« Subliminal messaging? | Main | WoW Hallowe'en »
The BBC's Ancient History department has a sense of humour...
... and has released an episodic web-based adventure game called Death In Sakkara. They're calling it "fiendishly challenging" and they're not kidding! I'm on Chapter One and I'm stuck.
I bet it's for 12 year olds as well. How humiliating. If anyone cracks the safe, please let me know :o)
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d834515f7269e200d83459638469e2
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Death in Sakkara:
» Sakkara and How the BBC Continues to Rock My World from DarrenBarefoot.com
The BBC is awesome. After Rachel Weisz, it's the best thing Britain ever made. Via Wonderland, the Ancient History section of their website has a cool looking free Web game called Death in Sakkara: An Egyptian Adventure. I got through... [Read More]
This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.
As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.
Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.
This is pretty impressive stuff - very slick and Indiana-Jonesy. Not sure I see the educational aspect of it (if it's supposed to be educational, that is) but it's fun.
Makes me nostalgic for the good old Lucasarts adventures...
Posted by: Adrian Hon | October 28, 2005 at 13:07
You need a four digit combination and the clues are in the telegram.
Posted by: Stalker Boy | October 28, 2005 at 13:48
This is really good, took me a while to crack the safe. I like the episodic nature as well, lets people catch up.
Posted by: Will | October 28, 2005 at 14:58
Yeha, I couldn't find a telegram. No telegram in my journal, no telegram in the room...
hmf.
Posted by: Alice | October 28, 2005 at 15:04
It's in the journal. Look in your diary.
Posted by: thomas | October 28, 2005 at 15:10
Bleh, I have three possible numbers from the telegram, but I'm stuffed if I can see a fourth
Posted by: Shard | October 28, 2005 at 16:17
This safe is really hard.
Posted by: Joseph J. Finn | October 28, 2005 at 17:09
Meanwhile, why is a hot sun always represented by a loud gong?
Posted by: Andy | October 28, 2005 at 17:20
One of those numbers I ALWAYS read over when hidden the same way. Key is to look at EACH word carfully, maybe read the telegram backwards would help. That forth word is there.
Alice, the telegram is on the second page of the journal. Did you turn the page?
Posted by: Jesse | October 28, 2005 at 17:32
>> How humiliating.
You said it :-)
Posted by: martin | October 28, 2005 at 18:00
Hah! I figured out the combo!
Posted by: Joseph J. Finn | October 28, 2005 at 18:26
The Combination to the safe is 2-1-4-2, which is spelled out in words in the telegram: too one for to.
Posted by: Paulo | October 28, 2005 at 20:25
Excellent. Thanks :D
Couldn't see the telegram on page two - my page two is blank. bit odd.
Posted by: Alice | October 28, 2005 at 22:41
In the very early 1980s, while I was in the final year at junior school (about 12 years old), our class borrowed a Commodore PET from a nearby secondary school.
We were divided into teams of four and had to plan a trip to Saqara (as I think we spelled it then) to look for hidden treasures. We had to plan the expedition (we hoped to survive mostly on tinned sausages and baked beans) and then we occasionally had our turn on the computer where we had to choose which squares of a monochrome 2D grid to explore.
It was really exciting - the team work for this mission using a COMPUTER! Good to see the place is still providing educational entertainment, although thankfully more sophisticated.
Posted by: Phil Gyford | October 29, 2005 at 00:10
Wilfully daft clues like this are the reason that 99% of people who have played a computer adventure don't play them any more. Think through the logic of the narrative. "I have put some incomplete notes in my Cairo hotel safe. To protect them, I am going to hide the combination in a painfully obscure way and send it to my uncle in Hull. After all, there's no way they can work through the 10,000 possible combinations or break through the lock in the FIVE DAYS it will take my uncle or his representative to get here."
I have solved the mystery: Elizabeth is a blimmin' nutter and is probably wandering around the desert muttering about scarabs and drooling. Case over. No need to bother with episode 2.
Posted by: James Wallis | October 29, 2005 at 01:38
the safe is definetly tricky, for no reason what so ever. now indiana jones and the fate of atlantis, there was a real adventure. it was really fuckin hard, but at least it was logical (the germans were obsesed with atlantis in real life too).
Posted by: einars | October 29, 2005 at 01:46
damn I can't believe people are complaining about the safe clue.
I thought it was fun, if abitrary.
And satisfying once I got it
Posted by: djrubbish | October 29, 2005 at 13:20
Wow James, you're sure a barrel of laughs. I'm sure you wouldn't have made it to the end anyway since it'll no doubt feature a re-animated mummy which, like, totally requires the suspension of disbelief and i can just tell you like your games to avoid that necessity.
It's a hamrless adventure game, i cannot believe you got so agitated by the 'logic' of the other characters.
I'm suprised you even got to Egypt and not thrown your computer to the ground in a "hulk smash" way when you were told that a journalist was sent to find a scientist's daughter instead of, say, a detective.
Posted by: Will | October 30, 2005 at 00:07
God, why couldn't the recent iteration of the ridiculously bad Nokia game be at least something close to this.
I can't believe how many times Nokia has to get it wrong with a game that they could do so well with.
This is nicely done - very nicely done.
Posted by: alistair | October 30, 2005 at 03:25
Why couldn't Nokia do something even close to this in their latest piece of garbage Nokia game. I really don't understand the amount of money thrown at Nokia game when it's so ridiculous, off brand and a waste of time. C'mon Nokia, stop letting ad agenies take you for a ride.
This game is a perfect example of something that's accessible, engaging, has mental and physical challenges.
Well done, BBC and preloaded - a definite award winner.
Posted by: Alistair | October 30, 2005 at 03:39
Now that I finished Episode 1 how do I get into Episode 2?? For some reason it wont let me enter it.
Posted by: mel | November 02, 2005 at 11:03
Now that I finished Episode 1 how do I get into Episode 2?? For some reason it wont let me enter it.
Posted by: mel | November 02, 2005 at 11:04
Episode 2 - You have to wait til 7th Nov.
Posted by: Andy | November 02, 2005 at 20:07
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/launch_gms_death_sakkara.shtml
for more info.
Posted by: Andy | November 02, 2005 at 20:08
just wondering about this, but does anyone know how to get through episode 3? took me a bloody hour to get to it and I'm stuck on a stupid star map thing.
Posted by: Mike | September 18, 2006 at 22:47