welcome you.
here be a late-night appreciation page for SHIVERS.
ya know...that sierra adventure game from way back when.

 

    first off, some informaciones muy importante eh. please read before scrolling down:

1.    this ain't a walkthrough. for walkthroughs (you cheater you!!), por favor go here, or here, or here.

2.    while this isn't a walkthrough, this page does contain spoilers such as lots of pictures, secrets, cheats, and other easter eggie stuff you might have more fun finding on your own. if you don't mind being spoiled (kids these days), be my guest and scroll down to your heart's content.

3.    this page and all pages associated with my shivers obssession Will Load Slow because i hate fuzzy images and haven't compressed the pics much. patience dearie. danke.

4.    oh wait. these pages also include game solving info such as locations of pots and lids, a list of where all them crazy ixupi like showing up, and the solutions for that damned chinese checker puzzle and that evil pinball machine puzzle. args to those puzzles.
 
 

CONTENTS AYE:

page 1: this is One Long Text File wherein i yap endlessly about
my obsession with shivers,
an intro to the game,
a list of screens where you can "look up",
neato tidbits i like pointing out,
places where pots and lids can be found,
a list of all ixupi "hauntings",
solutions to the chinese checker and pinball machine puzzles,
the point system,
the jukebox playlist,
info concerning the three dead people for the obsessed,
a list of "hauntings",
easter eggs,
a list of "if only this was in the game",
the entirety of each room's recorded greeting message,
and (pssst!) the cheat code.
all interspersed with inane and occasionally wise-ass commentary by yours truly.

page 2: this is One Long Page Of Slow Loading Images from the game. will take forever and a day to load if yer surfing on one ah those 56k connections. it's real purty when all loaded up though. full of gushy nonsense babble from me under nearly every image too. woo hoo.

page 3: mostly the same thing as page 2 'cept with different pictures. hee hee hee.

page 4: plently o' useless downloads that will nevertheless intrique and make you cry with joy -- guaranteed!
 
 

moving right along here....

1.  why this page? why the obsession? do you have a life?

love this game to death i do. for a project that was constrained by limited budget and tight deadlines, shivers delivers more atmostphere, eye candy, and attitude than a lotta other adventure games i can name (rama 1/2 i'm talking to you!!!). evidence: i picked this game up yesterday (01/03/2002) just cuz i hadn't played it in a while and it still made me laugh like a maniac till four thirty in the morning. so i decided, what the hell, i'm going to share my love of this game with the entire world.

while the eye candy value of shivers is very neato, the best part is how the designers gave each character so much personality. windlenot is by no means a sane fellow (a true nutjob he is) but it's still amazing how the tragedy of his demise permeats the entire castle. his wackiness is cool. hell, i even find those four dorky teenagers amusing (can we say stereotyped characterization eh?).
   
gameplay's right up my alley too. i've got no problem playing this thing over and over again as the puzzles really aren't that difficult and can be rather fun. part of the challenge is seeing how far i can get through going on pure memory -- absolutely no use of the flashback feature and no walkthroughs allowed. i know the game so well it's almost like walking through my own house sometimes (shut up i told you i was obsessed). sometimes i wish this castle actually existed somewhere....how much fun i'd have...(!!!).
   
the music kicks ass. ranges from new age to gothic to symphonic to just incredible background "noise." too bad that the "soundtrack" of this game included in the 2nd cd of shivers2 contains only selected excerpts. one day by god i will own complete tracks of every single song written for this game (oh wait, i do now!).
   
just amazing how all parts of the design work together so smoothly. i play adventure games cuz i'm a sucker for the "escape to another world" element and shivers so delivers that. the one lone complaint i have is how the ixupi look so cartoony...but i suppose that couldn't be helped as 1) the developers really didn't have a lotta money to work with and 2) come on, it was the 1990s...delivering hi-tech to consumers was jurassic then compared to now.
   
'course, the fact that i picked this game up at compusa one day for a mere buck eighty-seven in the cheapie bin satisfies the bargain-lover in me too.
so okay. obsession explained (still rather inadequately imo but who wants to read more?!).

and oh yieah, i so too have a life nyah.

2.   whoa horsie. tell me about this game again?

developed by sierra in the 1990s (too lazy to look up the exact date), it was a rather small-budget adventure game made at a time when the myst craze was still going on. you play a dumb teenager who gets duped into spending a night at the local "haunted house." the house is actually a castle/museum that belongs to a crazy professor who disappeared around 15 years ago. no one's actually seen the inside. being the intrepid hero, you break in, discover the menace, contain the menace, and save the world. during your adventure into hell you get to wander around inside the museum which sports many exhibits devoted to such subjects as atlantis, gryphons, cyclops, and, of course, ixupis.
   
hmm...let's see....what else....oh yieah, it runs from a cd, is able to run in win xp pro (that's the os i have currently installed), and requires a 640x480 resolution and 256 color palette for optimal full screen goodness. a dark room, bass surround sound system, and many handy snacks also enhance the gaming experience.

read more interesting tech background n details here.

3.   places where you can "look up":

since i never want this game to end and since this game is so damn gorgeous, i'm forever trying to find places where i can explore the environment more....that includes being able to "look up" at the ceiling of several rooms. while i'm of the more obsessed variety, i've been informed that it's still nice to see different screens once in a while. so here ya go...

• ixupi cutout in the entrance to the ixupi shrine.
• dragon model hanging from the ceiling in the legendary creatures room.
• front and back views of the star dome above the galaxy model.
• hole in the dome of the professor's bedroom.
• a pharoh's bust is on the wall above the sarcophagus that's in front of the sphinx.
• camera in the subbterranean deros' room.

4.   neato tidbits i like pointing out:

more stuff in the vein of number 3's topic just nothing looking up. heh. :) also a buncha "did you know [you could do] that?" stuff. things only the obsessed would notice.

• the ufo on the book found in merrick's backpack is the same ufo in the space exhibit room.
• the pictures behind the torn page 17 can also be found on the right hand wall of the theater.
• the ax stuck into the pillar near the bird masks usually hangs on the back wall tool board of the workshop. you'll see an empty space where it's supposed to be.
• the entrance to the professor's bedroom can be found by rolling up the tapestry hanging to the left of the fireplace in the study.
• you can open several boxes in the human inventions room and check out various items the professor hadn't yet put on display.
• a jade skull can be found behind the lion casket holding merrick's corpse. it belongs in the display case in the main hall. (geek theory: merrick the dork probably carried it around as a weapon but it musta ended up sucking out his life essence since we later find his ghost in the jade ixupi pot.)
• you can play with the minature clock that sits on the professor's bedside table.
• a miniature of the giant "skull" painting in the puzzles room can be found hanging on the wall of the profesor's bedroom.
• the "babbling" you hear as background noise in the theater is actually a line from shakespeare's hamlet. the sound designer guy said he stuck it in there for atmostpheric purposes. i've yet to find out exactly which phrase was used.
• you can watch videos of both merrick and beth running away by pressing the play buttons for two of the cameras on the clock tower security console.
• the white boat display behind the desk in the study is actually a miniature model of the boat you use to get across the underground lake.
• the picture of merrick that beth has pasted into her locket (which can be found on the floor of the ixupi pots room) is from the newspaper found in the professor's jacket hanging in the study. now how can she have gotten a copy of that paper as it was printed after all three of them disappeared? hmmm? :)
• the final newspaper clipping we see when we finish the game talks about tornado and "cyclone" trouble in the upper right hand corner. it's a wee hint into the subject of the next shivers game.
• you don't get mentioned at all in the final newspaper clipping. only the four dorks who tricked you into staying at the museum in the first place get mentioned.

5.   places where pots and lids can found.

study:
    lower right drawer of the professor's desk. (note: it's always the lid to the ashes pot)

workshop:
    solve the bone drawer puzzle and a cabinet will open beneath.

main hall:
    within the middle bird mask.

library:
    move the ladder to reach the base of the statue.
    in one of the lower cupboards beneath the bookcases.

strange beasts room:
    climb the ladder to reach the top of the giant eagle's nest. (huh...haven't found anything here yet)

amazing plants room:
    on the pot shelf towards the left when facing the main entrance.

mysteries of the deep room:
    inside bimini island (note: blueprint of museum can also be found here)

subterranean world:
    on top of the "mantle" at the other end of the tar pit.

theatre:
    behind the curtain at the left side of the stage. appears after using the film projector.

clock tower:
    in the lion's mouth after clock is set to 5:30. (this puzzle is Damn Annoying because i can't tell time)

tomb and curses room:
    inside the sarcophagus.

funeral rites room:
    in a drawer in the animal sarcophagus.

shaman room:
    in one of the cubbies inside the mask hut. (haven't found anything here yet either)

gods and religious items room:
    in the sumerian bull's belly compartment.

myths and legends room:
    inside the ananszi spider music box.
    in the coffin next to the snake.

janitor's room:
    underneath a bunch of red cloth.

planetarium:
    inside the giant ufo.

strange inventions room:
    inside the alchemy machine.

man's inhumanity to man room:
    underneath the gallows on a shelf.

puzzle room:
    on the floor at the end of the bridge.

6.   places where them ixupi like making guest appearances (sorted by ixupi type).

ashes:
    study -- inside the fireplace
    funeral rites room -- on the cremation platform

crystal:
    mysteries of the deep -- in the crystal machine display towards the left
    main staircase -- in the crystal chandelier

electricity:
    planetarium -- in the ufo light bulb display over stonehenge
    man's inhumanity to man -- appears after turning on the power in the electric chair
    basement -- inside the power generator

cloth:
    tombs and curses -- inside the mummy's rags (personal fave place to catch him cuz he's white colored here)
    funeral rites room -- in the burial cloths of the "pyramid"
    janitor's room -- in the bunch of red rags

metal:
    professor's bedroom -- in the suit of armor
    strange beasts room -- in the unicorn statue
    projection room -- in the film canisters

sand/earth:
    amazing plants -- at the base of the cactus
    mysteries of the deep -- in the sand castle sculpture of poseidon's temple

tar:
    strange beasts room -- in the tar pit behind the stegasaur
    subterranean world -- in the tar pit

water:
    underground lake (you'll get hit by this guy no matter what since you have no weapons whatsoever this early in the game)
    main hall -- appears after you turn on the water fountain
    janitor's room -- in the toilet (god i love this one)

wax:
    library -- in the candlelabra
    shaman room -- in the wax effigy
    myths and legends room -- in the wax snake

wood:
    near entrance to fortune teller's room -- in a pile of scrap wood towards your left
    myths and legends room -- in a pile of scrap wood next to the pegasus statue
    gods and religions -- in the tahitian statue
    workshop -- in the partially uncrated statue

geek hypothesis time (i.e. what would be the hiding places for the ixupis that killed merrick, beth, and the professor?)....

jade:
    funeral rites room: in the jade skull behind the lion casket
    gods and religions: in the jake serpeant display

stone:
    gods and religions: in the stone buddha statue
    strange inventions: in various stone tools packed inside the crates

fire:
    lordy....i can't think of any places for this one. after all, it'd be weird to find fire burning in a place that's supposedly been empty for the past 15 years!

7.   solutions to the chinese checker and pinball machine puzzles.

these are the only puzzles i'm too lazy to solve by myself. i've actually solved the pinball one the first time around (god only knows how) but haven't been able to repeat the feat since then without, ahem, "assistance". :) so, since i cheat here then you can too. see how generous i am?

chinese checker puzzle solution. i've seen several solutions for this puzzle but this is the one i like best. counting checkerboard style from top to bottom, left to right and starting on the top left marble, make your jumps in the following order:

5 to 17
12 to 10
3 to 11
1 to 3
18 to 6
30 to 18
27 to 25
13 to 27
24 to 26
22 to 24
27 to 25
31 to 23
16 to 28
33 to 31
4 to 16
31 to 23
7 to 9
10 to 8
21 to 7
7 to 9
24 to 10
10 to 8
8 to 22
22 to 24
24 to 26
19 to 17
16 to 18
3 to 11
11 to 25
26 to 24
29 to 17

pinball machine puzzle solution. counting from left to right, jump them marbles in the following order:

space 4 to space 5.
space 7 to space 4.
space 8 to space 7.
space 5 to space 8.
space 4 to space 5.
space 1 to space 4.
space 2 to space 1.
space 3 to space 2.
space 6 to space 3.
space 9 to space 6.
space 8 to space 9.
space 5 to space 8.
space 2 to space 5.
space 3 to space 2.
space 6 to space 3.
space 9 to space 6.
space 8 to space 9.
space 5 to space 8.

    there ya go kiddies. thanks go to sierra online fer providin' the solutions.

8.   how the point system works.

solved puzzle 6750 pts
clues 350 pts
reading plaques 250 pts
inventory item 2500 pts
loss of life essence -1500 pts
recorded message for each room 300 pts

examining as many objects as possible also adds points. so does frequently using the elevators. thanks to shannon fernandez's walkthrough for this info.

9.   the almighty jukebox playlist.

list posted here because, i dunno, it's a way of saying i know everything there is to know about the game? oh gawd have i got issues.

a1: sarabande in c minor (i really like this one. all gothy and depressing.)
a2: little jack horner
a3: the waltz of the pharohs (a broken recording)
b1: little tommy tucker
b2: ananszi spider song (a fave of mine)
b3: american indian trible chant (can we say hinting about part 2?)
c1: renaissance guitar (this is a pretty neat piece)
c2: unreadable (don't know what it's called but it sounds awesome)
c3: song birds

and YES, you crazy kids, i do in fact have the music from the jukebox playlist in .wav files that are playable on your computer. go here.

10.   info concerning the three dead people for the obsessed.

merrick:
    ghost trapped in the jade ixupi pot
    pot located in the fortune teller's room
    body found inside the lion casket in the funeral rites room
    personal belongings found in the red myths and legends room
    diary found next to body in the lion casket
    prescription inhaler found in the strange beasts room next to the giant spider

beth:
    ghost trapped in the fire ixupi pot
    pot located in the clock tower
    body found in a hole in the wall in the basement
    personal belongings scattered outside the hallway of the library's secret exit
    locket found on the floor of the ixupi pot room

professor windlenot:
    ghost trapped in the stone ixupi pot
    pot located on the opposite shore of the underground lake
    body found lying next to the egyptian boat in the underground lake room
    personal belongings found scattered throughout his study and bedroom

11.   where other things in the museum like to go bump in the night.

the ixupi ain't the only scary beings hanging around the museum. here's a list of places where you can encounter the "unexplained." most of these events occur on a random basis so it's not guaranteed they'll appear everytime you load these locations.

• opening the door into the underground lake area sometimes triggers bats flying out towards your head.
• if you walk in between the bookshelves in the projection room and then look back towards the doorway, sometimes a shadow will flit across the right side of the screen.
• while walking upstairs in the clock tower, a shadow will sometimes appear around the fourth or fifth screen.
• inside the amazing plants room, there are two giant plants in vases. stand so that the left plant is on the right side of your screen. wait a few seconds and sometimes the plant will move.
• in the theater there are two archways topped with snake heads at the two sides of the stage. walk under the archways and look up. the head on the left will smirk and the one on the right will flash.
• sometimes while exiting from the subterranean world into the main hall via the trapdoor, a pair of flashing red eyes and a growl will appear.

12.   leggo my eggos! (aka easter eggs to be found in shivers)

• after solving the stonehenge puzzle and pulling down the power switch, turn right and click on the light bulb overhead twice. you can also do this with the lightbulb in front of the door leading into the underground lake.
• click on poseidon's head in the mysteries of the deep room until the egg starts.
• before solving the puzzle that opens the door into the subbterranean maze, click several times on any one of the sliding stone buttons.
• in the tar pit inside the subbterranean room, stand so that deros statue is to your left and the plaque is to your right. read the plaque then click several times on the head of the deros statue.
• find the crate that contains the stone pick axe in the incredible inventions room. open the crate, look at the axe in close up view, and then close the crate. do all this again to trigger the egg.
• solve the gallows puzzle in man's inhumanity to man room. climb down and turn so that you face the mannequin. see the nipple? click it about four times.
• view the close-up of the caged skeleton in man's inhumanity to man room. click on the pitcher, the glass, and then the skeleton's hand -- in that order.
• solve the page 17 riddle to the point where you have guillotined the guy in the man's inhumanity to man room. then click on the executioner's head twice.

thanks to windlenot for submitting these here.

13.  if only these things were in the game!

me want more things you game designers you! i want more details!!

• if only the cloth ixupi also appeared in the professor's bedroom closet. then i'd get to see a khaki colored ixupi. that would be awesome.
• if only the ash ixupi also appeared in the corner ash pile in the first man's inhumanity to man room. i just think this'd be cool.
• always wanted to examine some of the objects on that bookshelf inside the clocktower room. like...watch weird videos or something.
• i really wanna get a closeup look of the boat model that's behind the desk in the study. don't know why exactly but i just want to.
• i wish that pots with captured ixupi could've appeared on their respective stands in the ixupi pot room. would've been neat to see them sitting there.
• after thoroughly studying the map, i'm insanely convinced that there is an extra room tucked in somewhere in the second floor. and that i could trigger it's opening by doing something with the yellow wax statue in the shaman room cuz, see, at the base of that statue there's a symbol that looks something like an arrow. i've wasted too many hours of my life clicking all over that thing and wishing desperately for a secret door to open somewhere...like an easter egg type of thing. what was that about no life again?
• would love to have screens where i can just stand back and admire all the various murals on the walls. they're so pretty....particularly all the stuff that's painted in the mysteries of the deep room.
• it would've been neat to be able to sit in the electric chair and get the hair shocked outta you.

14.   the recorded greetings of each themed room in its entirety.

and you thought my obsession stopped only with listing stuff. As If. some of the room greetings are too interesting not to include on a fanboy-obsession website for shivers.

- museum's locked entrance:
    welcome to professor windlenot's museum of the strange and unusual.
    unfortunately, the musuem is still preparing exhibits and hopes you will visit when we open sometime in the near future.

- strange beasts:
    from a sixty-foot giant squid that can pull a small fishing boat into the depths of the sea, to the two-inch poison dart frog that carries enough poison to kill 1,500 people,
    nothing is stranger than the animal kingdom.
    is it any wonder that the ancients worshipped and feared these Strange Beasts.

- amazing plants:
    you have stepped into the world of Amazing Plants.
    for centuries, plants have been used to beautify Man's surroundings, for food, shelter, and to heal the sick.
    and like socrates, who was executed by drinking poison hemlock, Man has discovered plants have a lethal side too.

- mysteries of the deep:
    you are now entering the unfathomable depths of the sea -- where countless ships have sunk, taking with them untold riches.
    the wisdom known only to the ancients may also reside here, in the lost city of Atlantis.

- tombs and curses:
    much of what we know about early Man comes from burial sites, but not without a price.
    eternal life was the sustaining ideaology for many ancient cultures and they went to great lengths to prevent their dead from being violated.
    venture on if you will, but beware the Curse of the Tomb.

- funeral rites:
    death comes uneasily to the mind of Man.
    burial customs throughout the world arise from the belief that the survivors can secure life after death for the deceased.
    you will find here that Man has conceived of many ways to honor the dead.

- shaman room:
    you are now in the world of the Shaman, or witch doctor, whose purpose is to act as intermediary for Gods and Men.
    the Shaman acts as doctor, frightening evil spirits away from the sick, or officiating the practice of human sacrifice to pacify angry Gods.

- myths and legends:
    plato first coined the word mythologia or, the telling of stories.
    fictional or historical, myths are a universal creation. they attempt to explain the unexplainable.
    the world, God, Monsters, Man's very existence itself, and Death.

- gods and religious items:
    no tribute pleases an angry God better than a blood sacrifice.
    fortunately for Man, there are benevolent as well as vengeful gods.

- strange inventions:
    Man creates an Order to improve his existence.
    however, many of Man's early inventions became lost.
    during the Dark Ages, an inventor whose creations seemed a little too ingenious could be accused of collaborating with Satan, and consquently burned at the stake.
    or worse.

- man's inhumanity to man:
    Man has taken it upon himself to penalize his fellow man for every conceivable offense, many trivial.
    historically, singing insulting songs in rome, injuring a cat in egypt, and even selling bad beer in babylon, could bring the death penalty.

- planetarium:
    since 1947, when american pilot kenneth arnold described what he saw as
    "they flew like a saucer would if you skipped it across the water", Man has reported thousands of UFOs.
    hysteria?
    then why do we find flying saucers creeping into prehistoric cave paintings seven thousand years old?
    and giant nazca markings in the deserts of peru that can only be seen from thousands of feet in the air?
    as you investigate further, you'll discover we are not alone.

- subbterranean world :
    you are about to enter the bowels of Mother Earth.
    are there great civilizations that exist here?
    or just molten lava and rivers of fire?
    are you adventurous enough to solve the mystery of the maze and venture into the subterranean world?

- puzzle room :
    the world's greatest mysteries are merely puzzles waiting to be solved.
    the Puzzle Room is professor windlenot's favorite exhibit.
    if you can solve the last puzzle here, you will have discovered the museum's most precious secrets.

15.   you big CHEATER you!!!

save your game as KENNEDY right after the first time you solve any one of the puzzles. then you'll be able to go anywhere you want in the museum.
i've tried it once and it hasn't worked for me though. so...who knows?

alternatively, your cheatin' booty might wanna check out avault's collection of saved games n such...

so, now that all that text is outta the way, it's time to break out the photo album!
::beams::
click here for gratuitous visual appreciation of shivers part uno...
here's part two of the image extravaganza.
downloads fer the clogging of yer comp.
::goes back to jedi meditation::
 

if you wanna leave a comment or have a question, feel free to email me.

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