Endgame transcript and solution

puzzle written by Ricky Liu
performed by Ricky Liu and Chris Luhrs

Below is a sample transcript for the "text adventure" portion of endgame.

• Outside
• Introduction to the chambers
• Chamber 1
• Chamber 2
• Chamber 3

Note: If at any point teams ask Mario to do something unusual or that would cause him to die or get stuck, they are rebuffed appropriately. For example:

>take something that is fixed in place

>do something that is obviously bad

>take off an article of clothing

>say xyzzy

>any response

Outside

>yes

>yes

>examine door

>open door

>examine sign

>wipe away dust

>examine logo

>examine path

>follow path

>open door

>climb ladder

>aperture science

>look in skylights

>examine gun

>bang on glass

>break glass

>look in another skylight

>look in another skylight

>look in another skylight

>look in another skylight

>do anything

>yes

Notes:

• Teams need not correctly identify the location as Aperture Science to proceed. (Mario will respond, "Well, I think we'll find out soon enough.")
• Teams can't "skip" skylights: the next skylight they look into will always contain the next villain in sequence.

Introduction to the chambers

Well, Mario, you found me. Congratulations. Aren't you feeling clever… NOT.

Wait, did you guys here that?

Aperture Science Test Center welcomes you to our facility. You are subject number…ghhh…. 17!

Oh no! Am I going to have to go through some sort of test?

In order to complete the test chamber assignments, you will need the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device.

Portal Device? That must have been that weird gun I saw the others carrying! But I don't see one anywhere... I guess since I didn't come in the front entrance, I missed the room where I was supposed to pick one up. But now how am I supposed to--

It is extremely difficult to traverse the test chambers without the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device. Unless you are a magician. And we all know there is no such thing as magic.

Wait, I forgot I have the star with me! It's said that if stars spend a long enough time in a location, they can absorb magical abilities from the surrounding world. I wonder what abilities this star has absorbed! This star was broken up into five pieces, so I bet it has five different abilities. Let's try them out. You may want to write these down so that you can remember them later. Are you ready?

>yes

All right, let me see if I can remember which part was hidden in the Mushroom Kingdom. Ah, it's this one. Oh, it makes me invincible for a short period of time. Let's call that ability number 1.

Okay, this was the piece hidden in Mega Man. Oh, I can use it to shoot a pellet of energy. Let's call that ability number 2.

Next was the piece hidden in Hyrule. Oh, I can use it throw the star like a boomerang. It'll make a loop and then come back to me. Let's call that ability number 3.

Now the piece that was held by Stalin. Hey, it gives me a powerful iron fist. Let's call that ability number 4.

Finally, the piece that we found with our Katamari. Oh, I can put it between two flat surfaces to stick them together. Don't worry, I'll be able to unstick them whenever I want. Let's call that ability number 5. Do you want me to review any of them?

>no

Okay. If you want me to use any of these abilities, just tell me which number you want me to use and what you want me to do. Remember that I can only use one ability at a time! Any questions?

>no

Great! Let me describe the room for you.

Chamber 1

Right now I can't see very much of the room. I'm in a pit along the south wall that spans the width of the room. Just above the north edge of the pit on the west wall, there's some sort of mechanical or electronic receptacle. Also way up above on the west wall, there's something shooting an energy ball. The ball bounces off the walls but disintegrates after a period of time, and then another energy ball is shot.

Also in the pit with me is a small box. It's a cube about two feet across.

>examine shooter

I don't know how it works. It's high enough that I don't think I need to worry about it.

>examine ball of energy

It moves kind of slowly and bounces off the walls before eventually disintegrating.

>examine receptacle

I'm not sure what it does, but I have a feeling that if I can get some energy into it, something will happen.

>examine box

It's about two feet across. The center of each face has the same logo I saw outside on the sign.

>climb out of pit

The wall is a bit too high. Even if I jump, I'm a couple feet short of the top.

>take box

Oof, it's heavier than it looks.

>put box next to wall

Okay.

>stand on box

Okay.

>climb out of pit

All right, I'm out. Should I describe what I can see from up here?

>yes

So behind me is the pit I just came out of. In front of me is a long pool of dirty looking water. On the other side of the pool is a door that opens onto the water. On this side of the pool with me is a small button on a pedestal. To my left is the receptacle I described before. And still up above are the shooter and energy ball.

>push button

The door opened. On the other side there's a big red button on the floor, and beyond that another closed door with an exit sign above it.... Oh wait, the door closed again. I guess it'll only stay open for a few seconds.

>use ability 5 to stick down button

This ability doesn't work like that. I really need to be able to get the star between the two things I want to stick together.

>go swimming

I don't think I should do that. The water looks toxic.

>use ability 1 and swim across

Okay, if I'm invincible I can swim around just fine, but the invincibility will run out before I can make it all the way to the other side.

>use ability 2 on receptacle

Okay, hold on. Ooh, something's happening. The receptacle closed up, and there's a platform that rose out of the far end of the water. Looks like there's a gap of a few feet between it and the door, but I should be able to jump it easily.

>push button, use ability 1 and swim across

Okay, hold on.... I just barely made it to the platform before my invincibility ran out, but the door closed way before I got here.

>use ability 3 to hit button

I hope my aim is okay.... Bingo! Hit it right on the nose! Quick, should I go through the door?

>yes

Okay, the door closed behind me. I'm in a little room now. There's a really big button on the floor, and there's a small button on a pedestal next to the door. There's also another door that leads to the exit.

>push big button

How?

>stand on big button

Ooh, the exit opened!

>go through exit

Whoops, as soon as I got off the button, the exit door closed.

>push small button

Okay, the door I came through opened up again. Should I go through?

>yes

Okay, I'm back on the other side. The door closed behind me.

>swim back across

Just to clarify, you want me to use ability 1 first, right?

>yes

Okay, I just barely made it across before my invincibility ran out, but I'm back by the pit. Now what?

>reach down and grab box

It's too far down.

>go into pit

Okay.

>throw box out of pit

The box is too heavy for me to throw. Besides, then I'd be stuck in here!

>use ability 5 to stick box to wall of pit

How high do you want me to stick it?

>as high as possible

Okay. It's stuck to the wall only a few feet from the top of the pit.

>climb onto box

Wow, it can hold my weight!

>climb out of pit

Okay.

>take box

Nice work! Now the box and I are both out of the pit.

>swim across

Just to clarify, you want me to use ability 1 to swim across the pool, carrying the box with me?

>yes

Unfortunately, I can't swim very fast while carrying the box, so I don't think I'll be able to make it to the platform before the invincibility wears off.

>use ability 4 to punch cube across the pool

That's a good idea! Oh wait, I think I can definitely punch it over there, but there's no way to stop it from sliding off the back of the platform, hitting the door, and falling into that gap, and I don't want to have to dive in after it.

>hit button and use ability 4 to punch cube across the pool

Okay, I think that'll work. Let me try it.... So here's what I could see while the door was open: the cube made it across the pool and slid through the open door. It briefly pressed down the big red button in the other room, causing the exit door to open for a moment, but then it kept sliding until it hit the now closed exit door.

>use ability 1 to swim across, use ability 3 to hit button, and go through the door

Okay, hold on a sec.... All right, I'm back in the other room with the cube.

>place cube on button

Done. The exit opened. Should I go through?

>yes

All right, there's a short hallway and an elevator at the end. Should I go into it?

>yes

Oh, there's some sort of staticky barrier in this hallway, but I can walk through it just fine.

This is the incandescent particle field known as the Aperture Science Material Emancipation Grille. It will vaporize any unauthorized equipment that passes through it, and sometimes teeth.

Hmm, so does that mean I can't take the cube through a barrier like this? I guess that's good to know. Okay, I'm getting into the elevator now.

Isn't riding elevators fun? Yay!

Okay, the elevator seems to be taking me somewhere else. Hold on.

Notes:

• If Mario tries to use ability 2 to shoot the receptacle while still in the pit, he'll miss and say, "Ooh, so close! This is kind of a weird angle. Maybe I should try again once I get out of this pit."
• Hints are given starting half an hour after the chamber begins and repeated as necessary. If teams have not gotten the box out of the pit, Mario will say, "If only there were some way I could reach down to the box from outside the pit." If teams have not gotten the box across the pool, Mario will say, "If only there were some way I could knock the box across the pool."

Chamber 2

Okay, the elevator stopped, and I'm walking out to the south. There's a hallway here and a cube on the floor. Up ahead the hallway turns to the west, and on the east wall facing the incoming hallway, there's one of those receptacles from before. That's all I can see from here.

>use ability 2 to shoot receptacle

This is kind of a weird angle. I'd need to be standing in front of it.

>go down hallway

Okay... whoa! Something started shooting at me! I didn't get a good look.

>use ability 1 and go down hallway

Okay, hold on.... Just so you know, I ducked back around the corner when the invincibility ran out. Here's what I saw. Going around the corner leads onto a platform in the northeast corner of a room. The floor to the room is pretty far down. In the northwest corner of the room, there's a turret on a platform shooting bullets at me whenever I step out. The turret is shielded from the south by a small plexiglass shield. There's a platform along the length of the south wall leading into a hallway to the east. In the southwest corner of the room pointing to the east is an energy ball shooter. Both of the other two platforms in the room are too far to jump to.

>use ability 2 or 3 to shoot turret from around the corner

I can't peek my head out for long enough to aim if I'm not invincible.

>use ability 1, put cube on the platform in the room, and hide behind it

Okay. I really have to crouch down in order not to get hit.

>use ability 2 or 3 to shoot turret

Again, I can't peek out to aim at the turret from behind the box if I'm not invincible.

>use ability 2 to shoot receptacle

Okay. So a platform raised up in the gap to the south of me. I should be able to jump to it and from there to the south wall.

>use ability 1 and jump to platform with cube

Unfortunately, I can't jump as far while carrying the cube, so I don't think I can make it across.

>use ability 4 to punch cube to south platform

I can't get into position to punch the cube without being invincible, and I can't use the iron fist while I'm invincible.

>use ability 4 to punch cube at turret

But then how will I get the cube back if I need it later?

>use ability 1 and jump to south

Okay, I'll jump onto the new platform. Oh, the turret can still hit me from here, so I'm going to continue to the platform along the south wall. I can see down the hallway to the east now. Do you want me to describe it for you?

>yes

So I'm on this platform along the south wall facing it. To my right is the energy ball shooter, shooting past me to the left. The hallway goes down a bit and then turns to the south. The outer corner of the hallway is truncated, so there's a small piece of wall at a forty-five degree angle to the other walls of the hallway. In that angled wall, there's a hole that the energy balls just barely pass through. I can't see what's down the hallway.

>go down hallway

At the end of the hallway, there's a big door straight ahead. On the left side of the end of the hall, there's a door with an exit sign above it. Opposite that door is an alcove with one of those staticky barriers across it. Inside the alcove, there's a big button the floor.

That's a 1500 megawatt Aperture Science Heavy Duty Supercolliding Superbutton!

>stand on button

The door at the end of the hall opened. Inside I can just barely see one of those receptacles.

>shoot receptacle with ability 2

I'm at a bad angle to hit it from here.

>step off button

The door closed, as expected.

>go back to the shooter

Okay.

>shoot turret with ability 2

So I tried to hit it, but it got absorbed by the plexiglass shield.

>use ability 3 to hit turret

Okay, let me see if I can hit it from here. Bingo! The boomerang curved around the shield and knocked over the turret.

>jump back north to the box

Okay.

>use ability 4 to punch the box to the south

All right. It went across the gap and slid to the south wall.

>jump back to the south and take the box

Okay.

>stick box to hole in wall with ability 5

All right. Now the energy balls bounce off the box down the hall towards the door.

>stand on the big button

Okay, if I do that, then it leads the energy balls straight into the receptacle. It opened the exit door, which leads down a hallway to an elevator. There's also another of those staticky barriers in the hallway. Should I go to the elevator?

>yes

Okay.

Exposure to the Supercolliding Superbutton might cause issues for you later in life.

Oh, the elevator's going somewhere else. I'll let you know where I end up in just a second.

Notes:

• When Mario is using the box as cover for the turret, the only thing he can do without being invincible is shoot the receptacle. In particular, he cannot shoot or throw anything at the turret, because that would require him peeking out from behind the box to be able to aim, which would require him being invincible, and he cannot use two abilities at once.
• If teams try to lose the box in some way, for instance, by having Mario punch the box to the platform with the turret or take it through the static field, Mario will refuse by saying that there will be no way to get the box back.
• After half an hour into the chamber, the following hints are given and repeated as necessary. If teams have not figured out how to shoot the receptacle, Mario will say, "I need some way to be in front of the receptacle without being shot at." If teams have not yet figured out how to get the cube across, Mario will say, "Gah, I wish that turret weren't there." If teams have not yet figured out how to bounce the energy ball off the cube, Mario will say, "It looks like the energy ball is supposed to bounce off that wall."

Chamber 3

All right, the elevator opened again. There's a hallway leading into a large room. Oh, there's another box here, but it looks a lot... friendlier than the others. It has hearts on its sides instead of the logos that the others had.

The Aperture Science Weighted Companion Cube is designed to accompany you through the test chamber. It will never threaten to stab you and, in fact, cannot speak.

I guess I should take this with me. Should I head out into this room?

>yes

Okay. This hallway leads into the southwest corner of a large room. There's a big panel of glass almost dividing the room in half, running west-east. It starts at the west wall and goes almost all the way across. In the southeast corner, there's a big button on the floor surrounded by one of those staticky barriers. On the near side of the glass panel on the west wall is an energy ball shooter slightly above eye-level pointed to the right. On the opposite side of the glass on the west wall, there's a closed door. By the east wall opposite the door, there's an elevated platform. It looks like it's supposed to move north-south, but it's not moving now. There's also an exit door on the east wall and a hallway heading north out of the northwest corner of the room.

>examine platform

It's maybe five feet square. It's slightly above my head. It looks like it's supposed to move north-south, but it isn't moving now.

>stand on button

Okay, let me put down this cube first. The door on the west wall opened. There's a receptacle behind it.

>use ability 2 to shoot receptacle

I can't. The glass panel is in the way.

>use cube to deflect energy ball to west door

The glass panel is in the way. I don't think I can aim well enough to hit it if I have to bounce it more than once.

>take cube through hallway

Okay, hold on. All right, this hallway opens out into the southwest corner of a very large room, but there's not that much in it. In the southeast corner, there's a small booth with a clear door facing west. Inside there's a small button on a pedestal. In the northwest corner of the room, there's a clear chamber with doors on the south and east. Inside there's a big button on the floor and a receptacle on the ceiling. Halfway between me and the chamber, there's another big button on the floor, about halfway along the west wall.

>put cube on the button along the west wall

Okay, hold on while I go over there. All right, the door of the little booth opened.

>press the button in the booth

Okay, hold on while I get over there. So when I push the little button, the front door of the far chamber opens for a few seconds, and then closes.

>walk over to the cube

Okay, hold on. Now what?

>use ability 3 to hit small button

Unfortunately, I can't see the button from here. I think the only place I'd be able to hit the button with the boomerang is along the south wall.

>stand near the southwest corner, throw the boomerang at the small button, and run to the cube

Okay, hold on. So I hit the button just fine, but the door closed before I could even run over to the cube. In case it wasn't clear, this room is really big.

>take cube to southwest corner

Okay, now what?

>punch cube toward chamber with ability 4 and use ability 3 to hit the button in the booth when the door opens

Okay, hold on. Ooh, it worked! The door of the chamber stayed open just long enough for the cube to slide in. It depressed the big button inside, which opened the east door to the chamber.

>go in chamber and shoot receptacle with ability 2

So the front door of the chamber opened. I guess that means I can take the cube off the button now.

>take cube back to first room

So I'm back in the first room. Now the elevated platform is moving north-south. It moves from opposite the door on the west wall past the glass panel to opposite the energy ball shooter. When the platform is opposite the shooter, the energy ball passes directly below it.

>use ability 5 to stick cube to the bottom of the platform to deflect the energy ball

In which direction?

>to the north

Okay, so the energy ball bounced off the cube to the north. Wait, now it's bouncing off the north wall and back towards the platform. But the platform has moved to opposite the west door, so it bounced off to the west towards the door.

>quick, step on the button!

Okay. It worked! The receptacle opened the exit door. Should I go through it?

>yes

All right, there's a hallway here leading down to a small room. In here there's a small button on a pedestal next to a closed chute in the wall. Above the chute there's a sign that says, "To Trash Compactor." There's also a closed door.

You did it! The Weighted Companion Cube certainly brought you good luck. However, it cannot accompany you for the rest of the test and must, unfortunately, be deposited in the Aperture Science Emergency Trash Compactor.

What? Why do I have to do that?

>press button

The chute opened. It looks like it goes down pretty far.

>get cube

Okay, hold on. All right, I'm back.

>put cube in chute

Wait, what?

>put cube in chute

But... I don't want to.

>just do it!

Oh, fine. It's falling away... into the gaping void...

Congratulations! You euthanized your faithful companion cube more quickly than any test subject on record. Although the euthanizing process is remarkably painful, 8 out of 10 Aperture Science engineers believe that the companion cube is most likely incapable of feeling much pain.

Okay, the door opened. There's a hallway and an elevator. Should I go in it?

>yes

All right... Wait, it's not going anywhere.

Due to mandatory scheduled maintenance, this chamber is currently not functioning correctly. I refuse to apologize. It's all your fault, anyway.

Great, how am I supposed to get out now?

>jump in chute

Wait, what?

>jump in chute

That seems really dangerous.

>use ability 1

Okay, I guess if you think it'll get me out of here. Here we go! AAAAHH...

Hello, are you there?

>yes

>yes

Notes:

• Mario can't knock the energy balls to the receptacle carrying the box by hand. (He would need to deflect it twice, and he makes the excuse that his aim isn't very good if he has to run around or make a bank shot.) If teams come up with the correct deflection pattern before activating the platform, Mario will comment that it might work, but he can't run back to hit the button in time.
• The second room has to be large in order to prevent alternate solutions. To emphasize this, Mario pauses when asked to run around a lot.
• Teams need not predict how the energy ball puzzle will actually work in order to solve it. They need only have Mario stick the cube below the platform "at a forty-five degree angle" or "to deflect the ball north."
• After half an hour into the chamber, the following hints are given and repeated as necessary: If teams have not figured out the button puzzle, Mario first says, "What we really need is a way to get the cube from one button to the other without having to touch it immediately beforehand." If after ten minutes, they still haven't figured it out, Mario says, "I'm tired of running around. I'm going to stand by the entrance to the room. I hope you can solve the puzzle from here." If they haven't figured out the energy ball puzzle, Mario says, "Maybe I should just try deflecting it once first."