Sparkle is a Glulx interactive fiction game written with Inform 7 and is © 2014 by Juhana Leinonen (as Karly Di Caprio). It was a commended entry in Shufflecomp 2014.
In this strange game where you can change things into other things, you play as an apprentice named Xia. You've hiked up Mount Shanshan and now need to get a cable car working so you can reach the mountain top. A hotel is nearby. Perhaps you should meditate.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 3 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.
Note: For some reason, the game appears blank for a minute or two when initializing itself. The game isn't broken. It just has a very slow startup.
Cable car platform
> x me. i. (weary and carrying nothing)
> x car. x bar. x shack. x waterfall.
> enter car. (A bar blocks the door.)
> pull bar. (It's bolted. You need a tool.)
> s.
Engine room
> x generator. turn it on. (cylinders need cleaning)
> x walls.
> n. e.
Hotel gates
> x gate. x dog. x hotel.
By now, the game suggests finding a quiet place to MEDITATE.
> e.
Hiking path
> x lion. x dragon.
> meditate. (You learn that dog equals flute.)
> w.
Hotel gates
> change dog into flute. x flute. (dirty)
> open gate. n.
Garden
> take flute. x pond. x fish.
> wash flute. x flute. (fairly clean)
> play flute. (hm, blockage inside)
> n.
Hotel lobby
> x desk. x sofas. x plants. x dust.
> x wardrobe. x glove. (pinned under the wardrobe)
> e. (locked)
> u.
Upstairs corridor
> n. (no, choose a door)
> x door. (which? 101 to 107.)
> enter 101. (Every door here is locked.)
> d. s.
Garden
> meditate. (You learn that fish equals tornado, glove equals cantaloupe, and doorknob equals umbrella.)
> n.
Hotel lobby
> change glove to cantaloupe.
> take cantaloupe. x it.
> change cantaloupe into glove. x glove.
> change doorknob into umbrella.
> take umbrella.
> e.
Dining hall
> x tables. x windows. x dumbwaiters. (which?)
> x left. open left. (It's rusted stuck.)
> x chopstick. take it.
> put chopstick in flute. (Achievement: Veterinanian)
> play flute.
> x right. (lowered out of view)
> turn crank. (It snaps off; you drop it.)
> put flute in left. change flute into dog. (Achievement: Clean Dog)
The left dumbwaiter lowers; the right rises. It has a sausage on a plate and a bottle.
> take all from right.
> x plate. x sausage. x bottle.
> w. s. s. e.
Hiking path
The lion is so heavy, you'll automatically drop it the turn after you take it.
> take lion. w.
Hotel gates.
> take lion. n.
Garden
> take lion. n.
Hotel lobby
> take lion. e.
Dining hall
> take lion. put it in right. (The right dumbwaiter lowers and the left one raises up into view.)
> change dog to flute. take flute.
> w.
Hotel lobby
> meditate. (sausage equals scissors)
> s.
Garden
> change sausage to scissors. x scissors.
> clean scissors. change scissors to sausage.
> x sausage. (edible now)
> drop flute.
> s.
Hotel gates
> close gate.
> change flute to dog. (Achievement: Animal Rescue)
> give sausage to dog. (Achievement: Full Belly. Also, the dog is now friendly and will follow you.)
> open gate. n.
Garden
> close gate. pet dog. open umbrella.
> change koi into tornado. (Achievements: Not a Drop and Wet Dog)
The pond is now mostly empty, and a key is exposed.
> take key. x key. ("102")
> x pond. (still some water.)
> close umbrella.
> change dog to flute. take flute.
> n. u.
Upstairs corridor
> unlock 102 with key. enter 102.
Hotel room
🚨 BUG: LISTEN here causes a fatal stack overflow error.
> x bed. x waterfall. x table. x napkin. x lipstick.
> take all from table.
> open window.
> meditate. (Sanitary napkin equals monkey wrench.)
> change napkin to wrench.
> out. d. s. s. w.
Cable car platform
If you're not wearing the glove, you automatically wear it when you unscrew the bolts.
> unscrew bolts. (with wrench)
> s.
Engine room
> change wrench to napkin.
> pour gin on napkin. clean generator with napkin. (This works.)
> turn on generator. n. e. e.
Hiking path
> take dragon. w.
Hotel gates
> take dragon. w.
Cable car platform
> take dragon. enter car. (Achievement: Art Collector)
You see a control panel and lever inside the car.
> close door.
> put lipstick on flute. drop flute.
> change flute to dog. (Achievement: Clown Dog)
> x dog.
> pull lever. (Achievement: Ride with a Friend)
Mountain Top
> out.
The Master asks if you have learned the Pattern.
? 4 (Achievement: First Guess)
*** The End ***
You unlocked 10 achievements out of 10.
> achievements
Achievements are saved in the external file achievementdata.glkdata
and thus can be accumulated over several game sessions.
The response to ACHIEVEMENTS is either:
You haven't unlocked any achievements so far.
or:
You have unlocked the following achievements:
- Animal Rescue: Didn't leave the dog trapped in the dumbwaiter.
- Art Collector: Took a stone statue with you in the cable car, for no reason at all.
- Clean Dog: Washed the dog.
- Clown Dog: Put some lipstick on the dog.
- First Guess: Figured out the answer to the Master's question on the first try.
- Full Belly: Fed the dog.
- Not a Drop: Changed the fish into a tornado without getting wet.
- Ride with a Friend: Took the dog with you in the cable car to the mountain top.
- Veterinarian: Cured the dog.
- Wet Dog: Managed to get the dog wet.
After you've won the game, the game also tells you:
These achievements are still locked:
- List of locked achievements by name only
Unlock all achievements for a bonus extended ending.
Note that the Animal Rescue achievement is called Short Confinement in the file achievements.txt
.
The response to CREDITS is:
Sparkle was written for the Shufflecomp event organized by Sam Kabo Ashwell and released first on May 13th 2014 under the pseudonym "Karly Di Caprio". The story was inspired by the song Equivalencies by King Missile, suggested by Carl Muckenhoupt. The cover art was adapted from a photograph by Mykl Roventine.
Beta testing by Andrew Schultz, Christopher Conley and Marius Müller. Thanks to their efforts the story has improved considerably since the first revision.
For technical credits command VERSION.
Your actions can lock yourself out of optional puzzles, but you should always be able to reach the winning ending, no matter what you do. If you get stuck, command HINT for assistance.
Hate the first person viewpoint? Change it into second person by commanding SECOND PERSON.
There are only two endings. Both are winning endings that end with The End and both happen when you tell the Master that there is no pattern and you are enlightened. The first ending ends there.
The second ending expands upon the first when you've earned all ten achievements and you start to exercise your full power. It's a darker ending, but it does logically follow.
Also: I have some information about the nature of the universe. Use the THINK command to see this information:
> think
Meditation has revealed the following truth:
- dog equals flute
- fish equals tornado
- glove equals cantaloupe
- doorknob equals umbrella
- sausage equals scissors
- sanitary napkin equals monkey wrench
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