So I don't know if the game just had pity on me for so clearly running around like a chicken sans head for half an hour (an apt illustration as I got the chop over a dozen times in the meantime) but after entering a particular hallway of no particular significance, which I'm actually fairly certain I entered at least once before while unable to shake Scissors Man, the pounding, pulse-quickening music which heralds his Terminatoresque pursuit died away and I was free to once again explore the house in (relative) safety.
Shadow Warden messaged me based on my last post and told me there was a way to look at your inventory. I went and looked at a FAQ :o but only to get info on the controls and interface, since I'd been pretty much banging my head against the wall in several areas, including one where as soon as I took a key I was attacked by a possessed doll which killed me. After looking at the control info I went to experimenting, I found that I could interact with items in different ways after interacting with them the first time, or after looking at something else.
It turns out you do in fact have a way to fight back, or at least, to not just fall over dead immediately anytime you end up in a dangerous situation. There's a button called the 'Panic' button that you're supposed to tap rapidly in dangerous situations. I also learned that you have a health/sanity meter of sorts in the background of Jennifer's portrait, which is blue when you're strong and red when you're worn out, which the guide told me I had to 'rest' to replenish. Unfortunately, it did not explain this in sufficient detail, at least not for my sleep-deprived mind.
I spent the majority of this time wandering around and trying to explore and do stuff. Some of the puzzles were fairly straightforward, such as unlocking a cage with a 'cage key' that was in the same room to free a trapped crow (which unfortunately doesn't seem to have accomplished much, unless I just have an invisible Karma Meter somewhere in the game). Some of the puzzles seem particularly aggravating and unintuitive. At one point I entered a kitchen and looking in a meat locker noticed something shiny... unfortunately at that point a gigantic swarm of roaches burst out of the cooler which seem to have blocked my access to it (as roaches are clearly Jennifer's kryptonite, being a top priority to avoid even as Creeping Scissory Death stalks her). Luckily in my possession I have a container of insecticide! Oh wait, not luckily, since it didn't work. I suppose it's possible I'm clicking on the wrong thing, but the cursor doesn't seem to lock onto anything like it usually does when you can use an item with something... maybe I'll fiddle with that again later. If I'm supposed to use something else to solve this puzzle, couldn't they at least acknowledge my attempt or something? 'There's too many of them!' I dunno.
Something worth noting, using Panic supposedly depletes strength. I haven't gotten a chance to use it just yet, mostly because up till this point I'd been running around in red and had no idea how to refill it. I stopped for the evening and was about to shut the game off when Jennifer fell to her knees as if tired. Almost immediately the background changed from red to a lighter orange/yellow. A few minutes later I had it filled back to blue. Ready to rock.
The other thing I'd like to say regards one of the comments someone posted on my last entry regarding places to hide from Scissors Man: while I appreciate the sentiment of trying to help me, I'd like to discover things like this for myself, thus preserving the 'blind run' perspective of the blog. The first location mentioned there (under the beds in the parrot room) I had thought of but didn't try, partially because I couldn't remember exactly how to get back there (when you're running all over the place in the house it's easy to get turned around, since several of the hallways look identical). After I realized what the comment contained, I stopped reading it, but I ask people please not post any sort of spoiler, no matter how insignificant it may seem so I can keep this run blind. Thank you in advance.
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