Psychonauts glitches, easter eggs, etc! [spoilers]

[martmeister]

Another "idle" action: In Milla's mind, standing still we eventually have Raz tapping his feet then dance. As far as I know, he keeps dancing until you move him again, activate an item/psy power, or go into first-person mode.

[martmeister]

In the other worlds, Raz tends to look around, but in Lungfishopolis he keeps a "mean face." I decided to let him idle for a couple of minutes; Raz will change expressions to one more of concern, check his boots, wipe them off, then go back to his "scary monster look."

[Toliver]

Playing on a PC...

Two "glitches" - In Raz's mind (The Brain Tumbler Experiment) there are two upper rock shelves you have to get to. On the second shelf, there are brambles. I got Raz stuck on top of two brambles. He stood there for about 5 minutes while the bramble sound FX was going and the brambles jiggled. Couldn't jump, couldn't ground pound...ended up using the arrow keys to try and have him slide towards one side or the other, which he eventually did, and was able to continue with the game.

I think this "brambles glitch" happens with just about any set of brambles in the level.

 

In Black Velvetopia, in the sewers, there's a memory vault. I was chasing the vault to pound it when it got near an opening/barred window and was suddenly suspended up in the air. I tried levitating Raz up to hit it but it was like the vault wasn't there. So I put Raz back on the ground and tried swinging at the vault as if it were also on the ground and it opened up while still suspended in the air. I could view the slideshow, too. Very weird.

 

Also a little odd...Raz was at the lake and he met Dogan coming out of the water and saw that Dogan was missing his brain. Then Raz went into "The Brain Tumbler Experiment" level to finish it (when you first tackle the level, you have to leave the level, go to Milla's level and finish it to get Levitation and then go back to Raz's mind to finish that level). It was then that Raz saw the cut scene of Dr. Loboto removing Dogan's brain.

So it was strange to see Dogan without a brain at the lake before seeing the cut scene where it was removed. Just seems out of order....

[Toliver]

Just wanted to mention the pics flying around Ford's sanctuary, involving the suposed pic of Tim with an eye patch...

When you get inside the Post Office in the Milkman Conspiracy, there's a Wanted Poster on the lobby wall that has the same eye patch picture.

 

Another interesting bit from the game programmers...

In Coach Oleander's classroom at the top of the tree in the Kid's Camp, there are a bunch of kid's drawings on the upper walls/roof (since it's all windows/open to the outside there aren't any true solid walls). One picture (I think it's to the left of Chloe who is trying to use the radio) has what looks like a large monster bunny chasing a kid, which could be a reference to what eventually happens in the Meat Circus level.

[Poopdogjr]

See, more neat stuff I missed. Dagnabbit!

[Toliver]

Another funny joke from the programmers...

 

In the "Gloria's Theater" level, there are posters in Bonita's dressing room of her past plays/movies.

At the beginning of the level, Raz has to go into Bonita's dressing room to convince her to act again. As she sits in her dressing room crying, on the wall behind her is a poster for a play/movie titled "Don't Look Over Here".

The same poster can be found in the Prop Room where you have to find the first candle.

Very funny...

 

If you're standing at the dressing room doorway looking out into the hall, to your right in the dressing room is a poster that says "ANOCH". The same poster can be seen, in the prop room I believe, where it says "Bonita".

I don't know if it means anything, if it's an insider joke, or if it is just a smeary wall texture so I'm misreading it.

Guess I should look at the credits to see if there's an "Anoch" in them.

[Toliver]

Another interesting bit from the game programmers...

In Coach Oleander's classroom at the top of the tree in the Kid's Camp, there are a bunch of kid's drawings on the upper walls/roof (since it's all windows/open to the outside there aren't any true solid walls). One picture (I think it's to the left of Chloe who is trying to use the radio) has what looks like a large monster bunny chasing a kid, which could be a reference to what eventually happens in the Meat Circus level.

 

I just discovered that the same "Giant Monster Bunny chasing a Kid" picture can be seen in the TV room in the Lodge. When you stand facing the TV, it's high up on the wall behind you.

 

Did you notice all the "Read" posters in the Lodge and there aren't that many books there? Sort of ironic...

Of course, you could argue that "read" may refer to "read someone's mind" as opposed to reading a book, since it is a Psychic Kid's Camp.

 

Not a glitch but I thought it was funny:

Once all the kid's brains have been taken, when Raz visits Ford's sanctuary Ford calls him over to the Observation Room ("Razputin, come over here, I want to show you something"). He shows Raz all of the brainless kids in the Observation Room and gives a speech where, at the end of it, he asks Raz if he'll rescue the brains. A thought ballon appears over Raz with two responses. One being "Yes, I'll do it" and the other "No, I'm not ready yet" or something like that.

If you answer "No" Ford slaps you (Raz) and asks "How about now?"

If you keep answering no, Ford keeps slapping you (Raz) and asking "How about now?". You eventually have to answer "Yes" to get out of the Observation Room hallway and get on with the game.

It's very funny.

[martmeister]

So it was strange to see Dogan without a brain at the lake before seeing the cut scene where it was removed. Just seems out of order....

 

I noticed that, too. DoubleFine should've put a code where before you see the tower in the brain experiment, if you goto the lake, Dogen would be doing anything except walking around brainless. I like to gather up a ton of arrows, hear conversations, and collect scavenger hunt items and marker challenge cards.

 

Whoa, haven't tried saying no to Ford, but that sounds funny. Sounds like a good excuse to start a new game (one world away from Meat Circus)!

[Thrik]

Haha, yes! I totally forgot about that Ford slap. I actually laughed out loud at that as it was not only unexpected, but also almost mocking the traditional yes/no system in games.

[Toliver]

I've been through the game a lot recently and have been noticing things on the walls throught the games (see my posts above).

Here is a cap inside Boyd's house within "The Milkman Conspiracy". It shows a painting/photo on the wall to the right and behind Boyd (the exit is to the right around the corner).

I wonder if it's from another Tim Schafer game. Does it look familiar to anyone?

I thought it might be the bridge from Grim Fandango on the way to the Cat Races. There's a vague blimp shape in the sky but it's not "there" enough to tell what it is. It can't be from any of the Monkey Island games since they don't use 3D perspective and this shot is definitely looking up at the structure.

Maybe it's one of the programmer's neighborhoods...

[Thrik]

That actually looks like the top of the asylum to me, where there's that cage/lift thingy -- except looking at it from below. It might be concept art or a screenshot one of the level designers took from a weird angle though, if I'm right.

[DarthAve]

This is pretty funny. If you have confusion in Gloria's theater, you can do somthing really silly. When the phantom is on the catwalk and you have to light the lamp before going into the boss battle, throw a confusion grenade on him. Not only will he sing The Teapot song, but he'll do motions!

[Toliver]

This is pretty funny. If you have confusion in Gloria's theater, you can do somthing really silly. When the phantom is on the catwalk and you have to light the lamp before going into the boss battle, throw a confusion grenade on him. Not only will he sing The Teapot song, but he'll do motions!

This is brilliant!

I've been playing (and replaying) the game in the same order each time so I never have the Confusion Grenades when I get to Gloria's Theater level. This is a great idea. Playing in the same order that I've been playing, you power up your rank enough that you get a Confusion Ammo upgrade in Black Velvetopia. Do you get the upgrade in Gloria's Theater? Or does it still appear in Black Velvetopia?

I've lately been using the Pyro Power on the walking cannons in the Waterloo level. When you set them on fire, they start shaking and then burst. But if they stand up, they don't burst and you have to wait for them to sit down again or the fire won't burn them. I've been setting fire to about everything in the level to see what burns and what doesn't.

When you use the Pyro Power on one of the two Big Muscle Censors in the orchard they will run around setting the other muscle Censor on fire, and even setting the snails on fire. But catching fire doesn't seem to impact the snails (since you need them in order to get the last soldier).

 

I've wondered what would happen if you use Confusion on the rats in the asylum. Or even on Ford in his different disguises...Hmmm....sounds like a plan!

[Toliver]

Not sure if this is a glitch or if it's supposed to happen...

In the Waterloo level, you make Raz bounce on the trampolines to achieve different goals.

I've been replaying the game and twice now I've had Raz bouncing on a trampoline when all of a sudden he would bounce about twice as high as he normally does. It was high enough that he went up off the top of the screen and the camera didn't even follow him.

I have no clue as to what triggered this "super" bounce. The second time it happened I was able to use Psi Float off the Carpenter's roof to easily get all of the figments hanging in the air (which normally take a couple of attempts to get all of them).

Has anyone else experienced this "super" trampoline bounce? And, if so, do you know how to trigger it on purpose?

[DarthAve]

This is brilliant!

I've been playing (and replaying) the game in the same order each time so I never have the Confusion Grenades when I get to Gloria's Theater level. This is a great idea. Playing in the same order that I've been playing, you power up your rank enough that you get a Confusion Ammo upgrade in Black Velvetopia. Do you get the upgrade in Gloria's Theater? Or does it still appear in Black Velvetopia?

I've lately been using the Pyro Power on the walking cannons in the Waterloo level. When you set them on fire, they start shaking and then burst. But if they stand up, they don't burst and you have to wait for them to sit down again or the fire won't burn them. I've been setting fire to about everything in the level to see what burns and what doesn't.

When you use the Pyro Power on one of the two Big Muscle Censors in the orchard they will run around setting the other muscle Censor on fire, and even setting the snails on fire. But catching fire doesn't seem to impact the snails (since you need them in order to get the last soldier).

 

I've wondered what would happen if you use Confusion on the rats in the asylum. Or even on Ford in his different disguises...Hmmm....sounds like a plan!

You can get it in Velvetopia reguardless. And if you want to use confusion on the multipul!Fords if you go back to camp.

 

Although, if your cheat friendly, you can have all the powers from the beginning. And if you use Confusion on Oleander before basic Braining, he'll talk about Mr. Bun. I should try the rat one, considering I just saved in the upper asylum.

[Thrik]

I really like the fact that they put in confusion stuff even for parts of the game where you couldn't use it.

[Toliver]

1) In Oleander's recruiting office in his Basic Braining level is a poster of a woman and a soldier and the poster says "I wish I were a man"...which is totally sexist and funny at the same time.

 

2) I tried burning the carved posts at the Campfire area to see if they would catch fire when all of a sudden Ford announced over the camp P.A. system "Vandalism of school property will result in immediate expulsion." Too funny!

You can Pyro the Campfire fire ring to make it blaze again as well as the fire ring in the Reception area.

 

3) During your first time through Basic Braining, you can't die! I tried jumping off of everything to die but you always stay at "5" lives. This is great because if you've played the game before and know how to make Raz move and jump, you can use this to your advantage. Use your first time through to get all the difficult figments (like in the moving blimps area & in the tumbling log maze towards the end of the level). Jump off a cliff if you have to in order to get those difficult moving figments...you won't lose a life and you'll, hopefully, get the figment.

But this only works the first time through. If you go back into the level later in the game and you fall off a cliff or the log maze, you will lose a life.

 

4) I discovered that in the Asylum Tower Platform (where Dr. Loboto's lab is) you can be in the room with Lili, Sasha, Milla and Shegore and use your Levitation to jump up and over the curtains that make up the walls of the upper room and you'll find yourself down in Dr. Loboto's lab area. The platform rooms are really all one big room. You don't have to go all the way around using the outside platform in order to get to his lab.

However, I wasn't able to jump from Dr. Loboto's lab back up to the upper area. There's a small bookshelf high up to the left of Dr. Loboto's lab area with barely enough room to turn your Leviation ball on, but the upper room is still too high to reach.

[Thrik]

Awesome stuff Toliver. We've got a really nice collection going on here!

[Toliver]

This is a screen cap (lightened up in Photoshop) of the first Brain Tank Battle. I hadn't encountered this glitch until about the 5th or 6th time through the game and it has happened everytime since then.

You can see the Brain in the background which is the last part of the tank battle.

I had ground-pounded (palm bomb?) the brain thinking it would end the battle but instead of the normal big blue-print type of explosion that comes with the end of the battle, I kept getting these small little explosions and Raz would freeze up for a short while while the brain drifted away to a new location. Eventually, I coud get Raz to move again. Sometimes the little explosions would just stay on the screen in the battlefield while Raz went off to hit the brain again.

These mini-explosions happened about 3 times until I was finally able to get Raz to make the big explosion.

Has this happened to anyone else?

[Toliver]

I discovered not all arrowheads are equal in value. For instance, behind the lodge, the arrowhead at the base of the bridge support for the bridge leading to the lake (it’s the arrowhead closest to the practice targets) is worth 4. It’s the same in Reception and the GPC area. Some are worth 1, some are worth 2 or even more. In the Kid's Cabin Area, all the arrowheads are = 1.

 

Towards the beginning of the game when you need to buy the Dowsing Rod, Dream Fluff and Psi-Cores, you can build up arrowheads quickly by making a circle of the Lodge picking up all the arrowheads you see, go into the Lodge, turn around and go right back out of the Lodge and repeat. When the game has to reload an area, like when you enter and exit the Lodge, the arrowheads reset and are all there.

With the help of the dowsing rod, I was able to achieve a rank of 20 during my first time through the Brain Tumbler Experiment (Raz's brain level) and have the Cobweb Duster with me.

 

Using Pyrokinesis on different things…

 

I used it on Boyd, outside of Thorny Towers with the locked gate. When he catches fire he says:

“Oh no, it’s happening again! Spontaneous Combustion! As a result of the government LSD experiments…”

 

But, later on, after solving "The Milkman Conspiracy" level, neither Pyrokinisis or Confusion has an effect on him. He just says something like "Nothing can keep me from my mission" (of burning down the asylum).

 

In “The Milkman Conspiracy”, a Rainbow Squirt can be seen whispering into bushes at some houses and also at the Post Office. Use Pyro on the bushes, the bushes burn away leaving the Rainbow Squirt whispering into nothing.

 

I used Pyro on the two mailboxes next to the entrance of the Post Office. Once they burned out, it must have impacted the code box by the door since it triggered the secret agent coming out of the Post Office, who then entered the code to get back in again. This bypassed the method of entering the wrong code on purpose in order to get the guy to come out of the Post Office.

 

Besides lighting the two fires in the camp (one in Reception and one at the Campfire area), you can light a fire in the Lodge fireplace later in the game. You can also light a fire in the fireplaces in some of the homes in “The Milkman Conspiracy”.

In Waterloo, even though there’s already a fire burning in the main room with Napoleon and Fred, you can use Pyro to make the fire burn brighter for a bit…when the extra fire is done burning you get two psychic arrowheads from the fireplace.

 

Seagulls burn, even when they’re trying to take off.

 

Crows catch fire but take off like there’s nothing the matter.

 

I tried using Pyro on Admiral Cruller but he yells at you, saying something like "I'll bury you so deep in the lake not even the dredge crews will find you!"

 

Using Confusion on different things:

 

Use it on any Cruller (Admiral Cruller, Janitor Cruller, etc) except the Cruller in Ford’s Sanctuary and they’ll say the lines of the other Crullers…so the Cook Cruller, in the Lodge, will talk about mopping, and so on.

 

If you use Confusion on Ford Cruller in Ford’s underground Sanctuary, he also says lines from the other Crullers except that he thinks he’s going crazy again and says he’ll have to find a larger Psytanium rock to bring his mind back in focus. It was kind of sad to hear him say this and I sort of felt bad for using it on him.

 

I used Confusion on a Mountain Lion….he just shakes.

 

On a seagull at the Lake…the seagull buries his head in the sand! Too funny!

 

On the Carpenter in Waterloo, he rocks back and forth in place. Even later on when the Confusion wore off, when Raz was mid-sized, I could still see the Carpenter piece rocking in place on the gameboard.

 

I used Confusion on Gloria…she says something like “Did I faint again and not know it?”

 

I used it on Bonita, in her dressing room and she said (in the gruff male voice) ”Hey! Who’s that crying?”

 

I used it on Becky…she gets really mellow and then says in a panic, “What did I miss?”

 

I used it on the Teleporter creature. Nothing seemed to happen to it...though I didn’t check the Teleport Options when he was confused. Wonder if they got mixed up…

 

I used Confusion on Napoleon (in the main room with Fred and on the Little Napoleon on the gameboard) and he says “What is the purpose of War? Maybe diplomacy could do…” and then he snaps out of it and says “Wait, who said that?”

 

I tried to use Confusion on Sasha and Milla when they were trying to free Lili in the Asylum Platform tower, but they only said “That’s nice, Raz, but we could really use your help here.”

 

I used it on Shegore and she just shakes in place (like the mountain lions). I thought about using it on Mr. Pokeylope (the turtle) but blew my chance in Loboto's lab area by picking him up too soon after rescuing him from the metal container. There's no other time in the game where he's free from Shegore's clutches. ;-)

 

Using Confusion on the rats is a waste. They get confused, scurry around and sometimes blow themselves up (and the other rats, too). But other times they snapped out of it and came at you again.

 

I used Confusion on the Big Muscle Censors in Waterloo…they started beating themselves up which is funny to see. But they snap out of it and come after you again.

 

Other interesting tidbits:

If you try to use Sasha’s Mental Door on Crispin who is guarding the Upper Tower Elevator, a rambling two page note from Dr. Loboto appears on the screen, basically yelling at you (he thinks you’re the Coach) for trying to get into Crispin’s head. Something along the lines of “Hey we had an agreement! Hands off Crispin...”

 

In Waterloo, when you’re mid-sized on the game board, if you let Raz just stand there and do nothing, he’ll eventually put his hands on his hips, look to the left an then to the right and finally he’ll look impatiently back over his left shoulder at you and then look forward again.

 

I noticed a glitch in trying to enter the Lodge during the day. I was coming from the picnic tables to the right of the lodge (when you’re facing the front entrance) and tried getting Raz to jump onto the curvy wooden walkway but he slipped and ended up underneath the walkway but his shadow was above him on the walkway. I could get him to repeat this. Very weird.

[HappyCabbit]

I noticed a glitch in trying to enter the Lodge during the day. I was coming from the picnic tables to the right of the lodge (when you’re facing the front entrance) and tried getting Raz to jump onto the curvy wooden walkway but he slipped and ended up underneath the walkway but his shadow was above him on the walkway. I could get him to repeat this. Very weird.

 

When I did that [though I'm not sure if it was from the same direction] I got stuck under the wooden walkway for fifteen minutes. T_T I eventually just reset the game.

[martmeister]

The mini explosions with the first tank are definitely a glitch, probably involving your video card and drivers.

 

The first couple times through, I didn't pay that much attention to their reactions. Initially, I thought the "never die" in Basic Braining (first go around) was part of the demo then playing the full version, I didn't care. I didn't consider that I'd be revisiting it later. Anytime I play a new game, I make sure to go out of my way for figments. Never dying's cool.

 

Before going to the GPC, talking to Franke and Kitty (?) yielded insults from them. Continuing to talk/interact/harass them had Raz asking them, "Where do you get your clothes? My sister's a little fat." <Kitty's shocked expression followed by her asking you what you said.> Raz asks something completely different (where GPC is?).

[Toliver]

Some follow-up:

 

Regarding the poster in the recruiting office at the start of "Basic Braining" that I said shows a man and woman with the woman saying "I wish I were a man," I finally saw that the man in the poster is Coach Oleander. Which makes it even funnier.

 

Arrowheads:

I found one arrowhead worth 8 points!

In the Reception area there's a waterfall. If you stand facing the waterfall, jump up to the land on the right. If you continue this way, you'll encounter the rusty car and the pipe for the Scavenger Hunt. But don't go that far. When you jump on the embankment on the right, almost immediately you'll see there's a small, almost hidden, alcove on your left. At first I thought it might be a hidden cave or tunnnel, but saw it was just an alcove. Inside the alcove is the familiar purple gas coming from the ground. That's the 8-point arrowhead. Very cool. But by that time, I was using the dowsing rod for deep arrowheads, so it didn't matter too much in the scheme of things.

 

I also did the math and figured out that the Deep Arrowhead lode under the GPC (it's near the fence where the bear is on the other side) is an awesome 220 points.

 

Once I bought the dowsing rod, I got my arrowhead count up to about 1600 before heading into the Brain Tumbler Experiment for the first time. And that's without going to the lake or the Lungfish lair. The Lodge/Parking Lot area will only yield about 290 deep arrowheads. You don't find the big lodes until you get to the GPC. The Campfire area has two lodes that I've found and most of the lodes in the Reception area are 40 points or under.

Has anyone done a Deep Arrowhead Lode map?

 

I found I could achieve a rank of 20 (which gives you Telekinesis Power) before going into the Brain Tumbler for the first time.

I've also discovered that some places in the game where I previously thought I would need Levitation, Raz could get there just by his double jump. I think the programmers did this on purpose since it happens too much in the game to be a coincidence. The Psi-Cards on top of the upper mine shaft in the Reception area, for example, can be reached without Levitation. The Condor Egg for the Scavenger Hunt in the Reception area can be reached without Levitation. On the right side of the waterfall in the Reception area there are some Psi-Cards high up on a rock that Raz can reach without Levitation. In the GPC, there are some trees/branches you need to climb to get a series of Psi-Cards and a Psi-Core. All of them can be reached without Levitation.

 

I didn't notice this the first 5 or 6 times through the game but in Raz's Brain Tumbler Experiment, there is one place where he's attacked by tiny Censors! They don't appear anywhere else in the game. In Raz's level, there's the Big Censors that fire the No-Symbol at Raz. There's the next size down that usually appear with the orange whiney fireballs who just pummel you. But these guys were even smaller. I believe they are the next group of Censors to appear after Raz's first encounter with Censors in his mind. I'll try to get a screen cap my next time through that level.

 

The more I play this game, the more I admire the game makers. Just amazing...

[Toliver]

The first couple times through, I didn't pay that much attention to their reactions. Initially, I thought the "never die" in Basic Braining (first go around) was part of the demo then playing the full version, I didn't care. I didn't consider that I'd be revisiting it later. Anytime I play a new game, I make sure to go out of my way for figments. Never dying's cool.

I need to revise and extend my remarks about this "no dying" the first time through Basic Braining.

It's true that it doesn't seem like you can die the first time through if you fall off a cliff or the rails or fall in the Log Maze Tumbler.

However, I noticed that you can take damage which means if someone is really having a rough time in the level and takes too much damage, they CAN lose a life that way.

Otherwise, you're pretty much immortal the first time through.

[martmeister]

Ooh, and about the same place where the mini-censors are, you might get hit by censor beams (??), but there are no censors to shoot at you.