Auburn Sounds Support Adventure Game

You have arrived near Auburn Sounds headquarters. Google Maps says it's right in front of you. For now, all you see from the street is a blue portal and an orange portal. Both portals have the same street number: 34. Not very helpful. You hope that someone here will solve your technical support problem. What better solution that getting into the company office? What do you do? [[Open the blue portal->BluePortal]] [[Open the orange portal->OrangePortal]] (set: $has_axe to "false") (set: $has_log to "false") (set: $has_brick to "false") (set: $has_micral to "false") (set: $seen_dman to "false")

You return back to Doyen Gosse Street. You are near the Auburn Sounds headquarters. You see a blue portal and an orange portal. Both have the same street number: 34. Not very helpful. You hope that someone here will solve your technical support problem. What better solution that getting into the company office? What do you do? [[Open the blue portal->BluePortal]] [[Open the orange portal->OrangePortal]] [[Abandon the idea of getting any help->Abandon]]

You decide that you've spent enough time trying to get technical support. You realize there are other methods for getting help, including the FAQ on the Auburn Sounds website, and plain old Email. **THE END**

The orange portal is closed. You ring but noone answers back. It sounds like the house is empty. [[Jump over the orange portal->JumpPortal]] [[Open the blue portal->BluePortal]]

You jump over the orange portal. Like every music producer, you're fit and athletic. You hope to be in at the right address. [[Explore your surroundings->Other34]]

You got into a house with a garden, but thankfully nobody is there. Looks like the house is being renovated: there is quite a lot of concrete bricks. Obviously, this is not what an Auburn Sounds office would look like a (weekday:). But there is something interesting. At the edge of the garden you find a wall with a window. Presumably you took the wrong portal, and this is the real Auburn Sounds office, in the other 34th Doyen Gosse Street. [[Look at the window->LookInside]] [[Go back and open the blue portal->BluePortal]] (unless: $has_brick is "true")[ [[Pick up a concrete brick->PickBrick]] ]

You take a concrete brick, and put it into your bag. It is heavy and rigid. (set: $has_brick to "true") [[Explore your surroundings->Other34]]

You look into the window. This is a small studio. A grumpy bald man is sitting at its desk, looking into two computers alternatively. It must be a Software Developer. From the looks of it, it sounds like he is making A/B tests. You need to get to him and ask your support question! [[Break into the window->BreakInto]] [[Go back and open the blue portal->BluePortal]]

(if: $has_brick is "true")[ You firmly hold the concrete brick, and break the window with it. [[Get inside the house->EnterHouseViolent]] (set: $weapon to "a concrete brick") ] (unless: $has_brick is "true")[ Unfortunately you don't have any heavy and rigid object that could help smash that window. [[Look around->Other34]] ]

The blue portal opens, as it wasn't locked. You can read "Jardin" written on the letterbox. A lovely path leads to a tidy garden. [[Enter the garden->Garden]]

You are in the garden. You can see the main house at a distance, a smaller house with an "Auburn Sounds" sign, and a garage. There seems to be nobody out there. [[Approach main house->MainHouseEntrance]] [[Approach "Auburn Sounds" smaller house->AuburnEntrance]] [[Get into the garage->Garage]] [[Go back to street->EntranceBack]]

The main house is luxurious with an imposing front door. Around the patio, you see a wood pile, and an axe. Whoever lives here, probably use wood-burning heating. [[Knock at the door->KnockMainHouse]] [[Go back to the garden->Garden]] (unless: $has_axe is "true")[ [[Pick up the axe->PickUpAxe]] ] (unless: $has_log is "true")[ [[Pick up a wood log->PickUpLog]] ]

You knock strongly at the door. An elderly lady comes and opens it to you. "Not looking for new wine bottles! What do you want?" [["I'm looking for the Auburn Sounds Developer."->JardinAuburn]] [["Can you solve my technical problem?"->JardinTechnical]] [["What is this place?"->JardinPlace]] [["I wanted to speak to someone, but not you"->JardinEnd]]

Madame Jardin says: "Wrong place! Guillaume is in the other house. He sure does love computers!" She then proceed to list the different ways in which she hurts. [[Back to the patio->MainHouseEntrance]]

Madame Jardin says: "Farewell." [[Back to the patio->MainHouseEntrance]]

Madame Jardin says: "No I don't understand the first thing about computers! I'm looking for someone to repair my phone." You reply: "Well I don't understand phones either." [[Back to the patio->MainHouseEntrance]]

Madame Jardin says: "My husband built that house. Now he's dead." [["My sincere condolences."->JardinCondolence]]

Madame Jardin shrugs and shuts the door. Auburn Sounds must be renting the place to Madame Jardin, and that Developer works from home, in the smaller house. [[Back to the patio->MainHouseEntrance]]

You open the garage door wide open. You find an expensive sports car there. Is this the Developer's car? Then he has more money that he make it seem on the Internet... You see a wooden arch leading to another, smaller room. [[Go through the wooden arch to the smaller room->Garage2]] [[Steal the expensive sportscar and escape with it->EscapeWithCar]] [[Go back to the garden->Garden]]

You enter the smaller garage room. It's a mess made up of tools, parts of bikes and rotten vegetables. It smells horribly. There is even a tree going through the roof! You see a nice-looking, functional bike amongst this garbage. You also see a vintage french computer with a "Micral" label. It must be more than 30 years old. [[Climb the tree->ClimbTree]] [[Steal the nice-looking, functional bike and escape with it->EscapeWithBike]] [[Go back to the garden->Garden]] (unless: $has_micral is "true")[ [[Pick up the vintage computer->VintageComputer]] ]

You pick up the vintage computer "Micral", and put it into your bag. It might be of interest for a programming nerd. (set: $has_micral to "true") [[Look around->Garage2]]

You pick up a well-balanced axe, and put it into your bag. Might be helpful to coerce the Developer into giving answers. (set: $has_axe to "true") [[Back to the patio->MainHouseEntrance]]

You pick up a wood log, and put it into your bag. Not sure what it could be useful for, but everyone loves wood logs. (set: $has_log to "true") [[Back to the patio->MainHouseEntrance]]

You break the bike's locker with one of the available tools. You smash the garden portal and escape the property with your new vehicle. You may have got no technical support, but at least the Developer won't get away with taking your hard-earned money! **THE END**

You break into the expensive sportscar, and turn the engine on. You smash the blue portal and escape the property with your new vehicle. You may have got no technical support, but at least the Developer won't get away with taking your hard-earned money! **THE END**

You climb the garage tree, through the roof. The tree is surprisingly strong and tall, perhaps more than 300 meters high! It's been a while since you started climbing now and you're still far from the top. That is a nice landscape! [[Look at the city->ClimbTreeLook]] [[Climb down the tree->Garage2]]

You look at the Grenoble landscape. The city is enclosed behind moutains: the Chartreuse, Vercors and Belledonne. You can see the castles of other software companies. To the South, you see the Xils-lab tower. To the West, near the city center, you can spot the Eiosis mansion. To the East lies Arturia territory, near Montbonnot. To the North, you don't see anything yet, but other audio companies probably hide there. Audio is the biggest employer of the region. You can see people working in the hardware fields and harvesting analog value. The valley itself is a permanent nightclub, with gigantic loudspeakers mounted at the top of snow-capped peaks. The whole city is resonating with sound waves, synthesized right from the city bells. [[Climb down the tree->Garage2]]

You approach the smaller "Auburn Sounds" house. You can read a door sign: "Bugs not welcome! Please refer to our website for technical support" For one second, you wonder whether you are actually currently following that advice. [[Knock and wait for an answer->AuburnKnock]] [[Bash the door->BreakDoor]] [[Return to the garden->Garden]] (if: $has_micral is "true")[ [[Bait the Developer with the vintage computer->Bait]] ]

(if: $has_axe is "true")[ You use the axe to rip the door apart. It feels good letting off steam on an inanimate object. [[Enter the house->EnterHouseViolent]] (set: $weapon to "an axe") ] (unless: $has_axe is "true")[ Unfortunately you don't have any tool to bash the door. You try it with your bare hand but it hurts too much. If only you had something sharp to attack the door... [[Consider another course of action->AuburnEntrance]]. ]

You knock strongly at the door. Nothing happens. If there is someone here, he's probably deaf. [[Look at the other options->AuburnEntrance]]

You position the "Micral" vintage computer near the door and hide behind a grove. After less than ten minutes, the Developer exits his house and cautiously walks through the door. The smell of old transistors lured him outside. "Wow, that's a Micral!" [["Hello, I come for technical support"->EngageConversation]]

You break into the house with $weapon in your hand. The Developer looks terrified and drops his headphones on the floor. You shout loudly: "DONT PANIC I JUST HAVE A TECHNICAL SUPPORT REQUEST!" Doesn't seem to work. The Developer rushes into a floor hatch, visibly afflicted by the situation. [[Examine your surroundings->DeveloperHouse]] [[Follow the Developer into the hatch->DeveloperEscape]]

Still holding $weapon, you open the hatch and climb down a ladder. You find the Developer right after landing in the sewers. He is pointing a gun in your direction. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?", he shouts. [["Calm down, I just come for technical support"->EngageConversation]]

You are into the Developer's house. You see several computers, a comfortable chair, multiple brands of headphones, sound interfaces, microphones, and a D-man painting. [[Look at the Windows computer->LookComputer]] [[Look at the Mac computer->LookComputer2]] [[Look at the painting->LookPainting]] [[Use the microphone->UseMicrophone]] [[Listen to the headphones->ListenHeadphones]] [[Follow the Developer into the hatch->DeveloperEscape]]

An unknown DAW is open in the computer, with an unknown plug-in. Is this the next product from Auburn Sounds? [[Return to the room->DeveloperHouse]]

You can read an email from the Developer to a Sound Designer. "I know there is an unwanted volume spike with some settings. Can you find a preset to make it seem this is on purpose?" [[Return to the room->DeveloperHouse]]

This painting represents D-Man, mascot of the D language. It looks like a red D letter with skinny arms and legs. It sounds like D is at the heart of Auburn Sounds plug-ins, whereas C++ is what would be commonly used. [[Return to the room->DeveloperHouse]] (set: $seen_dman to "true")

Sound in the headphones is looping on the very beginning section of Billie Jean, by Michael Jackson. What for? [[Return to the room->DeveloperHouse]]

You utter "Yolo" in the microphone. It comes out as sort of "Yrlr". Interesting. [[Return to the room->DeveloperHouse]]

The Developer is anxious at first but calms down as he recognizes a known situation. "Yet another trespasser coming for technical support. Ever thought perusing our FAQ instead? Anyway, what's your problem?" [["I'd like to report a bug.->ReportABug]] [["Why the name 'Auburn Sounds' ?"->FAQName]] [["Are you making any money?"->FAQMoney]] [["Who is the girl in your logo?"->FAQGirl]] [["How do I download the latest plug-ins? I'm a customer."->FAQLatestUpdate]] [["Thank you. I think I know everything I wanted to know."->LeaveConversation]] (if: $seen_dman is "true")[ [["What's the deal with the D language?"->FAQDLanguage]] ]

He pauses a second. "I got the idea while walking to my previous job in the morning. In french, 'Aube' means 'early morning' so it was pretty cool-sounding with 'Aube' + 'burn' = 'Auburn'. Also it had to start with an 'A' for lists. " [["OK."->EngageConversation]]

He seems offended. "Money? Yes, of course, but I don't know why everyone asks this question. Obviously it's a harsh market to be in. About everything else is more profitable if you are a software developer. I sacrificed a lot to make audio plug-ins... I don't think anyone does this for money first. If you have any common sense, the best thing is to go do something else." [["Thanks for the advice."->EngageConversation]]

"Those who haven't used D, are condemned to reinvent it. If you think D is all smoke and no fire, I'm not paid to help you be technically current. Just make your homework." [["OK, I guess."->EngageConversation]]

"Oh. That damn logo. I just wanted to draw an 'A' for 'Auburn' and it looked like hair. Once I went figurative I had to add the whole face, else it would look odd. The logo just made itself." [["Interesting."->EngageConversation]]

"How to update to the latest plug-ins? This can be a bit complicated, make sure you read our FAQ because from the top of my head the answer is several paragraphs." [["Right. I'll do that as soon as I quit this helpful game."->EngageConversation]]

"Farewell. Don't forget to sign-up on our email list and follow our social accounts. I heard it's something important.", says the Developer. As you leave the Auburn Sounds headquarters towards your plane, you can't help but wonder what other untold secrets hide there. **THE END**

"Report a bug? Very strange, it worked on my machine." he says with fainted interest. "Next time, e-mail it instead of coming here! Anyway, I need a log file to be able to debug it. Do you have a log?" (unless: $has_log is "true")[ [["Unfortunately, I don't have a log."->MissingLog]] ] (if: $has_log is "true")[ [["Well, I have this wood log."->GiveWoodLog]] ]

The developer is now speaking like an automaton: "If you don't have a log, then I can't solve your bug." [["Great."->EngageConversation]]

The developer lightens up: "Thanks! This will help a lot to reproduce the bug!" [["My pleasure."->EngageConversation]] (set: $has_log to "false")