Just started this series! (And stuck...)

[stuntology]

As some of you may know, up until now, I'd played most of the other major Sierra series but had never even started Gabriel Knight. Last week, I felt a real urge to get into an adventure game again (it's been about a year since I'd finished my last one, QFG4), and decide that now was the best time to get started on this series that has such a great reputation!

I'm loving it so far: it has everything I love about the genre! The voice acting and animations are incredible, the characters feel so real, the history of its world is so rich, and interacting with the characters and environment feels incredibly rewarding because of the detailed responses!

I do have a concern, though, because I want to experience this series of games without spoiling myself on anything. Almost every other Sierra game I've played, I've had spoiled to some degree (either puzzles or story), and this is one of my last chances to have a 'pure' experience with one of their games.

Given all that, I'm currently stumped on a puzzle. I don't want to look for a guide, because I'm worried that I might stumble across some other puzzle solutions in the process. I also don't think that persevering will be good either, because I feel like I've tried every possible interaction and can't advance the plot. I'm losing my enthusiasm in the game, and it might go away if I'm stuck too long.

So if any of you would like to give me a nudge in the right direction, it'd be very appreciated! I'm currently on day 2, and am trying to get the artist's lost page, but nothing seems to work. Maybe it's not even important and I need to do something else, but like I said, I feel like I've tried every action on every person and object in the game.

If you need more context as to what I've accomplished, feel free to ask!

[adeyke]

You'll need to enlist some help to get it.

[BBP]

There's a nook you may have missed at the bookstore.

[Rath Darkblade]

When you finish this puzzle, you might emulate Mr Burns's delight and cry, "Oh, hot dog!" <insert joy here>

[Mostly]

What I would give to experience playing GK for the first time once more.

Not much to add to the hints above - you can take a peek at UHS to see if you're on the right track.

http://www.uhs-hints.com/uhsweb/hints/gk/254.php

[stuntology]

Thanks guys! I finally got past it and am continuing to progress through this great game!

I didn't realize that you could 'open' the cash register, before, I'd just tried the 'take' and 'use' icons! I did think the kid would play into the puzzle, but you guys helped reassure me of that and point me in the right direction!

And I'd never heard of that UHS site, it seems like a great resource! (I'm going to see how far I can get on my own, though )

[BBP]

Yah be careful with that! Try every icon on everything, it's not as multi-purpose as Grim Fandango where you can almost exclusively use "use" instead of "pick up" to pick up an item, until you're at the end and have forgotten that there was a separate "pick up" button altogether.

[Rath Darkblade]

What I would give to experience playing GK for the first time once more.

Not much to add to the hints above - you can take a peek at UHS to see if you're on the right track.

http://www.uhs-hints.com/uhsweb/hints/gk/254.php

Oh wow! I'm surprised that someone still remembers the UHS (or Universal Hint System). I wrote a couple of hint files myself for it, back during the Windows 95/98 days. The hints were for the Microprose games, Civilization 1 and Civilization 2 - both horribly antiquated games now, of course, but considered quite respectable in their day.

Thanks guys! I finally got past it and am continuing to progress through this great game!

I didn't realize that you could 'open' the cash register, before, I'd just tried the 'take' and 'use' icons! I did think the kid would play into the puzzle, but you guys helped reassure me of that and point me in the right direction!

And I'd never heard of that UHS site, it seems like a great resource! (I'm going to see how far I can get on my own, though )

Stuntology, I'm surprised you've never heard of the UHS. It's quite a good idea, and has been going for a loooooooooooong time (since at least the Win95 days *points up to his post*).

Basically, you download the UHS client and the file for the game you want. Some files (like the file for QfG4) include maps, others include illustrations. All of them include common questions that people would ask, often grouped under the locations for those questions (e.g. GK1, Day 1 - what do I need to do today?). Under each questions, you are given fairly oblique hints to start with; if you choose to proceed, the hints become clearer and clearer, until you're finally given a spoiler. So you only get as many hints as you like.

As I said, the idea for the UHS is not new - almost as old as Windows 95 - and predates even walkthrus, IIRC.