Key & Compass presents:
Renegade Brainwave
by J. J. Guest

• Map
• Walkthrough
• Extras
  • Characters, Credits, Endings, Inventory
• Thank You to my Patreon supporters
• Support me on Ko-Fi
• External links:
  • This game at ADRIFT, IFDB, IFWiki, and ifwizz.
  • Follow me at Bluesky, Ko-Fi, Mastodon, Patreon, and Wordpress.

Map

Walkthrough

Cemetery Entrance

CAUTION: Avoid putting anything new into your purse so the gun and flashlight continue to fit in there.

> x me. i.

> x bag. x boots. x tights. x dress.

> open bag. (ack! snake!)

> drop bag. (The snake goes away.)

There's a chance that Donald will pick up anything you drop. If he picks up the handbag, just take it from him. Sometimes he will drop things on his own; if he does that, you can pick it up again before he does. You can also ask him to give something to you, but he's highly unlikely to do that unless you give him a doughnut first.

> take bag. wear bag. x gun. x flashlight. x donut.

> x Donald. x red boots. x lighter.

> x trees.

> x urns.

> g. g. g. g. g.

> g. g. g. g. g.

> g. g. g. g. g.

> g. g. g. g. g.

> n.

Crossroads

> x trees. x bugs. x clouds.

> n.

Outside The Chapel

> x chapel. x gables. x ivy. x planks. x glow.

> w.

Shady Corner

> x column. (for Mimi Madley, the magician's assistant)

> s.

Oak Tree

You see a dead gorilla leave its open grave.

> x oak. x protrusions. x bats.

> x turf. x tombstone. x grave.

When you examine the grave, Donald pushes you in.

Open Grave / Darkness / The Gorilla's Coffin

Soon after arriving here, Donald may close the coffin, plunging you into darkness. If this happens, just OPEN COFFIN and continue.

> x coffin. search coffin. (You take a jelly doughnut and a crowbar.)

> x crowbar.

> out. s.

Tomb of the India Rubber Man

> x tomb. x mosaics. x statue.

> x fence. x sign.

> e. e.

Animal Cemetery

> x tombstones. g. g. g. g. g.

> x pie. take pie. (no: swamp gas is too strong)

> n.

Vault of Mandoo the Mystic

> x vault. x door. x dummy. x shoes.

> talk to dummy. g. (He wants either a cigar or a beer.)

> n.

Strongman's Grave

> x slab. x gator.

> w.

Outside The Chapel

If you're carrying the flashlight, put it back into your handbag. You cannot use the crowbar while carrying the flashlight directly.

> pry planks with crowbar.

> in.

Ruined Chapel

> x idol. x calliope. x hole. x steps.

> d.

Crypt

> x capsule. x hatch.

> in.

Space Capsule

CAUTION: Don't stay too long in here. There's a chance Devora will attack you with her mental powers.

> take helmet. x dog. x curtain. take can.

> out. u. out. e.

Strongman's Grave

> x helmet. x can.

> spray gator. (The sweater is left behind.)

> take sweater. (Lobo appears and wants the sweater!)

Run to the rubber man's fence:

> sw. sw.

Tomb of the India Rubber Man

> put sweater in fence. (Lobo rips opens the fence, takes the sweater, and leaves.)

> turn on flashlight. in.

Mausoleum of the Great Bendini

> x sarcophagus. put flashlight in bag.

> pry lid with crowbar.

> look in coffin. x bones.

> take bone. x femur.

> out. n. n.

Shady Corner

The gorilla is here smoking a cigar.

> x gorilla. x cigar. talk to gorilla.

> take gun. shoot gorilla. (He offers a cigar instead.)

> take cigar. (The gorilla sniggers and leaves.)

> x cigar.

> se. e.

Vault of Mandoo the Mystic

> give cigar to dummy. (bye bye dummy)

> x shoes. take shoes. (nah)

> in.

Inside the Vault

> x bust. x turban. x coals.

> x candles. x drapes. x webs.

Donald's boots are far more fire resistant than yours.

> Donald, take turban. (He takes it and wears it.)

Donald is not willing to give you the turban, not even for a jelly doughnut.

> out. s.

Animal Cemetery

> Donald, burn gas. (He does so.)

> take pie.

> Donald, give turban to me. (He refuses.)

> give pie to Donald. (He gives the turban in exchange.)

> wear turban.

> nw. n. in. d. in.

Space Capsule

> shoot dog. (Devora stops the bullets from reaching her.)

> show bone to dog. squeeze bone.

> throw bone at curtain.

*** THE END ***

Extras

Characters

• The Ringmaster is the emcee that introduces and concludes this story.
• Detective Frank Douglas is the crossdressing protagonist. You were once a werewolf.
• Officer Donald McRonald is your clownish sidekick of few words. He likes doughnuts and burning things. He never ribs you about your transvestism.
• A seventeen-foot boa constrictor is in your handbag, probably put there as a practical joke by the boys back at the station.
• The Dread Devora is a cute little puppy, perhaps a husky-spitz mix, who was sent into space by the Soviets. But beware! She has returned to Earth with a huge, pulsing, mutated cranium. Cosmic radiation has given her fantastic mental powers which now threaten to destroy us all!

Brought to life by mysterious space radiation:

• Gorgo the Gorilla smokes Cuban cigars.
• A huge alligator wearing an angora sweater lounges lethargically upon the strongman's grave.
• A ventriloquist's dummy guards the entrance to the vault of Mandoo the Mystic. He wants a cigar or a beer.
• LOBO is the circus strongman, four hundred pounds of pallid, worm-eaten muscle who could never resist the fluffy touch of angora!

Found dead:

• The Great Bendini, also known as the India Rubber Man: his bones are in a sarcophagus in his mausoleum.

Background characters:

• Lightning bugs flit among the trees.
• Bats flit about the top of the oak tree.
• Bullfrogs are heard in the animal cemetery.
• A 100% fake rabbit might hop past you.
• A one legged skeleton might hop past you.

Mentioned:

• Mary Quant is the maker of your handbag.
• Tsathoggua is a monstrous toad that's been worshipped here like a diety sinces 1952.
• Officer McGillicuddy is a chimpanzee.
• Officer McKenzie is a spoon.
• Several circus folk are buried in this cemetery including Mimi Madley the magician's assistant, Mandoo the Mystic, a human cannonball, a trapeze artist, Lorenzo the Lion Tamer, the fortune teller Gypsy Rose Lee, the fire eater Monsieur Flambeau, a mnemonist, Hernando Horowitz aka the Ringmaster of Crime, another lion tamer, a juggler, the cannonball-catcher Belle Barton, Professor Mezarin, Henry Higgins, a mime, a clown, another ringmaster, another fire eater, an Australian knife thrower, a trampolinist, and Le Petomane.
• Several circus animals are also buried here including Drongo the boxing kangaroo, Bingo the poodle, Gustavo the flea, and Nelly the elephant.
• Chuckles the clown is mentioned on Bingo's grave.
• Professor Hopper and his flea circus are mentioned on Gustavo's grave.

Credits

This is the response to ABOUT:

Renegade Brainwave
Tsathoggua County Police Department, October 31st, 10 PM: Reports are coming in of a mysterious object from space, which has apparently crash landed in the old cemetery! Not just any old cemetery, but the Bide-A-Wee Cemetery for Circus Folk, which was hurriedly built in a dismal, stinking swamp, years ago, after that evil circus came to town and tried to hypnotize all the townspeople!

There's nothing else for it but for you, Detective Frank Douglas, and your best officer, the ever so kooky Donald McRonald, to investigate. It's going to be one of those nights, you can tell, and on nights like these, you prefer to change into something more — comfortable...

About the Game
Renegade Brainwave was first written in three hours for ECTOCOMP 2010. This Glulx version is an expansion of the original idea.

Renegade Brainwave includes the Approaches extension by Emily Short. Approaches provides a GO TO... action which allows the player to move to a named room, as long as the path lies through rooms they have already visited, and provided the way is clear!

The game includes an atmospheric soundscape including music by Monstrous Movie Music.

A location-based hint system is provided in Renegade Brainwave. If at any point you get stuck with the game, you can type HINT or HELP to receive a hint about what needs to be done in that room or location.

The author is the proud owner of a pair of white vinyl go-go boots, size 10.

Credits
Renegade Brainwave is the work of J. J. Guest. It was written with Inform 7. I would like to thank my beta-testers Ade McTavish, Mike Spivey and Hanon Ondricek. Additional circus epitaphs were written by Loz Etheridge.

Inform 7 is the work of Graham Nelson. Renegade Brainwave uses the extensions "Approaches", "Locksmith", and "Basic Screen Effects" by Emily Short, and "Music" by Daniel Stelzer. The javascript code used to make the soundscape playable in the online version was kindly provided by Brian Rushton, adapted from his excellent game Absence of Law.

The character Donald McRonald first appeared in Escape from the Crazy Place. Tsathoggua and The Book of Eibon are the creations of Clark Ashton Smith.

Renegade Brainwave is respectfully dedicated to Edward D. Wood Jr.

Music Credits (Musical Version Only)
Recordings courtesy of Monstrous Movie Music, Copyright 1996. Music from It Came from Outer Space: "Main Title" and "The Thing Follows" composed by Herman Stein - Gilead Music Co. (ASCAP). "Kidnapping Ellen" composed by Irving Gertz - Accolade Music Publishing Co. (ASCAP)

"The Limonaire 1900 Plays 'Entry of the Gladiators'" is used by kind permission of Tom Gavioli https://soundcloud.com/tom-gavioli. "Entry of the Gladiators ('Thunder and Blazes')" composed by Julius Fucik.

"Swamp Noises", "Crickets", "Thunder" and "Thunder Rumbles" are from Special FX (Sound Effects) (CD), Copyright Avid Records 1997.

"Sputnik: Beep" by NASA is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

"Alligator Growl", "Bats Chirping", "Bats Flying", "Underwater Synthesizer", "Old Time Rifle", "Water Drip", "Treble-Heavy Thunder Crack", "Loud Muffled Thunder Crack", "Hound Dog Baying and Howling", "Big Animal Growling Performed by Human" and "Oar Splash" are by Craig Smith from FreeSound. "Loon Diver Call 3" is by Nic Stage from FreeSound.

Freesound is a collaborative repository of CC licensed audio samples, and non-profit organisation, with more than 400,000 sounds and effects, and 8 million registered users. The soundscape was created by the author using Audacity and Adobe Audition.

Endings

• THE END (losing endings)
• if the boa constrictor kills you.
• if the Dread Devora kills you.
• if you try to smoke or light the cigar.
• if you give the cigar to Donald.
• if you enter the dimensional rift.
• THE END (the winning ending)
• if you throw the bone at the curtain and Devora goes into the curtain after it, becoming two-dimensional in the process.

Inventory

Items are listed in the order they're acquired in this walkthrough.

IMPORTANT: In general, avoid dropping anything, because Donald will likely pick it up. Sometimes you can just take it back, but other times you may need to order him to give it to you. If he's reluctant to give you something, you may need to bribe Donald with a jelly doughnut. It's just better to never give Donald the opportunity to take your things.

• some white vinyl go-go boots, some ontrasting red tights, and a monochrome mod dress. You're wearing them.
• You're unwilling to remove any part of your outfit. Examine then ignore them.
• a Mary Quant handbag. You're carrying it.
• The initial contents of your bag are your gun, your flashlight, and a jelly doughnut. Take care to always leave enough room in the bag for the flashlight. Don't fill your handbag with other stuff.
• a gun. It's in your handbag.
• When the gorilla is in the shady corner, try to shoot him with your gun. He offers you one of his cigars instead.
• If you're wearing the turban, you may attempt to shoot Devora, but that attempt will fail.
• a flashlight. It's in your handbag.
• Turn it on to see in dark places, particularly in the mausoleum of the Great Bendini. Put the lit flashlight back into your bag.
• CAUTION: If Donald ever gets and turns the flashlight off in the mausoleum, you have no choice but to order him to turn it on again.
• CAUTION: You cannot use the crowbar while carrying the flashlight directly.
• two jelly doughnuts.
• One jelly doughnut is in your handbag.
• One jelly doughnut is acquired by searching the gorilla's coffin, or by examining the coffin's corner.
• A third jelly doughnut might be acquired from the open grave, but not always.
• If you're careful, you don't need any of the jelly doughnuts, but if you must get something (other than the turban) from Donald, and he's refusing to do that, give him a jelly doughtnut as a bribe.
• Note: You are unwilling to eat any of the doughnuts so you can continue to fit into your dress.
• a crowbar. It's acquired by searching the gorilla's coffin, or by examining the coffin's corner.
• CAUTION: You cannot use the crowbar if you're carrying the flashlight directly. Put the flashlight back into your handbag.
• Outside the chapel, pry the planks with the crowbar.
• In the mausoleum, pry the sarcophagus lid with the crowbar.
• a space-helmet. The cosmonaut in the space capsule is wearing it. You can take it while the cosmonaut is wearing it, but not after Devora herself removes it.
• You don't need the helmet, but if you have it, you may wear it. Note that the helmet doesn't block the swamp gas; see Missisisippi Mud Pie doughnut.
• a can of alligator repellent. It's in the space capsule.
• At the strongman's grave, spray the gator (with the can). The gator goes, but leaves its sweater behind.
• an angora sweater. An alligator at the strongman's grave is wearing it. Spray the gator with the can of repellent; the gator flees and leaves the sweater behind.
• When you take the sweater, the strongman Lobo immediately arrives and tries to take the sweater from you. Run to the tomb of the India rubber man, and put the sweater into the fence. Lobo rips the fence open and takes the sweater away.
• a femur bone. It's inside the rubber man's sarcophagus. Pry the sarcophagus's lid with the crowbar.
• In the space capsule, while wearing the turban, throw the bone at the curtain to defeat the Dread Devora and win the game.
• a cigar. At the shady corner, the gorilla offers you a cigar if you attempt to shoot him with you gun there. Take the cigar.
• Outside the vault of Mandoo the Mystic, give the cigar to the dummy. Unfortunately for the dummy, the cigar explodes when he lights it, leaving only his shoes behind.
• a Mississippi Mud Pie doughnut. It's in the animal cemetery, but dense swamp gas prevents you from taking it.
• Order Donald to burn the gas, then quickly take the mud pie doughnut before the gas builds up again.
• When Donald is wearing the turban, give the mud pie doughnut to him; he gives you the turban in exchange.
• an enormous purple turban. Mandoo's bust is wearing it inside his vault.
• A bed of hot coals lies between you and the turban. Ask Donald to take the turban. His red boots are thick enough to let him walk on the coals safely.
• When Donald is wearing the turban, give the mud pie doughnut to him; he gives you the turban in exchange.
• Wear the turban. Now you're protected from Devora's mental powers!

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, and Daniel Stelzer;
• the generous support of Janice M Eisen, Matthew Foxley, and Thomas Insel;
• 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!