Safecracker

About Safecracker

Safecracker is a puzzle adventure game that takes place from a first-person view in a pre-rendered visual environment. The player uses a point-and-click interface to traverse the game world and interact with objects. In a manner that has been compared to Zork Nemesis, the player's movement is restricted to jumps between panoramic static screens. The camera view can rotate 360° on each screen. In Safecracker, the player assumes the role of a professional in the security systems business, who seeks a job with the fictional Crabb & Sons Company. The firm is a manufacturer of safes with unusual designs. As an audition, the player character is contracted by Crabb & Sons' owner to infiltrate his mansion headquarters and crack the safes within, with the ultimate goal of breaking into the new "F-9-12" design.

The game begins outside Crabb & Sons' building, after which the player sneaks in and begins to explore. Safecracker features nonlinear progression: the mansion's rooms can be navigated, and their safes tackled, in multiple orders. However, the game must be beaten under a 12-hour time limit. The mansion contains over 50 rooms and 35 safes, which are guarded by puzzles in a range of styles. Among these are mathematics puzzles, anagram codes, conversions of temperature units, translations from braille, musical problems and sliding puzzles. Unlocking a safe provides the player with clues and keys, which open up new areas and allow other puzzles to be solved. At the same time, certain clues are hidden around the mansion in books and other objects that the player may investigate. Clue items are stored in the inventory on the heads-up display (HUD) interface, which also features a meter that tracks the number of puzzles solved.