solution
Out of the Study was written in Alan and is © 2002 by Anssi Raisanen.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Version 1.0 of the game that was released as part of the 8th Annual IF Competition.
Related link: my "What if" page.
General Notes: (1) When refering to objects, you must supply a noun (not just an adjective). (2) Use "look under" and "look behind" instead of "search". (3) Despite the way this walkthrough is presented, you may only one command per line; don't use periods.
[The Study]
Check out your inventory:
>i. x gloves. x coat.
Examine the door. Uh-oh. You can't get out! But examining the LCD screen lets you know that you'll need a 5-digit number.
>x door. x panels. x light switch. x lcd screen. x numberpad.
Search the desk:
>x desk. x drawers.
>x top drawer. open top drawer. x papers.
>look under papers. x binoculars. take binoculars.
>x middle drawer. open middle drawer. x album. x glue marks.
>x bottom drawer. x receipts.
>x map. x traces.
>x calendar. (hm.. "applied the buggy code"?)
>x pen holder. x spots. x pen. (note that the ladybug has 9 spots)
>x photo. x suit. x family. x wife. x dress.
>x kids. x twins. x baby. x overall. x eldest boy. x girl.
>turn photo. ("The twins are always inseparable")
>x ashtray. x stubs. x ash. x paper. take paper. read paper. open paper.
The desk also has a chair, although it's not mentioned explicitly:
>x chair. x cushion. x wheels.
>look under chair. ("The smallest one is in the middle")
Other things not explicitly mentioned: ceiling, floor, walls, and the light:
>x ceiling.
>x floor. x carpet. x animals. x dragon. x smoke. look under carpet.
>x walls. x wallpaper. x diplomas.
>x light. x lightbulbs. x socket. x parchment. ("An odd number comes last")
Search the fireplace:
>x fireplace. x logs. x grille.
Search the window:
>x window. x curtains. x grating. x fly. x pattern. (figure eight)
>x rain. x landscape. x town. x hills.
>x first hill. x houses. examine houses through binoculars.
>x second hill. x trees. examine trees through binoculars.
>x third hill. x turbines. x blades. x logo. examine logo through binoculars. (five butterflies)
>x fourth hill. x cows.
Search the bookcase:
>x bookcase. x books. x encyclopedias. x dictionaries.
>x picture book. take it. x it.
>take picture book. x bookcase. x quiz book. ("How many legs does an ant have?")
>x statue. x arms. x bowl.
Search the palm:
>x palm. x leaves. x leaf. x holes.
>x trunk. x crack. x note. take note. read note. ("How many insects can you hear?")
>x pot. x soil.
Er, looking behind the palm reveals a painting that somehow wasn't obvious earlier, even when examining the walls. Worse, there's no motivation for pulling the hook, which itself is extremely easy to overlook unless you do something like TAKE ALL.
>look behind palm. x painting. x tigers. x mountains. x forest.
>look behind painting. x hook. x safe. open safe.
>take briefcase. x briefcase. open it. x documents.
>x safe. x torn photo. x beetle. ('zero' stomach marking)
>pull hook. z. (hear grasshopper, frog, bee, monkey)
>z. (hear mosquito, bigger insect, birds)
>z. (hear small mammal, flies, dragonfly, elephant)
>z. (The sounds repeat. You heard six insects in total: grasshopper, bee, mosquito, bigger insect, flies, dragonfly. Sorry, you can't turn the sounds off; however, they will stop on their own in a few turns.)
Okay, time to get out of here. You need a 5-digit number, and the calendar said that the professor used a "buggy code". That is, the code is made of bugs, i.e. insects (which the professor studies). The numbers that you've seen associated with insects are:
That's one digit too many, but of all of them, it's rather unlikely that the fly's figure eight is a permanent occurance, so it must be a red herring. Ignore the 8.
The ordering of the five digits is based on the positions of the five children in the family photo. To wit, twins first, then baby, then eldest, then the one slightly younger than the twins. This gives you the number 66095. This also conforms with the other clues found around the study, e.g.: the twins are always inseparable; the smallest one is in the middle; an odd number comes last.
>type 66095. n.
This version has four endings. When you type in the keycode, you can choose one of the endings, or just go north to have an ending randomly chosen. Here's how to run-through all the endings:
[The Study]
>type 66095. conventional. n.
>>restart
>type 66095. exciting. n.
[Trying to struggle free is the only thought you have now]
You're in a hallway. Only objects here are the professor and a window, which you may examine.
>kick professor.
>>restart
[The Study]
>type 66095. obscure. n.
>>restart
>type 66095. bitter. n.