7 People

[BDraw]

@Lord of Riva:
Hu, schätze jetzt kann ich das auch auf Englisch weiterführen, wenn schon der Startpost in Englisch ist xD

While the general idea sounds certainly interesting however im not entirely sure what kind of game this is supposed to be.

...

I'm afraid I'll have to reach a bit to answer that:

I'm trying to transport the general experience of (actively) reading a detective novel into a video game format. Challenging the reader is one of the core principles of Golden Age crime fiction, but books are by definition not an interactive medium. The reader watches - through the narrator - the detective gather the necessary clues and gets the chance to draw their own conclusions right before the author announces the solution (through the detective, usually). However, whatever the reader comes up with has no impact and is not acknowledged by anyone.

Now for crime fiction games, most developers put the player in the detective's shoes and simply let them gather the clues by solving puzzles or mini games. But where's the challenge in that? That way, you lose out on competing against the detective and - considering how these games are usually constructed - you just gather the clues while watching conclusions unfold automatically while the story progresses. It's no longer "Can you find the solution?" but rather "Can you endure minor obstacles while finding the clues and watch the character solve the crime for you?" This holds true both for walking simulators as well, in my experience.

So what I'm trying to do is to force the player to collect clues, but also to actually have them think about them. If all they do is to run mindlessly from one objective to the next, collecting evidence and testimonies, but without forming their own theories, then I don't think they should reach the "true end" (to adopt visual novel terminology for a bit). That's not (for me) what crime fiction is about.

Coming back to your question: I'm not sure how to put it into words (also, I've never played Cluedo): It's not a stereotypical RPG since it's lacking the fighting, leveling, etc. systems, but it's not as passive as a walking simulator. You experience the story through Robert Langsdale, use him to gather clues and have to actively keep track of what's going on (that's what the notebook is for, btw - those notes will have be written entirely by the player, or else it simply stays blank). If you miss crucial evidence or take everything at face value, you probably won't be able to figure out what's going on and neither be able to present your point of view, nor evaluate whatever theories the in-game characters may come up with.

As for how exactly the player will be asked to provide their theories, I'd rather not say at the moment, since I still have various ideas on how to implement that.

Sorry for the wall of text, if you weren't interested in all of that and just asking about "Will I control a character RPG style on an actual map?": Yes, I'm just not done with the tileset yet

EDIT: Since you are doing it in English is this planned to be a commercial or just an international release?

...

No idea. For now, I'm just trying to make a crime story I'd enjoy while getting used to the engine. However, I'm also open of course to international players. Regarding commercialization, I can't say yet, but there are no plans right now along that line.

@Wonderwanda:
Wenn ich schon Literatur zitiere, dann auch richtig

[Lord of Riva]

Great i just deleted my post accidentally, i will post another answer but will keep it brief, my apologies. I will continue to write in english with the assumption that non-german speakers will potentially read these posts and i think it will be helpful down the line if you dont have to answer the same questions over and over in two languages. I hope you dont mind.


Thank you for your elaborate Answer, this is what i had hoped for. The last part is also appreciated :P

With the Focus on letting the player piece the crime together it sounds like one of those "adventure gamebook" that i loved playing with as a kid. What you describe sounds amazing, however at the same time im painfully aware how challenging it is to make a believable Story with a lot a a lot of variables.

The players mind is kind of the Bane of any Adventure game Designer or P&P GM to give the player ample options to play out the Story (and come to the wrong conclusions!) is a great but hard to achieve Goal, at least i have to say with an Expected playtime of 3 hours i think you have a good grasp on how this can end up without content creep.

Just to reiterate: I'm really looking forward to this Project, i love crime drama and love the idea of the game basically being the puzzle in itself for the player to solve, so count me in as hooked

EDIT: I need to change my brain, halp, since i write words that completely change the meaning of what i actually want to write. So i changed that and made my Post 20% more friendly.

[Firefly84]

@Wonderwanda:
Wenn ich schon Literatur zitiere, dann auch richtig

...

Richtig so, dann gibt es auch keine Probleme bezüglich des Urheberrechts.
Wenn du aus Büchern zitierst, musst du aber auch den Titel (ggf. das Kapitel) angeben (wie im Deutschunterricht oder für Facharbeiten in der Uni/Ausbildung).
Da es da meist mehrere, unterschiedliche Ausgaben gibt, sollte das reichen.

[BDraw]

Richtig so, dann gibt es auch keine Probleme bezüglich des Urheberrechts.
Wenn du aus Büchern zitierst, musst du aber auch den Titel (ggf. das Kapitel) angeben (wie im Deutschunterricht oder für Facharbeiten in der Uni/Ausbildung).
Da es da meist mehrere, unterschiedliche Ausgaben gibt, sollte das reichen.

...

Ich denke, mit den in der Fußzeile gemachten Angaben zusätzlich zum Author-Date bin ich auf der sicheren Seite gemäß des aktuellen APA Styles. MLA mag zwar theoretisch passender sein, aber das bisschen Freiheit nehme ich mir da mal.