Grundislav Games Presents

Case 4: Horror at Number 50

Contents

Foreword

Playing the Game

AGS Game Settings

Foreword

Welcome to the 4th case in the ever growing Ben Jordan series! This time around, there’s a few new features, so I suggest reading this before playing the game just so you’re clear on everything.  I hope you enjoy this game as much as I enjoyed making it.

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The Story

For years there have been stories of paranormal activity at Number 50, Berkeley Square in London.  Tales of some evil spirit known only as “The Horror” have been passed down for generations.  However, since the late 1800s, the former house has been converted into an antique and rare bookseller’s office, and all paranormal activity at Number 50 has seemingly stopped…that is, until now.

Ben is contacted by the current owner of Number 50, and arrives only to find four other paranormal investigators, all of who will apparently be working together. Will they succeed in ridding the house of the ghosts?

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Credits

A graphic adventure game by Francisco Gonzalez
Original music by Andreas Slotte

Sound Effects by Adam Hay
Beta Testing by Berian Williams, Adam Hay, Jakob Katz, and Andreas Slotte
Adventure Game Studio by Chris Jones
Ben Jordan logo by Edmundo Ruiz

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Playing the Game

To run the game, double-click on the bj4.exe file. For more information on setting up the game, check out the section entitled AGS Game Settings.

Most of the screen is taken up by the main view window. This shows Ben Jordan and his current surroundings. Several objects in each room can be interacted with, and these are called 'hotspots'.

A gray bar appears at the top of the screen. This bar displays the game title and the current score. Whenever you accomplish something siginificant in the game, you will get a score point.

Move the mouse cursor there and the icon bar will appear. The pictures on the bar represent the following, from left to right:

  • Walk to
  • Look at
  • Interact with
  • Speak to
  • Interrogate
  • Open inventory
  • Notepad
  • Save game
  • Restore game
  • Quit
  • About

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Basic Commands

The first five pictures, when clicked on, will change the mouse cursor to the appropriate symbol. Then you may click on a hotspot in the main view window to use the appropriate symbol on said hotspot. You can also scroll through these commands by clicking on the right mouse button.

  • WALK (walking mini-Ben): Click on any point in the room you want Ben to walk to, and he will do so if he can, otherwise he will go as close as he can to it.
  • LOOK (eye): When used on a hotspot, Ben will examine it and you will get a message describing it. Click to close the text windows.
  • INTERACT (hand): Click on a hotspot and Ben will walk over to it and then try to do an appropriate action - e.g. use a button to press it, use a door to open it. If he can't do anything or if he doesn't know what to do, the game will tell you.
  • TALK (speech bubble with exclamation mark): Use this icon to make small talk with other characters. 
  • INTERROGATE (speech bubble with question mark): This icon replaces the “talk” icon used in previous cases.  Clicking this on a character will cause Ben to open up a discussion with the characters, in the same way the “talk” icon did.

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The Inventory

Click on the picture of Ben's pocket to open the inventory. This displays all the items Ben is carrying with him - obtained by either interacting with them or being given them. Click first on the magnifying glass and then on an object to examine it in more detail. Click on the hand icon and then on the item to interact with it.  Alternatively, inventory items can be held in Ben's hand and used on another interactive object. Click on the arrow and then on an inventory item - the cursor will become the same item. Now click again on something in the inventory to try and combine the two objects, or click 'OK' and click on a hotspot in the room to use the item on that.

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The Notepad

Click on the picture of the notepad to open it. As Ben learns things in the game, he may write them down in the notepad. If you forget what you're supposed to be doing or just want to make sure you're on the right track, you can check the notepad. Click on the "Put Away" button to put it away.

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Ben’s Phone

Ben now has a phone that he can use to make calls during the game.  To bring up the phone GUI, open Ben’s inventory and interact with his phone.  Once the GUI is displayed, you can press the number buttons and dial in the number you wish to call.  When you have finished dialing, simply wait a few seconds for the call to connect.  If it is a valid number, you will begin speaking to the person you called. If it is not a valid number, the game will tell you. If you make a mistake dialing, or change your mind about making a call, press the large oval button under the phone’s display screen to close the phone GUI.

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Saving and Restoring

You can save your progress by clicking on the 'Save Game' icon and entering a name for your save game. Later on, when you come back to the game, you can click the 'Restore Game' icon and reload your saved game, so you don't have to play through the whole game again.

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Hot Keys

  • Tab: Open inventory screen
  • F5: Save game dialog
  • F7: Restore game dialog
  • F9: Restart game
  • F12: Take screenshot (it will be saved as scrnshot.bmp in the game's folder)
  • Alt+R: Record replay
  • Ctrl+Q: Quit game

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AGS Game Settings

Ben Jordan: Paranormal Investigator comes with default settings so that you don't have to run the setup first in order to run the game. However, if you want to change any of the settings, you can access the game's setup by double-clicking on the winsetup.exe file.

  • Resolution: You can change the game's resolution between 320x200 and 640x400. Ben Jordan: Paranormal Investigator was designed for 320x200 and it will run best at that resolution. However, if your screen can't handle 320x200 as a full-screen resolution, then try selecting 640x400.
  • Run in a window instead of full-screen: It allows you to run the game in a standard window instead of filling up the whole screen.
  • Use 85 Hz display (CRT monitors only): In case that the screen flickers while you run the game, check this option and it will get rid of the flicker. However, this will only work on CRT monitors and not on flat screen monitors.
  • Force alternate letterbox resolution: This changes the aspect ratio of the game, showing black bars at the top and bottom of the screen.
  • Anti-alias scaled sprites (fast CPUs only): Characters will look a lot smoother as they scale (become larger or smaller) on the screen.
  • Downgrade 32-bit graphics to 16-bit: In case that your computer cannot handle a 32-bit graphic resolution, you can check this option. However, Ben Jordan: Paranormal Investigator was designed in 16-bit mode so this option will not affect the game.
  • Digital Sound: Changes the kind of sound system the game will use to play the digital music and sounds.
  • MIDI music: Changes what kind of midi music system the game will use. However, Ben Jordan: Paranormal Investigator only features digital music and therefore this feature will not affect the game.
  • Use digital music pack if available: Plays digital music instead of midi music. Ben Jordan: Paranormal Investigator comes with the digital music pack and only features digital music; therefore, unchecking this feature will turn off the in-game background music.
  • Use speech pack if available: Characters speak if there is a speech pack available. Unfortunately, there is no speech pack available for Ben Jordan: Paranormal Investigator.
  • Game language: Changes the language of the game if you have downloaded a translation. Please check the MonkeyGames Entertainment website for any available translations.

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Advanced

  • Replay: This option allows you to select the replays you recorded. You can record the game by pressing Alt+R anytime. When you quit the game, it will prompt you for a description and a file name and it will save it into a replay file.
  • Maximum size: As explained in the window itself, you can limit the maximum amount of memory the game can use for its sprite cache. Usually, this option doesn't need to be changed from its default selection.

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Copyright © 2004-2005 Francisco 'Grundislav' Gonzalez