I just cant get past the most irritating mouse icon in gaming history. I have never seen such a convoluted mess, the grabbing hand icon only gets you repeated voice overs you cant fast forward thru, I have yet to actually pick up or interact with anything with this icon. So I am stuck having to listen to repeated voice overs just in case something is actually interactable. You also have an eye icon to indicate a puzzle, but then again a pulsing brain to indicate the same puzzle, wtf. So cluttered and unnecessary then add in the fact that the actual targeting is slightly to the right of what you are pointing at leads to many a misclick and more annoying voice overs.

Currently researching a way to turn down the music volume so I can hear the dialogue, but right now its unintelligible.

And the interface for menu, what were they thinking.


I really want to like this game, love the quick time movies and the soundtrack and the art but this cluttered and overly complicated interface is draggin it down.

Hi. I've got the instructions here because I have the CD version, so I might be able to help a bit here.

Grabbing hand icon:

Unlike most adventure games, you're not supposed to grab everything with the grabbing hand icon. It's for the treasure hunt/cryptic word puzzle portion of the game - Stauf gives you a hint such as "Winter Coat Worn for a Mixer" and you have to click on the correct object which is somewhere in the house. When you grab the wrong thing you get the voice taunting you for being wrong. When you grab the right thing you get a movie clip and the clue for the next object in the treasure hunt. If the cryptic clues are stumping you, you can get more detailed clues to the treasure hunt each time you click "Help" from the top menu when not in a puzzle.

As for volume controls, assuming the GOG version is the same as the CD version:

Volume Control:

Up arrow/Down arrow increase and decrease general audio volume

Audio Balance:

Right Arrow increases voice level and decreases music level, and Left arrow does the opposite.

From memory, I think the eye icon is supposed to indicate something you can get a closeup of (often but not always a puzzle) and the brain icon should be to actually do a puzzle.

Hope this info helps. I like this game despite its flaws.

It's amazing what nuggets of info one can derive from the simple act of reading a game manual...;) Generally, such manuals are good for things like learning how to control volume and other things. Give it a shot...!