How to switch to a different character during a conversation

When you start a conversation, you're supposed to finish that conversation using the character who started it. However, there are a couple of ways to switch to a different character.

Using the keyboard shortcuts

If you're speedrunning this game, you might be using keyboard shortcuts to switch between characters. Pressing "1" switches to Hoagie, pressing "2" switches to Bernard, and pressing "3" switches to Laverne.

On the other hand, if you're in the middle of a conversation, pressing "1" selects the first dialog option, pressing "2" selects the second one, pressing "3" selects the third one, pressing "4" selects the fourth one, and pressing "5" selects the fifth one.

So far, so good. But there's a bug. When there are only two possible dialog options, you can switch to Laverne by pressing "3". When there's only one possible option (rare, but it happens), you can switch to Bernard by pressing "2" or to Laverne by pressing "3". For example, the plugging in the cord after talking to Hancock video shows what happens if you do this while talking to Hancock when Laverne is at the Chron-O-John landing site in the future.

There aren't any conversations with zero dialog options, so you can't use this method to switch to Hoagie.

This bug was fixed in Day of the Tentacle Remastered. In that game, you won't be able to switch to a different character during a conversation by pressing "2" or "3".

Talking to Hancock about the canary

After you give the chattering teeth to Washington, and Jefferson builds the fire, talk to Hancock and ask him about the canary.

Then you'll be given five options. The first three are questions about the canary, the fourth one is "I see", and the fifth one is "I gotta go". Ignore the last two options and ask all three questions. Once you've done that, Hoagie will automatically say "I see". When this happens, you might notice the cursor becomes visible. At this point, you can press "2" or "3", and you'll switch to Bernard (or Laverne).

Now you can continue the conversation with Bernard (or Laverne). If, for instance, Bernard is in the office in the present, and Dr. Fred isn't there, the safe will open, and you'll be able to pick up the contract! You can see this example in the opening the safe during the canary conversation video.

This is one of the few glitches that work on the remaster.

Starting a conversation during a cutscene

Finally, if you start a conversation during a cutscene, the cursor will become visible once the cutscene ends. When that happens, you can switch to a different character and continue that conversation.

So, how do you start a conversation during a cutscene? That'll be explained in part 5 and part 6.

Applications

Most of the time, when you start a conversation and switch to another character, the game will freeze. You'll still be able to move, but you won't be able to leave the room, the verbs and inventory won't be visible, and you won't be able to continue the conversation.

Luckily, there are exceptions. These exceptions are Hancock, Jefferson, Washington, Franklin, and the tentacle guard (also known as. Mr. Tentacle Guy). When you talk to them, you can continue the conversation with another character.

Talking to Hancock, Jefferson and Washington will allow you to skip significant portions of the game. Franklin is a bit different, and will allow you to bring Bernard and Laverne to the past. We'll talk about this one in part 3: switching characters during Franklin's conversation.

As an example, let's focus on one of these applications: the hamster skip. For a full list, check the last section of the Day of the Tentacle notes on The Cutting Room Floor. The notes about scripts 200 and 201 are things you can do thanks to the conversation with Hancock. Similarly, the notes about script 202 are about the conversation with Jefferson, the notes about script 206 are about the conversation with Washington, and the notes about script 208 are about the conversation with the tentacle guard. Also check the notes about one-liners, that is, conversations that at some point will offer just one option.

Note that the tentacle guard never offers less than two options during a conversation, so to switch to Bernard or Hoagie you'll have to start the conversation during a cutscene. We'll see how to do so in part 5: the salesman cutscene and the tentacle guard.

The hamster skip

Get Laverne to the basement in the future. Now, with Hoagie, talk to Hancock until you reach the point where you only get two dialog options. Assuming you haven't built the fire, you can do so by choosing "Whassup? You cold?", then "Why don't you build a fire?" (press Esc after this one to skip an extra dialog), then "How come you sign your name so big?" (once again, Esc will skip an extra dialog), and then "Awesome blanket there, dude".

Once you're down to two options, press "3" to switch to Laverne and choose "Well, I gotta go, dude". Laverne will first try to use the hamster with the generator, get punched (you can skip this part by pressing Esc), and then will use the hamster with the generator for real. You can see the whole sequence in the hamster skip video.

Thanks to this, you can skip getting the flier, the keys, the crowbar, the dimes, the quarters, the sweater, and the hamster itself. Overall, it saves about 1 minute 15 seconds, give or take.

Under the hood: conversation scripts

Before reading this section, make sure you've read the section about global scripts and room scripts in part 1.

When you talk to someone, most of the time the game runs a room script. So, when you switch to another character, that script stops. That means you softlock the game, since you're in the middle of a conversation, and the script that would allow you to continue that conversation is no longer running.

However, there are exceptions. When you talk to Hancock, Jefferson, Washington, Franklin, or the tentacle guard, the game runs a global script. So, when you switch to another character, the script will continue running, and you'll be able to continue the conversation.

When you talk to Hancock, Jefferson or Washington, the fun part comes when the conversation is over. When that happens, the game runs room scripts 200 and 201 (Hancock), room script 202 (Jefferson) or room script 206 (Washington). In the future basement, for instance, room script 200 makes Laverne try to use the hamster with the generator and get punched, while room script 201 makes Laverne use the hamster with the generator for real. So that's exactly what happens when you finish the conversation with Hancock in the future basement.

The tentacle guard is similar. Talking to him will run room script 208 when you choose "I have to go to the bathroom!" or "I don't feel so good".

Franklin's conversation is different, and will be explained in part 3: switching characters during Franklin's conversation.

Technically, you can also switch to another character when talking to present Ted or future Ted, but doing so doesn't run any room scripts. This means nothing will happen (which is the expected behavior when you talk to a mummy).

So, why do these characters, and only these characters, run global scripts when you talk to them? It's probably because these are the characters you can meet in different rooms. Hancock, Jefferson and Washington go outside during the fire alarm, Franklin goes to his room after you wash the carriage, present Ted goes to the attic when you pull the rope, future Ted goes to the lobby when you push him, and the tentacle guard goes outside when you go to the bathroom.

There's one significant limitation. When you switch to a character who's in the present basement, you won't be able to continue the conversation unless you've already given Dr. Fred the decaf coffee. We don't know the technical reasons behind this limitation.