A Clockwork Damage

> "*Ah, our, uh, clock... tower... I thought we closed that one after that incident, but... uh... apparently not.*"
> ― The Announcer
>
>

**A Clockwork Damage** is the 10th level of RoboTraps, set in the clock tower of Death Trap Inc. it features a wall slowly closing in on the robots, putting time pressure on the player.

## Level design

The level only allows the player to control Alice and Ernest, and even then only one after another, by the use of grapple plates. Their path leads past a number of teleport plates that go off and on every few seconds, which send the robots backwards a bit if stepped on them while active. The other three robots are threatened by a wall slowly closing in on them, with Alice and Ernest both having to make it to the end of their path to set the others free. The main challenge lies in getting the two past the teleporters fast enough to save the other three from getting crushed.

As the level is set in the clock tower, a lot of cogs can be seen turning in the area, and a clock hand can be seen moving in the background.

## Solution

**Skully the Skull says: SPOILER WARNING!**
This section contains the solution to a level. Don't read it if you want to solve it by yourself!(Of course you can still claim that you did, which is what every self-respecting employee of Death Trap Incorporated would do...)

The key here is being fast and not losing your nerves. Keep in mind that even if you mess up once or twice, depending on how fast you were before that, it's still possible to save all robots. And even if you do mess up, Alice and Ernest cannot possibly die in this level. So even if it takes you forever, you got those two save. If you still mess up, keep in mind you can always restart or leave a level with the office signs.

First find the blue lever. Let Alice go past the teleport platforms while they are switched off and stop her so she doesn't walk on one whenever they are switched on, or you'll have to re-do thr first part. The timing for them going on and off stays the same for all the level, so the yellow part should be easy. For the pink teleporters, timing is more difficult: The first part here actually demands that Alice starts walking even before the three teleporters turn off, but just letting her keep going after she went past the last yellow one should usually do the trick. For the last part, it's the exact opposite. Let her walk as late as you can to make sure that the teleporter switches back on just as she passes it. This way, the last teleporter in the level will turn off just before she can step on it.

Alice will now step on a green Switch, freeing Ernest, and also make the breaking blocks crumble away. Under them, there's the red Switch that frees the other three robots. Repeat what you did for Alice with Ernest, and if you didn't mess up badly, you'll have all five robots in the bag.

## Trivia

* Before the inclusion of the Destruction Department, this was the only level in the game to use breaking blocks in a mechanically meaningful way.
* Like in several other levels, it's significantly more difficult to save Dennis here than to save the other robots. Also like in several other levels, it's impossible to save the other robots without saving Ernest, too.
* The level name references the novel and movie "A Clockwork Orange".
* "The incident" mentioned by the announcer might be a slight nod to the retro horror game, "Clock Tower".
* This is the first level to impose some sort of timer on the player.