Two mysteries of Infernal Machine... revealed at last!

The Tingler

New member
Posted this over at IndyJones.net and Mixnmojo.com:

Hold on to your hats boys and girls, because they just might be blown off. As any regular long-term readers of Mojo will know, one of my favourite LucasArts games is Indiana Jones and Infernal Machine. I've spent many happy hours playing that game, and I'd thought I'd uncovered all its secrets. Apparently not!

One of the things that always bugged me was the identity of [URL="http://www.indyjones.net/infernal/screenshot15.jpg]this little boy wearing an Indy hat[/URL] in the minecart switching hut. Well, out of the blue today I received an email from Paul LeFevre, who worked at LucasArts from 1992-2000 (the wonder years) and was Lead Programmer on Infernal Machine. This is what he said:

On this page I noticed the "Indy loves the kids" entry -- but you didn't know who the kid was. That's my son, who I snuck into the game, when he was 3 years old (he's now 14!). Just thought I'd fill in one of your blank spots :)
Hooray, mystery solved at long last! But wait, there's more:

Incidentally, my wife is also in the game. She's Filipino, and doing the Palawan level (in the Philippines) was my idea. Inside one of the caves, there's an image on a wall of her as a "Filipina Princess" hidden away, but nobody seems to have found that easter egg (or at least commented on it). Oh, well :)
There's a secret in that game that I didn't know about?! Apparently so. At least one person seems to have found it inadvertantly. In the Palawan Volcano level, behind the huge gong in the lava/statue/Russians room there's a block you can push. Push it to the end and you'll find some treasure... but if you push the bare bit of wall opposite you can find the "Filipino Princess"!

Incidentally, in the N64 version of the game (which was found first) there's a stone carving of an N64 instead. Much less fun.

Impressed? I was!
 

Attila the Professor

Moderator
Staff member
I had seen the latter, actually, the Filipina princess (feminine form, after all). Didn't realize it wasn't a known thing. And, obviously, I had no idea of the behind-the-scenes story on either.
 

JerryKing

Member
Weery intyeryesting.

I never thought the mine kid and the princess were related. :]

Although I'd still like to know, above all, if it's somehow possible to play whatever remained of this level... :)

 

fenris

New member
I never played Infernal Machine, but it's glad to hear that there is a reference to my country, the Philippines. :D
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
fenris said:
I never played Infernal Machine, but it's glad to hear that there is a reference to my country, the Philippines. :D
More than just a reference, considering there's a whole chapter (that spans over four levels) that takes place there.

And the "princess" wasn't exactly new to me either, I recall finding her in the game following instructions found on a common website more than a decade ago. Mr. LeFavre isn't reading all the correct sites either considering many people commented on it on the long-defunct InfernalMachine.Net website dedicated to the game at the turn of the millennium. It never became a big talking point, though, yet I don't wonder why.

A friendly hint, Mr. LeFevre: it's hard to create much buzz over something that seems to have no known connection to anything and appears as totally random to most. No disrespect to your wife, of course.
 
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InVader

Member
Finn said:
A friendly hint, Mr. LeFevre: it's hard to create much buzz over something that seems to have no known connection to anything and appears as totally random to most. No disrespect to your wife, of course.

I agree. I also found the "princess" but had no idea what it meant. I kept thinking maybe it marked the location of something more extensive like the "Close Encounters" easter egg in the Peru level.
 

fenris

New member
I searched for screenshots of this Palawan level and saw a jungle with lots of ravines and stuff...

Funny thing is when I hear of the place Palawan, what comes to mind are the beautiful beaches which the province is known for, not the scenes depicted in the game. Hehe.
 

Attila the Professor

Moderator
Staff member
fenris said:
I searched for screenshots of this Palawan level and saw a jungle with lots of ravines and stuff...

Funny thing is when I hear of the place Palawan, what comes to mind are the beautiful beaches which the province is known for, not the scenes depicted in the game. Hehe.

I get your point, but does this image help any?

screenshot35.jpg
 

dr.jones1986

Active member
So in the N64 version he sees an N64 and makes a comment. In the PC version hes sees the wife of a creator...does Indy have anything to say?
 

InVader

Member
I think he says something like, "She must be a filipino princess." But it's been awhile since i've played that level.
 

Moedred

Administrator
Staff member
J: "Hmm. Good-looking kid..."
J: "She must be some Filipino Princess..."

Full script with deleted lines here.
 

indyjones107

New member
JerryKing said:
Weery intyeryesting.

I never thought the mine kid and the princess were related. :]

Although I'd still like to know, above all, if it's somehow possible to play whatever remained of this level... :)


I don't remember that level...and if its from early versions of it...how did you get it?:whip:
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
JerryKing said:
Although I'd still like to know, above all, if it's somehow possible to play whatever remained of this level...
In a sense, you can - and have done so all this time.

Apparently that level was to take place after Shambala Sanctuary; Indy was to first solve a puzzle in a huge ancient grain mill operated by water power. Unfortunately, the river running through the facility was frozen over, so he had to thaw it to get the pistons running.

Managing that, he was to enter the chamber where he could acquire Urgon's part.

The transcript of the lines in the game still contain traces of story content intended for this level.


Most of the level's assets were reused in the game. Indy visits the mill while going down the Tian Shan rapids in his raft in level 3 and the relic chamber is where the fight with the Ice Monster takes place during the climax of the monastery level. So technically the only known gameplay bit lost was the ice thawing puzzle - as you surely recall, the mill and its pistons are fully operational when you visit it to recover one of the four candles.
 
To not clutter the forum with cross posting the same message, please see this contribution to the Dial of Destiny forum. Which, in line with this thread's title, describes another "Infernal Machine mystery revealed" !
 
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