Video Game / MacGuffin's Curse

A Werewolf Comedy Puzzle Adventure

MacGuffin's Curse is a game developed by Brawsome and released in 2012 for PC and IOS.

The story seems simple at first: Lucas, a former magician, is hired to steal an amulet from a museum. What happens next sets off a series of events that are as hysterical as they are convoluted. Once Lucas puts on the amulet, he can shapeshift from human form to wolf form in the moonlight. In order to progress the plot, the player must switch between werewolf and human in order to solve block puzzles. The werewolf is strong but can't open safes; the human can fit through windows but not smash walls. As the story moves along, Lucas uncovers more incriminating evidence against Alphonse Connell, the resident corrupt jerkass with a personal grudge against him. He also discovers one more important thing: he can't take off the amulet.

There are lots of hilarious gags and descriptions to keep you going, in true adventure story tradition. As the player completes each puzzle, he is rewarded with commentary about that room from the developers. Comics found in safes sprinkled along the way give clues to the backstory.

You can download the demo and purchase the game here.

MacGuffin's Curse provides examples of:

• Ass Shove: It's implied that Lucas's "Disappearing Umbrella" trick involved this.
• Big Fancy House: Alphonse's mansion, complete with its own treasury.
• Block Puzzle: In order to progress through the story, the character must push crates around. A few rooms are nothing but crates!
• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The Love Triangle between Anna, Alphonse, and Lucas is this.
• Brick Joke: One of the Crows suggests to Werewolf!Lucas that he should go out for beers with them. We see this scene later in the bonus art.
• Card-Carrying Villain: Alphonse. Your investigation for Judy reveals some truly ridiculously evil acts:
  • Cutting the brakes on school buses.
  • Stealing candy from a baby.
  • Pushing an old woman in front of a bus.
  • Poisoning milk shipped to primary schools.
  • Dumping plutonium in the river.
  • And, among other things, he brags about being responsible for the Kennedy assassination.
• Clingy MacGuffin: The Lupine Twine Amulet. The museum curators even had to cut King Raff's head off in order to get it off his corpse.
• Companion Cube: King Raff spoke to his sword when he went on quests.
• Concept Art Gallery: Once you buy the Art Book from Harvey's shop, you can also purchase the concept art.
• Cool Car: Strump's 1976 Aztec Crampervan.
• Department of Redundancy Department: "Most Redundant Award Award for Redundancy".
• Digital Piracy Is Evil: Played for laughs. One of the horrible crimes that Alphonse commits is obtaining a cracked version of Jolly Rover.
• Dirty Cop: All of Feyre's police force work for Alphonse, with the exception of Strump.
• Fake Longevity: Using similar methods as its predecessor, Jolly Rover.
  • The game is automatically saved; however, you can usually backtrack to an earlier area
  • A set of achievements
  • Collection Sidequest: Comic scraps, which explain the backstory once you've collected them all
  • Solving a puzzle reveals developer commentary for that room
• Falling Chandelier of Doom: One falls on Alphonse in his fight with Lucas. Doesn't kill him though.
• Fascists' Bed Time: Alphonse's curfew only allows for businesses in Feyre to open between 5 pm and 6 pm.
• Felony Misdemeanor: Type 4. Connell Books publishing teen vampire books. Oh, the horror!
• Free-Sample Plot Coupon: Lucas easily gets the amulet at the end of the tutorial level. Then, the real story begins.
• Hand Wave: Lucas disregards the need to explain how Professor Compton unlocks the Restricted Section in the library without moving from his spot.
• Hint System: Strump will give you two hints per puzzle. He can also unlock the doors by solving the puzzle for you.
• Incredibly Lame Pun: Lucas is a master at these, usually regarding the scenery in Feyre.
• Insistent Terminology: It's a Quest Log, not a diary!
• It's Personal: The motive for most of the characters in opposing Alphonse. Lucas wants to take down Alphonse because his jealousy drove Anna away. Judy wants to expose him because he had her fired from the newspaper she worked for. Strump wants to get rid of him because Alphonse ruined his hero cop reputation.
• Lockdown: Alphonse's security system instates a citywide lockdown, which Lucas triggers when stealing the amulet.
• Love Triangle: Of the classic Rich Suitor, Poor Suitor kind. Anna is caught between Alphonse, her wealthy and influential boyfriend, and Lucas, her poor, performing artist lover.
• Metaphorgotten: Lucas makes a metaphor about one of the trees in Verde Park before he backtracks and realizes his mistake.
  Lucas: Time to make like a tree and fall over!...No wait!
• Missing Mom: Ruby's mother. She left Ruby on Lucas's doorstep, and Lucas never saw her again. In his final confrontation with Alphonse, Lucas blames both of them for driving her away.
• Noodle Incident:
  • How Lucas found out that the decorative lights on Feyre's trees double as bug zappers, and why he thinks they also look like glowing fruit.
  • Lucas: "I don't sit in chairs anymore. Not since The Incident".
• Our Werewolves Are Different: They can willingly transform back and forth between human form and wolf form, as long as they're standing in moonlight and possess the amulet.
• Portrait Painting Peephole: The eyes on the busts of Alphonse's head move because they're actually cameras.
• Purple Prose: In-Universe example. One of the lines from the detective novels Lucas reads is: "The lamp shone defiantly, a lone beacon of hope in a world of darkness and despair".
• Safe Cracking: How Lucas obtains comic pieces.
• Sequel Hook: During the credits, Rena predicts that she sees more adventures in Lucas's future.
• Shoddy Knockoff Product: Lucas finds a cheaply-made copy of the Lupine Amulet in Alphonse's treasury called the Loopyne Amulet.
• Shout-Out: Too many to count! A handful are from examining the scenery or from repeatedly looking through the book bin in the library.
  • There's a sculpture of Gaius from Jolly Rover in Verde Park.
  • A sword on display in the museum is subtitled, "Ceci n'est pas une sabre".
  • Waldo is hiding in one of the paintings in the museum, identifiable by his red and white striped shirt.
  • When Lucas stands under a lamppost, he quips that he's waiting for Mr. Tumnus.
  • Another nod to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: Lucas comments that it was a great idea for Jadis, the White Witch, to use a lamppost as a weapon.
  • Lucas and Strump discuss the animated Ghostbusters and its spinoff.
  • Lucas's codename for Strump is Little Red Riding Hood, while his codename is Big Bad Wolf.
  • When the triplets at the playground see Werewolf!Lucas, they mention, "What big teeth he has!"
  • Baron von Spielburg lent Alphonse his dragon head wall mount.
  • Pay no attention to the dinosaur behind the curtain!
  • Lucas blurts out, "You killed Captain Clown!" in the junkyard.
  • Kevin Clean apparently makes "Biker" scented cologne.
  • One of the plaques in City Hall reads, "You have won second place in a beauty contest. Collect $10", in a nod to Monopoly.
  • Andy Warhol piece in City Hall has been "improved" by the Connell Foundation by having Alphonse's face taped over the photographs.
  • Lucas wonders if saying "He's grrrreat" is infringing upon copyright.
  • Lucas stumbles upon "Eternal Soul-Fyre: Book 2 in the Vampyre Flame sequence" in the library.
  • There’s a pamphlet for Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp.
  • Jinbe from Mole Mania wrote a book on cabbages.
  • Lucas found a copy of "Dark Secrets and Mysteries of Koholint", with its infamously fine print.
  • One of the books is titled "Tougher! Rougher! Badder!", along with praise for the work in its original language.
  • When examining the postbox outside his house, he makes a comment about having once seen a little yellow car come out of the bottom.
• String Theory: Judy's wall after she lost her job and started investigating Alphonse in-depth looked like this.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: "Absolutely No Incriminating Evidence Belonging to Alphonse Connell This Way".
• Swiss-Cheese Security: Subverted. Lucas lampshades this in commenting that getting past all the locked doors should be no problem since the first puzzle was so easy. Not the case. When the entire city goes into lockdown, Alphonse's security system consists of room after room of logic block puzzles. You need a better lockpicking kit to open some of the high-security doors.
• Transformation Trinket: The amulet. Without it, you're stuck in wolf form and your mind continues to degenerate until you've altogether forgotten you were human. Thank goodness it's a Clingy MacGuffin!
• True Art Is Incomprehensible: Played for laughs.The Mayor's office is full of abstract paintings, and Lucas is generally unimpressed.
  Lucas: "This one's called 'PAIN BEAUTIFUL PAIN' but it's just a bunch of squares. The corners could be sharp, I guess?"
• Very Loosely Based on a True Story: In-universe example. The Animated Adaptation of King Raff's death has him survive the battle and become a Martian detective.

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