GROMBI FACT DROPREAL-WORLD TRIVIA
A strange little side quest
One reason puzzles keeps producing good game ideas around Lost in Translation is that its history is full of strange turns. Alexey Pajitnov created Tetris in 1984 after drawing inspiration from pentomino puzzles, then simplified the idea around shapes made from four squares. There is another connection worth keeping in the same mental pocket: Early computer role-playing games helped turn rules, inventories, exploration and character progression into systems that could support long-form digital adventures. That gives Lost in Translation a little more company than it first appears to have.
GAME BRIEFADVENTURE & RPG
What you are getting into
Lost in Translation is a interactive puzzle game. Your spaceship has just landed on Thesaurus, a weird planet where everyone speaks a totally different language! All the guides to their language have disappeared, so it’s up to you to figure it out and make a new dictionary. When you see a sign, you can walk up to it and click to learn more about the planet Thesaurus and its people. The best way to learn Thesauri, the strange language, is by chatting with the locals! Walk up to someone and click on them to start talking. They’ll speak only in Thesauri, but if you listen and watch carefully, you might be able to guess what they’re saying. Every time you learn a new word, jot it down in your notebook. Click on the notebook icon at the bottom-right of the screen to open it, and you can type your guesses right there to translate words as you learn. Sometimes, the Thesauri folks might ask you a question, and you have to try to answer in their language. Just type what you think is the right response in the text bar. It’s all about guessing and trying different things! It’s tough to understand what one alien says just from one chat. You’ll need to talk to lots of aliens to start putting the puzzle together! You can leave the planet whenever you want, but your score will be based on how many words you’ve managed to translate correctly. Are you ready to crack the code and translate all 25 words before taking off?
