GAMES · STORY NOTES

Quantum Conundrum

Quantum Conundrum is a puzzle-platform game developed by Airtight Games and published by Square Enix. It was directed by Portal lead designer Kim Swift. The game was released for Microsoft Windows via Steam in June 2012, and for PlayStation 3 via PlayStation Network, and Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade in July 2012.

Description credits

Description adapted from Wikipedia contributors, Quantum Conundrum · CC BY-SA 4.0. Text adapted for this entry.

FULL SPOILERS AHEAD

The story

These write-ups discuss major events and outcomes for this listed work. Partial coverage is marked below.

Plot summary

The silent player-protagonist is the twelve-year-old nephew of the highly intelligent, but somewhat eccentric, Professor Fitz Quadwrangle (voiced by John de Lancie). He is sent to stay with Quadwrangle, who is unprepared for his arrival as he is presently working on an experiment. The experiment goes awry, causing Quadwrangle to become trapped in a pocket dimension with a loss of memory of what went wrong before, but able to watch and communicate to the protagonist. The results of the experiment leave portions of the Quadwrangle mansion in flux between four dimensions with alternate properties.

Quadwrangle guides the protagonist to acquire a glove that can tame these fluxes through which he can then safely travel through the labyrinth of rooms to reach three separate power generators and restart each, which Quadwrangle believes will allow him to escape the pocket dimension. The protagonist also gains help from IKE (Interdimensional Kinetic Entity), a small alien creature that Quadwrangle had adopted as a pet during his travels. As Quadwrangle guides his nephew, he tries to recall the exact events leading to the current situation.

After starting the three generators, the house begins to shake, and Quadwrangle realizes that a fourth generator must be started. The protagonist begins to activate the device, but Quadwrangle remembers too late that restarting the device had nearly killed him before and he had escaped to the pocket dimension for safety. With the device started, the house begins to shake violently, and Quadwrangle instructs his nephew to the safety of the pocket dimension, where he will be safe, while Quadwrangle can now work out how to resolve the problems of the half-ruined mansion, which is now affecting the entire planet.

Credits

Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, Quantum Conundrum. Section headings and formatting adjusted.

Original text and revision history

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