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====== The Adventures of Merlock Bolmes: THE MYSTERY AT THE CONSTRUCTION SITE ======

[{{ :wiki:bolmes_screenshot1.png?nolink&300|Stage 1 screenshot}}]

**The Adventures of Merlock Bolmes: THE MYSTERY AT THE CONSTRUCTION SITE** is a platformer game based on an unpublished and possibly [[unwritten novels|unwritten story]] of the same title. It is [[tedium class]] and may be considered one of the geekiest platformers ever created.

===== Gameplay =====

The game features [[detective_bolmes|Bolmes]] jumping down from platform to platform on a construction site. Jumping down off screen lands characters back on the upper side, therefore limiting the game to a single screen.

The point of the game is to reduce the amount of stupids to 0. First stage starts with 499 stupids, and each subsequent level adds 200 more to the previous number: 699, 899, 1099 and so on.

Stupids are reduced by collecting coins and diamonds. Each coin reduces stupids by 1, each diamond reduces stupids by 2; collecting 5 coins or diamonds in a row yields a bonus of -10 stupids. When an item is collected, a new one appears on the screen two platforms away, so missing an item prevents the player from making a bonus next time as well.

==== Enemies ====

[{{:wiki:bolmes_blueworker.png?nolink&100 |Slimed worker}}]

The player's merry adventure is stifled by construction workers in helmets. Touching one will respawn Bolmes on the upper platform and reset the amount of stupids to the initial level. Jumping from platform to platform triggers a door opening and one more construction worker emerges. Therefore, the amount of enemies constantly increases. When it reaches 37, a Turbo Snail appears and destroys all workers in its path.

Another way to kill enemies is to use bombs, however each bomb costs +100 stupids, so bombs should be used only if absolutely necessary. Bombs do not hurt Bolmes.

[{{ :wiki:bolmes_swifty.png?nolink&100|Swifty}}]

Sometimes, a blue-green worker will appear. These are called "slimed workers" and will walk slower than the usual enemies. Bolmes can destroy slimed workers by mere touch and get -50 stupids as bonus. With each additional level this bonus increases by 10, so that on the second stage killing those reduces stupids by 60.

From time to time, a very fast blue-red enemy will appear. He is called "Swifty" and will always emerge from the door on the topmost platform. Swifty passes through the level only once. He can be killed by a bomb or jumped over. The appearance of Swifty is preceded by a special sound, letting the player prepare.

==== Paradise Shift ====

As the player proceeds through the levels, the game becomes harder. This is achieved not only through increasing the amount of stupids, but also by decreasing the probability of slimed workers showing up. Eventually, they are going to be few and far between.

Although the game has an infinite amount of levels, winning it is still possible thanks to a concept called "Paradise Shift": starting level 11, the probability of slimed workers appearing begins to go back up, and this increase in probability never stops, eventually making the game quite trivial. By level 20 the probability of slimed workers appearing is roughly the same as it was on level 1.

Not only that, but because the amount of stupids constantly increases by 200 and slimed worker bonus is increased by 10, at some point using bombs becomes affordable: the bomb penalty is constant at a 100.

Therefore, winning the game means getting to a point when it becomes really easy to play.

==== Stage 30 ====

[{{ :wiki:bolmes_stage30.png?nolink&300|Stage 30. Seems to look normal...}}]

Stage 30 is different from other stages of the game. Knowing what the difference is increments your [[obscurity_level|Obscurity Level]] by 1. This is also the only way to get the [[obscurity_level|rank]] of Obscurity Private Detective.

==== Controls ====

  * UP ARROW - jump
  * LEFT, RIGHT ARROW - move
  * SPACE - drop bomb
  * P - pause
  * M - trigger music
  * Esc - save game and exit

//Note: the only thing that the game saves is the level reached. Closing the game by closing its window will not save your progress.//

==== Strategy ====

The difficulty stems from being unable to kill the ever increasing amount of enemies, as well as the devastating penalty when touching one accidentally. Screen wrapping ensures that no place on the level is safe and the player has to constantly be on the move. The only way to win is to keep maneuvering between workers while collecting coins and diamonds, and wait for the amount of enemies to hit 37 for the Turbo Snail to appear and clean out the enemies.

=== Opportunistic ===

The standard approach is to just try to power through. This strategy is preferable on earlier levels, but becomes unattainable on later ones due to the low amount of slimed workers. Even on lower levels it carries a high risk of getting stuck in situations that require a bomb. This might lead to staying at roughly the same amount of stupids and not progressing for a long time, or dying when you are half way through.

=== Enemy management ===

Enemy management aka "the follower/leader strategy" is a way to organize enemies into groups. Since the player controls when enemies appear, although not on which platform, one can pick a worker, follow him, allow him to jump down, and jump down right after him. This places a possible new worker almost in line with the existing one or in line with a group walking in parallel on other platforms. Since Bolmes would end up landing in front of the worker, she would need to jump him over to end up following again and repeat the cycle.

[{{ :wiki:bolmes_em1.png?nolink&200 |No enemy management}}]
[{{ :wiki:bolmes_em2.png?nolink&200 |Same level with enemy management applied}}]

This cannot work perfectly since the time between triggering a new worker and when one actually appears is slightly randomized, as well as there being 1 in 4 chance that a worker will join the level on the same platform as the player, making it either more difficult or impossible to jump them both over. But then the player can start "leading", by jumping down ahead of the group, or, alternatively, kill the two enemies and continue jumping in line with parallel groups until a worker appears on the player's platform.

It is important to note that although jumping over the enemy each time does carry some risk, leading carries another, in that the chain of enemies behind you will tend to increase - since you're the first to jump, the new enemy is likely to appear ahead of the line, thus forcing you to jump off earlier next time. As the cycle repeats, the player might end up in a difficult situation.

However, enemy management doesn't need to be perfect. Making some mistakes or applying loose control would already allow to group enemies into chunks and thus reduce the amount of risky situations.

[{{ :wiki:bolmes_avg_enemy_management.jpg?nolink&200 |Loose enemy management can still yield helpful results}}]

The "follower/leader" method is currently the only known method that guarantees a win. It does take time, but after a bit of practice carries little risk.

=== Reasoning against rage quits ===

The penalty for touching an enemy is harsh: a complete reset of stupids. However, in most cases one should not be discouraged, since while a reset is definitely a setback, the amount of enemies is still growing. So, the focus should rather be on not dying when the Turbo Snail appears, so that all the gains made by it are saved.

The time when you should rage quit is if you've got a couple of enemies on the screen right //after// the Turbo Snail, and you died, resetting your stupids. Unless you've got nothing else to do, saving and putting off the game for later would be your best bet.

==== Fidgeting ====

Due to the tedious nature of the game, it felt necessary to give the player additional things to do. Fidgeting is the ability to make the character perform several moves that do nothing useful, but provide a wanted distraction.

There are three fidgeting moves:
  - spinning
  - electricity
  - astronaut

The game does not explain how to make fidgeting happen: the player is supposed to find the right key combinations herself.

The astronaut ability is slightly controversial in that it can be argued to influence gameplay because it slows Bolmes for half a second in mid air. However, to date no player has reported being able to use the astronaut move to their advantage.

==== Oddities ====

  * When the Turbo Snail destroys enemies, it awards -50 for the slimed workers, -6 for ordinary workers and -20 for the engineers, which are workers in glasses. It is the only time that the game differentiates between workers and engineers
  * Destroying slimed workers with the bomb does not award the player with -50 stupids
  * Pressing "Q" makes the game play a grunt sound, which was probably used for testing purposes
  * Although Swiftie always appears at the top of the level, the game still picks a door at random, so 3 times out of 1 when Swiftie appears, a door will open on one of the lower platforms, but no new workers will enter through it. This is the only known bug in the game.

===== Soundtrack =====

The soundtrack consists of 5 tunes: title theme, complete level theme and three level tracks. The soundtrack was written in FL Studio.

  * [[https://soundcloud.com/louigiverona/merlock-bolmes-game-soundtrack|Listen on SoundCloud]]

===== The loss of source files =====

In February 2025 [[Louigi Verona]] informed the public that the source files for the latest version of the game, as well as part of the soundtrack's source files, appear to have been lost.

The latest version of the game is 14.8. The preserved source files are only up till version 10, which was still a fairly early version, albeit featuring most of the elements of the game. Source files include not only code, but also the graphics made for the game.

The title theme, level complete theme and level 1 track sources are preserved, but not the two other level tracks, which were written later when Louigi decided to finalize the game. There are currently no renderings of those missing tracks except the rendering that the player can hear in the game. The game most likely uses ogg files which were packaged into the binary by Game Editor, the game engine used to make the game.


===== Reception =====

Reception has been nonexistent due to nobody playing the game.

Matt from [[Hypothetical Game Review]] gave the game 0/5 stars, noting that "It looks like Lemmings, but you are in for a rude awakening: the game is garbage. I'd rather debate politics with my in-laws".

Ralf was recorded as saying: "I think it could be enjoyable if you are on the phone, you know? When you need something to do, like when you can't zone out completely. The graphics are great. Although the assets come from different sources, it's all has this incredibly consistent feel. And the soundtrack is excellent! Maybe Mr. Verona should just stick to music?"

===== Download =====

  * [[https://louigiverona.com/files/bolmes_win.zip|Download game]]

===== See also =====

  * [[Yontel]]
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