green in your hair, and your tag is "1080".)

I think it's now safe to assume you're the Joker, although the game never says so.

> x equipment.

> w. s.

containment area main hall

> x box. x placard. x blue slot.

> e.

recreation room

> x window. x blue fuse. take it. (+9)

> w. se.

rehabilitation center

> take green fuse. (+9)

> nw. sw.

shock therapy room

> take yellow fuse. (+9)

> ne.

containment area main hall

> put blue fuse in blue slot.

> put green fuse in green slot.

> put yellow fuse in yellow slot. (+35)

> open door. w. (+5)

maximum security ward

> w.

eastern corridor

Remember that you saw "1080" in the mirrors; reverse that.

> x terminal. use terminal.

> type 0801 on terminal. (+16)

> w. (+5)

escape pod

> x window. x bed. x poster. (+25)

You remember who you are and glad you're home.

*** You have won ***

I earned 214 out of 230. I'm missing 16 points somehow.

Extras

Characters

There are no other characters in the game, unless the dead bat counts. However all the clues in the game suggest that you, the player-character, are the Joker from DC Comics. It's unclear why you're having a delusional episode, thinking that the asylum is a spacecraft. The only suggested reason for your delusion is gas exposure.

Credits

This is the response to CREDITS:

FALLING TO PIECES is dedicated to my very supportive family and friends. It is also dedicated to Stefano Buonocore, who left us way too early: your art will live forever.

Acknowlegment goes to the beta crew: Garry Francis, Ruggero Simoncelli, Davide Palombo, Francesco Fiorentini, Giorgio Balestrieri, Marco Innocenti, and NateX.

Finally, special thanks go to Graham Nelson, who created the Inform language used by this game, and to Fredrik Ramsberg and Johan Berntsson, who developed the custom PunyInform library. Additional thanks go to Stefan Vogt for his sharing of code and knowledge.

Inventory

Items are listed in the order acquired.

• a key. It's inside the cabinet in the decompression chamber. You need to try to open the cabinet twice befor it opens.
• The key unlocks the door there.
• a magazine. It's in the observation piont.
• Read it; it mentions someplace called Ark something.
• a screwdriver. Find it by searching the workbench in the maintenance room.
• In the southern corridor, unscrew the grille with the screwdriver.
• a sticker. Find it by searching the workbench in the maintenance room.
• I found no use for the sticker.
• a frame. It's on the desk in the situation room.
• Examine the frame to note your pale skin and red lips.
• a bat. It's in the dark cave.
• I'm guessing the bat is a reference to Batman.
• a pamphlet. It's on the front yard.
• Examine the pamphlet; it mentions someplace whose name begins with 'A' and ends with 'ham'. Combined with the clue from the magazine, the complete name is Arkham.
• a blue fuse. It's in the recreation room.
• In the containment area main hall, put the blue fuse in the blue slot.
• a green fuse. It's in the rehabilitation center
• In the containment area main hall, put the green fuse in the green slot.
• a yellow fuse. It's in the shock therapy room.
• In the containment area main hall, put the yellow fuse in the yellow slot. When all three fuses are placed, the door to the west opens.

Honorable mention:

• a space suit or a suit. Your outfit is not implemented.
• In the preparation room, examine the suits there to learn you're wearing a space suit.
• In the gym, examine the mirrors to learn you're wearing a suit.

Score

This is the response to SCORE:

You have so far scored your-score out of a possible 230, in several turns.

Points are awarded as follows:

• 81 points for finding sundry items.
• That's 9 points each for taking these nine items: key, screwdriver, sticker, frame, bat, pamphlet, blue fuse, green fuse, and yellow fuse. Only the magazine doesn't give you any points when you take it.
• 25 points for visiting various places.
• That's 5 points each for visiting these five places: observation point, maintenance room, gym, maximum security ward, and escape pod.
• 108 points for performing noteworthy actions.
• 16 points for unscrewing the grille with the screwdriver.
• 16 points for examining the mirrors in the gym.
• 35 points for putting all three fuses into their slots.
• 16 points for typing 0801 on the terminal.
• 25 points for examining the poster in the escape pod.
• 16 points for TO BE DETERMINED. It's not for saying XYZZY; I can tell you that much.

Thank You to my Patreon supporters

This walkthrough was funded via Patreon with

• the support of Robin Johnson, Ville Lavonius, Andrew Schultz, Kenneth Hon, Carl Muckenhoupt, Mark Musante, Phil Tatro, Mitch, and Peter Berman;
• the generous support of Janice M Eisen, Matthew Foxley, Thomas Insel, and Marius Müller;
• the very generous support of Karl Ove Hufthammer, Lance Campbell, and DrkStarr;
• the extremely generous support of Emily Short, Allen Garvin, Jesse McGrew, Jacqueline Ashwell, Jennifer Rexrode, and Durafen;
• and the invisible support of several anonymous patrons.

Ko-Fi is a way to send me small one-time donations. Every little bit helps, and thank you!