A puzzle up for improvement.

[ginanubismon]

Here's the problem; you are a ten year old trying to get an important book on occultism but you cannot get it out of the library for futher study (it is a very thick book) and the head librarian is pretty stern on the rules and won't let you take it out.

The goal: Getting the head librarian away from the desk and allowing the inexperinced librarian to check you out with a swapped card to avoid getting caught and walk out with a book.

The hard fact: The card swap (taking a book from the child's library and taking the card out then placing it into the occult book and fulling both the computer and the new librarian.)

The solutions to "puzzle": One must get the head librarian away and make the inexperinced one take her place, thus "distracting" her.

There is two ways I wanted to do this, one is to go into the computer lab and "break" one of the computers ether by crashing it or unplugging it. Then getting the head librarian to take a look.

Another is using a cell phone, hiding it among some books then going to a payphone outside then "calling" it to annoy the head librarian, then go back in to find the inexperinced librarian in charge. Thus allowing you to get the book and check it out freely then leave with the book.

The real problem: Making it seem logical and not too out of place (despite the main character being a ten year old), the head librarian is a bitter and mean - ergo won't tell you quat unless you break a rule - and the inexperince librarian does not talk much about herself.

I am trying to think of ways to point out these hints without taking a stale Frenchbread and hitting people over the head but not to obscure that only me and a walkthrough to figure it out.

Does anyone has any suggestions to help out?

(NOTE: While writing this I am thinking of using both solutions for the "goal".)

[MrColossal]

I vote no on the cell phone idea... That's too abstract unless you spell it out for the player. I forsee a lot of "Why am I doing this?" moments

You could get the phone number off a payphone in the lobby and call it so it rings, or call the head office and ask for a book way back in the archives that would take ages to get.

Or if you want to use the computer the head librarian has to sign one out to you and she says "Don't open too many programs, it always crashes and it takes me forever to get it working again!" so you go to the computer, get a first person view and, like a 10 year old, open every program you can see on the desktop, crashing the computer and distracting her.

If you can let the player do this instead of a cutscene it would be 100x better.

[EagerMind]

I'm not trying to be unhelpful here, but why not just make a photocopy of the pages you need? Every library I've ever been in has had a photocopier.

Or if you wanted to be particularly mischievous, the copier doesn't work and you just rip out the pages you need.

[Nathan23]

You can make a distraction for the head librarian, perhaps throw away some books in a shelf, when the head librarian go to see the disaster you can check with the inexperienced librarian and run out with the book

[fred]

Maybe the head librarian could be distracted/distressed if the kid kept asking him for books with insulting, or at least easily misunderstood, made-up titles, like "The Head Librarian in the Rye", "One flew over the Head Librarian's Nest" and "To kill a Head Librarian-Bird" Lol, they stink, I know. Should be easy to come up with something funnier to use. Eventually the head librarian would then give the kid anything just to get rid of him.

[Maltjik]

"Oh my God! Someone is talking loud and dogearing books in the reference sektion! Aah, the humanity! Quickly, head librarian, rescue the books from the horror of the folds!" or something?

Hmmm... A book on occult matters eh? If supernatural thingies are meant to be used in the game, couldn't there perhaps be a spell in that particular book that would be useful? Summoning up a demon frog in the archive room, or turning the head librarian into a jellyfish? Or a potion perhaps? The potion of Xallaballahubbabubba which will turn the drinker into a hideous norwegian soccer fanatic!
I don't know...