#chooksosig_log

[theadventurerslog]

Chook & Sosig Walk the Plank | Part 2

The Adventurer's Log

Part 2 and finale x2. Yes twice.

I left off last time needing to find some ink for a pen to give to Cow to write a calming poem to placate a seagull. I love the sentences games can make you write.

I wasn't quite sure at first where to get ink but then I remembered there was a mounted squid at the Adventurer's Guild. Sure enough, I was able to, er, stab the pen into it and that got me the ink. Ick.

I had one more thing I wanted to do before I brought Cow the inky pen and that was show the parrot to everyone! Mostly everyone commented on how angry and/or bitey he seemed. However, the goblin at the bottle mail centre was properly appreciative.

Sky goblin <3.

Then I back to the Sea Shrine to see Cow and get the poem.

He mentioned before he'd turned some of his marketing spiels into poetry instead and I suspect something like that happened here, but we never get to get any even snippets of the poem he wrote for our angry seagull and I'm disappointed in that. Even just a line or two of seemingly terrible poetry? No? No.

It did work on the seagull though who fell asleep. Or maybe it was that boring. Either way I got the bit of flyer from it which had the location of the Haunted Cove, location of the treasure, so off I went.

It was quickly exciting because I found a dragon!

Hebble found his dragon model and as the rest of the players were fine with this Exley just has to have a dragon in his setting.

The dragon had a shovel head, I couldn't seem to talk to the dragon yet until I'd gone further in and found a cave with a good ol' X marking the spot and a pole. I grabbed the pole and then I don't know if that changed things or if I'd been clicking the wrong space, but then I was able to talk to dragon. It had decided to make a new hoard of shovels. Gold and such is just so common. However, they were willing to give it to me if I could find something else rare to start a new hoard with.

Cow's shop back at Cape Codnapper had been selling Galaxy Princess Dolls that seemed good and hoardable. So I went back there, and along the way discovered that the chalk drawing that had been there had had more added... Just an observation for now.

As for Cow and the Galaxy Princess Doll he had only ever found one and sold it already. To waitstaff Hebble at the tavern as it turns out, so off I went again.

Of course Hebble wasn't willing to just give up the doll but Barkeep Cow hated it because Hebble was just using it for internet clout and getting even less work done than usual. So, he had Sosig put a dislike on his latest Galaxy Princess Doll post to make him give up on the whole thing because he's all about that praise.

Very silly but it worked. Hebble moved on to other things and let me have the doll.

The dragon was happy with the doll and I was able to combine the pole and the shovel head back into its proper shovel-y form and dig up at that X. Chest time! We're a real pirate now!

Of course the chest was being guarded by a Min ghost who was buried and cursed to guard this chest until her head is returned. As a psychic in life her skull would have a third eye. These players really like putting themselves into their characters... If I could bring her skull back to her she'd be able to leave.

I knew that skull. It was back to Cape Codnapper and Fortune-teller (attemped) Hebble again. He was trying all sorts of other divination tactics including tea leaf reading, which netted me the used up tea leaves. None of it was working. He was willing to give me the skull but only if I could make him a potion that would enhance his psychic abilities, or y'know, maybe give him some at all. He gave me a recipe and the bottle to put it in and it was time to go again.

This is where I did not realize something and that led to me getting stuck for a bit. You're meant to click each of the images to be told what they are. I didn't realize you could click on them and just went based off what I saw.

I knew the pot was likely the goblin soup - it was.

I guessed the spirit in a bottle may be one of the cocktails at the tavern. There was skeleton rum that seemed like it would fit the bill. I was right about that and having 'stolen' a dragon's hoard I was proven hero enough to be able to buy cocktails and was able to get that.

At first I thought the stones were like runestones, so I tried going back to the Forsaken Atoll to talk to Viking Min. No such luck.

I found the mushrooms in the Haunted Cove, but I couldn't take them because Sosig didn't know what they were and didn't want to go around picking up strange unknown mushrooms. While I glared at the recipe going look, look! Also your an adventure game protagonist; pick up all the things!

Thinking maybe those weren't the right mushrooms despite appearances I went to the goblins and was able to add the rum and as it turned out, the tea leaves. Ah, the stones and card were showing that I needed a divination related item. Which I confirmed later when actually checking the images.

I still didn't know what to do and ended up part way through another quest line. See, I decided to talk to Chook and get a hint and was told about steam being needed to power a place on the Secret Reef. As it turned out the baby seagull that had been nesting in Fortune-teller Hebble's kettle had left leaving the kettle free for the taking.

I took it and went to the Secret Reef and put it on the stove finally putting the lit fire and dripping tap to use. It made steam, powering a contraption that then opened a shower curtain revealing the Fabulous Mermaid.

Hebble again. Hebble just grabbing up all the roles.

This character had found a way to the Sea Goddess and was granted a wish to become a mermaid. Unfortunately for him, he's just not getting visitors and wants more. He's gotta show off and get attention. So, he gave me posters to put up in return for information on the Sea Goddess' location. I needed to put them up at the Goblin Isle, the tavern and Cow's shop.

I got the ones done at Goblin Isle and Cow's shop done just fine, but got stuck on the one at the tavern because it needed to go on the bulletin board but would cover Barkeep Cow's poster which had a picture of him on it and Cow didn't want that. So I needed to figure out a way to deal with that and was unsuccessful at that moment.

However, while getting the poster done at Codnapper I had to talk to Fortune-teller Hebble again and that led me to looking at the recipe once more while I was there anyway and then I discovered I could examine the pictures which informed me of the mushrooms, which I could then go get and finally make that potion and get the skull.

Side rant: I'm kind of irked at that recipe situation. A puzzle's rules should be consistent. Why was I allowed to add the rum and tea leaves without examining the images first for confirmation? Those images were a lot more abstract than the mushrooms which were exactly the same as their respective image, but I couldn't even take them. It should have either let me take everything but not be able to add them to the pot without checking the recipe images individually or let me be able to figure it out solely based on the imagery as I did. This mix was just frustrating, especially with the most obvious item being the one that was the problem, and it felt like being punished for taking the harder route.

Okay, back to business.

I brought Min's skull back thus freeing her from being bound to chest protection duty, leaving Sosig free to loot!

Mmm Multi Meow brand cat food. Sosig's favourite.

And it turned out that was one of two endings. I got more player chat in which Exley revealed he had a different treasure planned for each of them. Chook kind of mocked Sosig's tastes, but he just loooves Multi Meow. And so I got credits!

BUT

I wanted to get the Sea Goddess ending, so I reloaded right before bringing Min back her skull and set off again.

I still needed to work out that poster so I went back and tried things and it turned out I needed to put the poster on the board and then use the scissors to cut the face out so that Cow's face would still show. That was enough to keep him happy.

Reporting back to Mermaid Hebble had him giving me the location of the Sea Goddess' island. But when trying to get close a fog would rise and I'd be shoved out.

So I went back to Viking Min to finally get some more info out of her. She had been putting together a special figurehead along with a hagstone (rock with a hole in the middle) that would allow a ship to see clearly and pass through the fog. However, she hadn't finished the figurehead nor found a hagstone, I'd need a chisel -- she dropped one in a lobster pot that needed a winch to get it back up -- and the hagstone.

I tried to go for the chisel, but the cord for the winch was missing, so I also needed to find something for that too. After a bit of looking I found rope at the Secret Reef. I don't know if it newly appeared or if I just missed it before. Either way I got the chisel up and was able to finish the figurehead.

It took me a little more wandering and checking beaches for the hagstone before I landed back at the Adventurer's Guild where I was then reminded of a stone tablet and Hebble's mini office cannon... Which I had played with before and it would shoot at said stone tablet--simply didn't have enough force. I talked to Hebble about it and discovered it had a higher powered mode that was voice activated but Hebble refused to use it.

I kind of stumbled on this solution by accident. I was showing the parrot again as you do and that led to my parrot mimicking his voice and so having learned it, I was able to use him with the cannon to activate it.

And blam! One newly made hagstone for me. I took it back to the figurehead and was ready to go. The fog was no longer a problem and I landed at the Undersea Palace.

Along the way down the stairs I found various secretive clams of a tight lipped variety. And at the bottom...

Sea Goddess Hebble. Taking. Every. Role.

Cow wanted that role, but Hebble beat him to it. Exley seems perpetually exasperated. Min is clearly not doing a great job of keeping Hebble in line.

Anyway, I got some conversation with the Sea Goddess and found out he imprisoned his advisor that came with the job because he was trying to make him do work like taking people's prayers and wishes. The horrors.

Poor goblin. I had a chat with him too and found out there was some kind of problem at the bottle mail centre, presumably caused by the Sea Goddess, so the wishes weren't coming in. He's also hungry and would really like some meat.

The tavern has loads of meat and a meat eating contest, though that's only on Mondays and it's Friday. Still, it was something to keep in mind. But, I first went to check out the bottle mail centre.

Goblin Queen Min told me to talk to the goblin with the bottle who was supposed to be in charge of the deliveries, but something had gone wrong. Talking to the goblin I found out that the weathervane used to guide mail to the Sea Palace was broken. It needed a pearl from the Sea Palace itself to be able to find the way. I'm gonna assume one of those clams has a pearl I could get for him. Very subtle work, Sea Goddes Hebble.

I was correct. And I could have gotten the pearl earlier. I just needed to use the chisel to open the clams until I found the right one. Easy peasy, except Sosig got a case of butterfingers and dropped the pearl into the coral. Not a problem either; some of the coral bits had bubbles coming out and could be squeezed to cause other bits to expel their stuff. I just had to move the pearl along until it got shot back out onto the ground.

I was able to fix the weathervane, so the mail was up and running again. When I went back to the Undersea Palace there were bottles everywhere, which Hebble was stalwartly trying to ignore except for some fanart and fanfic. Gotta keep stroking that ego. There was also a threatening letter though... something to do with fish, stinky dead fish.

I still needed to get some meat for the poor goblin. I ended up checking back at Codnapper again to discover that expanding chalk drawing had expanded all the way to Chook, who was the one who had been drawing it. She was done and gave me the chalk and then I knew immediately what to do:

Change the date on the meat contest chalkboard at the tavern to Friday. Bring on the meat!

I brought the meat back to the very relieved goblin who would be happy to offer me his secretarial duties now.

I wasn't entirely sure where to go from here, but in the end more searching around the bottles had me find the threatening letter. It was from someone who wanted to send fermented fish as part of a viking ritual in honour of the Sea Goddess.

Obviously that had to have come from Viking Min and when I went back there was a indeed a big ol' bucket o' fish waiting.

Stinky smelly fish. Min would only send them once she was assured the letter had been received by the Sea Goddess, so back I went again. The goblin was only too happy to stamp the letter to verify it had been seen and received.

Min accepted it and off went the fish! And I was automatically sent back to the Sea Palace to see the results.

Fish, fish everywhere. There were still some fish drifting down as well... Sea Goddess Hebble was horrified and wanted nothing to do with this and gave up the job, relinquishing the throne to none other than Sosig!

Victory! Sea Goddess Sosig and a freed goblin advisor/secretary!

And some more banter back around the table.

Hebble had to concede defeat. Chook offered her services as advisor. Cow though that'd be fun too. I love that the dragon figure appeared on the table too after the earlier shenanigans.

Party time for future sessions!

And that's the other ending! All done now!

The end!

Time: 2:52

--

Final Thoughts

In general it was a fun, chill, breezy sort of game. For the most part I found it fairly easy and where I did have some hiccups they didn't last too long. Plus there's the hint system through Chook if you do need a little extra nudge.

I enjoyed the framing device and setting. It was entertaining to see which characters the players made too while running into them in different places and situations and also what they retained from themselves--quite a lot in general. They might not be the best actors but they're having a good time.

There were some things I would have liked to see more results of like the poem, but this was also, by my understanding, a one-person endeavour, so there's only going to be so much that can reasonably be done. More of a 'it would have been nice, but' kind of want.

I also really liked the art, especially the background art. It's a lovely charming looking game. And there were a few extra things to look at that were more for flavour than any puzzle solutions, and I do always appreciate the extras.

Just a nice 2-3 hours with some fun humour.

#chook & sosig walk the plank #chooksosig_log #adventure games

[theadventurerslog]

Chook & Sosig Walk the Plank | Part 1

The Adventurer's Log

Release Date: 2019

It's time for some point and click role-playing pirates. Chook & Sosig is an indie game I got in one of the giant itch.io bundles (it's also on Steam) ages ago and kept meaning to get around to and not actually doing so. Its time has come.

I did find out after my first session that the dev had made a few tiny free games previous to this one that would have probably given more context and more of an introduction to these characters, but that's okay. The characters get introduced at the start and I'm not feeling like I'm missing too much by not having played them. Just go with the flow!

So this is your standard point & click with the pointing and the clicking and inventory, but it's framed as a group of anthropomorphic characters, both dead and alive, who have come together in the pub to play a role-playing game and their game master has set it for a pirate theme. So the game itself is set in this pirate game, while it occasionally goes back to the gaming table for some banter and comments from the players.

To introduce our group of players we've got:

Sosig: The blue spaghetti cat, one of the two titular characters and the one we play.

Chook: A ghost chicken and Sosig's buddy. I'm not sure anyone else is actually aware of her? She also acts as the hint system because she peeked at the GM's notes.

Cow: An undead cow head, one of Sosig's best friends and proud to be one of the living dead.

Exley: The owner of the pub, the Cheeky Unicorn, and the Game master here. Also undead, an undead sheep.

From left to right: Sosig, Chook, Cow, Exley.

Hebble: An energetic and playful fox who theoretically helps Exley at the bar, and seems to be a bit of a mischief maker.

Min: A bat who is also the only psychic around and keeping Hebble in line here.

From left to right: Exley, Hebble, Min.

Going with the flow and hey, alive or dead, they're all kind of cute.

With introductions out of the way we got started landing us on the first island:

Cape Codnapper.

And Sosig looking the part with his bandana hat and eyepatch. The first goal was to find the other characters. I went to the building first which turned out to be a shop owned by Cow. Although Cow was really using it more as an excuse for a place to store his hoarded items. Customers ew.

Customers are unfortunate consequences that must be dealt with.

I examined all the things, including that gold fish who was apparently washed up in that bowl and rescued by Cow who would like to get him a proper tank (eventual puzzle goal?), and of course, I had a chat with Cow. I was also able to get the torch off the wall and Cow just let me have it.

Back outside I then met Min's character, a somewhat superstitious pirate.

She wants to set sail, but the fountain has stopped running and it's apparently bad luck to sail while the fountain is stopped. Our first goal is here!

She also talks about a treasure on a haunted island and a wish granting Sea Goddess. Goals?

At the other end of the island I found the dry fountain and Chook. Chook was playing a retired pirate because she didn't want to do anything except hang out and provide clues and hints.

Nearby, was Hebble playing a fortune-teller, or attempting to anyway.

He was having trouble getting the crystal ball to work. He also gave me info though: Cow was the one to stop the fountain by pulling out a side panel and doing something in there.

I pulled out the panel and found a series of switches for which I'd obviously need a code.

I went back to question Cow. He did turn it off so that people would have to stay, and as the only shop here, they'd have to buy from him. Since he doesn't like customers he'd just sky rocket the prices so simply selling one item a month would keep him afloat. I had a few different threatening choices such as the dreaded cruise ship and browsing oh no, and got him to break with the threat of greasy kids getting their greasy hands all over everything.

Exley wasn't entirely happy with Cow's character breaking so easily, but Sosig is apparently persuasive. Greasy kids, nooo!

He sent me on a trail through a small series of notes that ultimately led to a note with the right code and so I was able to activate the fountain and set sail!

Not many islands. Yet. There was more map to be found.

I first went to a sea shrine. There were doors with a couple statues with movable arms that would affect panels above the door raising them up and down. I assumed I'd need a bit more info before dealing with that so I left it. (Spoiler: I did not need more info).

Then I went to a place called the Adventurer's Guild.

I met another character Hebble was playing, this time a very enthusiastic hunter... who just loves animals... on the wall where they won't keep running around and acting up. Pleasant. And he just loves displaying things... But he also had a map kicking around. Once I was able to find it I discovered it was also missing islands but it turned out he'd put them down in ultraviolet ink to keep pirates away. He didn't believe Sosig was a pirate though. I would need ultraviolet light to read the map so there was the next goal!

I then found Goblin Isle with a handy-dandy information sign.

From the sign I learned, among other things, of a luminescent orchid that gives off ultraviolet light.

Further in I found the orchid but it wasn't doing well because it was shaded by foliage. Then I found the goblins themselves. The group complained about there being goblins in a pirate themed game, but Exley didn't have pirate figures and did have goblins, so he'd make them fit. I'll take goblins anywhere!

They also had a parrot! And some scissors. The goblins were making soup for themselves and as an offering to the sea goddess, but they needed fire to actually cook it. If I could bring them fire, they'd let me have the scissors. What they did let me take was their beloved bitey parrot 'child', so the parrot could go travelling and learn. After all:

"A well-educated goblin... is a DANGEROUS goblin. Wise words to live by. This whole bit was adorable.

I went back to the Adventurer's Guild and Cape Codnapper in search of fire. I had no luck but I was able to get the parrot to bite the cork or whatever off a keg of rum and what else do you with rum but soak your unlit torch in it? Still no fire.

I went back to the sea shrine as the still unsolved area and this time got the door. It really was just trial and error and paying attention to what moved what... mainly trial and error for me. It opened into a cave with a lit torch where I was able to get fire for my rum-soaked torch. Deeper down I found another character played by Cow.

Cow was claiming to be a part of a cult selling Goddess Water. 100% not a multi-level marketing scheme nosiree. He also writes poems, but no one likes them and all left, so now it's just him and a pile of bottles of the 'best water'. But Sosig asked to join and got a voucher to use at the shop.

I went back to Goblin Isle with my lit torch. Sosig comments on it staying lit in the rain at the sea shrine island, so I assume the fire would have gone out if I hadn't soaked the torch in rum first. Some unknown advance planning there!

The goblins let me take the scissors in return for the fire, but the scissors were too dull to cut with. Taking the voucher back to the shop I was able to use it to search Cow's junk bin where I found some sandpaper and could use that on the scissors. Then I was able to cut the foliage, get the orchid and bring it back to read the map, unlocking more islands to visit.

I'm still not sure what the plot will end up being, but by Min's comments, the goblin talk and the Goddess water I'm assuming I'll need to find the treasure and the Sea Goddess? Exley, what's the plan!

My plan was to check out the new islands.

I first went to Forsaken Atoll where I found Viking Min.

She told me about how she and her crew were looking for the Sea Goddess to grant them a wish for a bigger boat. But they got lost and she's an aggressive sailor. She crashed the boat and her crew left her. I was able to light her fire and warm her feet though...! I couldn't do anything else here. Maybe later?

I then found a tavern, The Beast Below.

There were a few important points here. Cow's character runs the place with Hebble's character helping as the waitstaff.

Outside are some gulls for a Gull Mail service. One of them was particularly grumpy and feral and tore up a bunch of letters and flyers for its own nesting, but really the gull success rate in general for their mail delivery was only about 50%.

There is a cocktail menu but I can't order any until proving myself a hero and none of my deeds so far were heroic enough.

There's also a customer feedback book in which everything written was done by Hebble.

Hebble is just on break because no customers means breaks though he may be feeding Cow some white lies about how exactly that works. He was also the one to suggest the cocktail menu instead of the more pirate-y goodness, which led to all their customers leaving previously. Pirates! They want grog, not cocktails!

To use the gull mail service a mail token was needed. Cow would give me only if I got a mail card. I could get one from a business he sent some too. He also set up the gull service as competition to the bottle mail service run by goblins because he doesn't like goblins and also wanted a use for the feral seagulls outside.

From there I went next to an island that turned out to be said Bottle Mail Central run by goblins and another of Min's characters, the Goblin Queen. She did not like the gull mail service. The gulls keep ripping up the haunted treasure flyers even removing the address! One of those flyers would be useful for us... Pirate and treasure after all.

The party once more commented on the goblins.

Hey, I'm not complaining. Use those goblins.

Hebble brought up having lots of dinosaurs too and even a dragon. Exley shut him down. But dinosaurs! I'm with Hebble here.

Anyhoo, Min was happy to give me her mail card as she wanted nothing to do with the seagull service, and had left it with one of the bottle goblins. Unfortunately, that goblin lost it to a polar bear. That polar bear likely ended up at the Adventurer's Guild as there aren't normally polar bears around, so if it's there it's likely the one.

It sure did end there! As a rug... I found the card in its mouth but had to open it. The tail was also a spot to interact with and pulling it did open the mouth but I needed a way to hold the tail in place to keep the mouth open. Parrot time again.

I got the card!

Before I went back to the tavern I made a stop by the last island I hadn't checked out yet. Secret Reef.

There was a sad gull. I was able to light a fire in the stove and get a tap dripping on the hot plate, but otherwise couldn't find anything to do here at the moment, so another place for later I suppose.

Then I went back to give the card to Cow and get my token. The token caused a bell to go up a pulley alerting two of the three gulls and getting them to leave their nests but not the third at the top, which was the one I really wanted, because the pulley got stuck on a knot I had to cut first. That got the top gull to move. It came down with a flyer piece in its beak but was too angry to let me near. I'd need a way to calm it.

Like...a calming poem? Goddess Water Cow was willing to write one but needed a pen; his were dried up. He previously bought his from the wonderful shop on Cap Codnapper. So, onward.

Nah, never that easy. Shopkeeper Cow no longer had any pens due to waitstaff Hebble buying them all. Back to the tavern, where Hebble was willing to give me one but only if I wrote a good review for him. Sosig promised to do so, but the pen is out of ink.

And so that's my next goal. Try to find some ink. I'm not actually sure where to go about doing. Hebble suggested the ink of octopus and other similar critters. I'll see what I can find next time...

-

Time: 1:00

#chook & sosig walk the plank #chooksosig_log #adventure games