WMG / Pathways into Darkness

The cut gold puzzle was the original way to escape the dungeon

Throughout the game, there are numerous hints to a gold puzzle that was either cut or never implemented. Friedrich tells us of the existence of the gold and that Muller thought he needed it for a reason other than simple greed. Muller flatly denies the existence of the gold despite vouching for other much more important items. Walter, the man who Muller sent off to get the gold ingot and the Cedar Box that would be used to duplicate them corroborates Friedrich's story. The twelve ingots are very heavy. There are unused scripts in the game files related to over encumbrance, and an otherwise useless Bag of Holding that would overcome this problem. The key used to unlock the gold door controlling access to the ingots is found immediately before the endgame. The actual escape puzzle involving an alien gemstone seems shoehorned in, only mentioned by two characters, as opposed to the gold which is mentioned by six.