Untitled mystery game

[Cait]

Untitled game: mystery
concept: I want a mystery game where you look for clues, interview people and solve the crime. It is going to be more story orientated than an rpg, and more causal than a regular rpg.
I have just begun to work on this game, but for me, it's about game play. I'd have to have you look for clues, and interview people, but it's getting people involved in the story that has me the most concerned. Of course, as for battles, I am not entirely sure if they are appropriate or needed, even if I could do them.
STORY:
James C. Noble recalls his first case, the case of the death of his aunt: Lady Elizabeth Vipond when a crime
mimics the details of her deaths. Was he right in his belief or was he wrong from the very start of his career?

It has two crimes which one mirrors the other, and as I've said is more story orientated. But the one thing I want to avoid is game where you are reading more than playing. I am in the middle of creating the story, but as I write, I would love suggestions about how to make the game more fun to play. I hope to add more to this in the upcoming days, but if anyone can give me suggestions, I'm willing to listen.

 

[Juan J. Sánchez]

Mystery games are always awesome if you make them awesome. Try reading some Sherlock Holmes, or watching some detective movies. As for the story, I don't like the fact that it's a rookie detective, nor that the case involves a family member. Good luck.

 

[GiveMeASpicy]

Medina, I don't think the detective is meant to be a rookie, I think the first case WAS his grandmothers, and this new one reminds him of it.

If you're looking for a really great example of gameplay in a detective game, check out heavy rain. They did a fantastic job in creating gameplay mechanics to unravel the story.

 

[Juan J. Sánchez]

You are absolutely right. Well, the story sounds much better now.

 

[Cait]

Thanks, I did look it up and it gave me quite a bit of ideas. you see this game has two case, but with the same person, yet not really. Case one was when he was 17 years old, life falling apart and his mother sends him to his aunts for a bit, when she vanished. He tries to find her, but the story begins not at that age, when a crime mimics the past. He begins to doubt the conclusion of the first case, so you play two cases in one. He is a very different person than when he was younger, rules and he might have had a little more faith, not getting involved with his first case. This case changes his life forever, and he sees his hero as a human being, losing that admiration.

Actually, Heavy Rain gave me a bit of ideas to take into consideration and ideas for game play. I wanted to challenge myself with a duel story line where you see the character as a rash young man, compared to the very different person that he grew to be. I already know that with a crime you have to have the story written before you even start to create the game or the written version. There has to be evidence that is not connected, connected, and stuff that is placed there to mislead you. All the while you get people to look at your right hand, while you keep your left hand hidden from view. You plan the perfect crime only to have your detective solve it, but it has to be a realistic solution.

He is a young man whose hero is a famous police detective, and has been interested in mysteries his whole life. So he really isn't a detective when he's 17 years old, just a messed up kid walking down the wrong path in life.