* Murder Most Grisly!!

[steptoe]

Murder Most Grisly!!

A short whodunit. 3 Rooms and a court Room.

A Whodunit mystery starring super sleuth Detective Harry Faversham who has a nose for smelling clues!

Lord Harrington has been murdered by a machete through his skull!

You set out to Harrington Manor to find the murderer!

There are 6 possible suspects. Who would want him dead? Who has the motive, means and the opportunity?

* Why has the snooker room door key gone missing?
* Why was there a power cut?
* Did someone steal the machete used for the brutal killing?
* Why was there a deadly drug seed on Lord Harrington's bed?
* Was Lord Harrington a philanderer?

Seek out clues, be observant, listen to suspects bickering and ask questions to determine who murdered Lord Harrington.

When you are ready you arrest your suspect(s) for murder.

Take your suspected murderer(s) to court and hope to get a conviction.

Includes a Memory system (Click on a word in your memory list and talk to suspect).

Theater style production.

Special thanks to the testers of this game who patiently corrected my grammar.

* Please note that GUI'S shown have been slightly revised (will update asap).

You arrive at Harrington Manor


After flicking the snooker table light switch on:


640 X 480
16 Bit colour

DOWNLOAD: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/games.php?category=&action=detail&id=1570&refresh1335181978

[Joshy]

Congratulations on completing your game!

Will download, and play when I have the time, looks good!

Well done

[cat]

Just played it. I like the classic murder mystery feel and the curtains closing and opening are fun. It's a nice idea to ask suspects about inventory items and memories. Sadly I couldn't figure out who did it because all seem to be very suspicious.

[steptoe]

Hi Cat

well, there are a couple of giveaway clues within the dialogs and clues found, which I can't give away here obviously.

The idea that anyone of the suspects could/may have done it is what it's about.

Maybe an extra clue to who the killer(s) would help?

As David Frost would say: "Remember, the clues are there".

I have updated the 'Summery' and will upload later.

Anyhow, I'm glad you found it a bit entertaining.

cheers

steptoe

[Catch22Alk3]

How do I leave the room with the dead body?

[steptoe]

How do I leave the room with the dead body?

Hi Catch22Alk3

you should ask this in the Hints & Tips Forum..

Keep looking and trying things..


steptoe

[Kastchey]

I managed to solve the game in the first go, so I guess the hints and clues given are clear enough. I can't say I understood all of them (eg. what was up with the

Spoiler

non-human hair inside the power box

[close]

?), but since you can't expect the player to precisely follow your way of thinking, a variety of clues to choose from is a good thing. The story wasn't very original and full of cliches, even the identity of the criminal was a cliche on its own (which could have been why it wasn't a difficult guess). That's what usually comes with the 'whodunit' sub-genre, though.
Overall it was a fairly enjoyable game (even if very short) and a step forward from your previous productions, in terms of both visuals and quality of gameplay. Your writing has considerably improved, too.

Have you ever considered getting a team for your projects? If you, for example, had someone to do the art for you, your game would be much more appealing and you would have more time to work on the actual gameplay.

[steptoe]

Hi Kastchey

Thanks for your comments.

Of course the story was not totally original, as with all whodunit games.

Finding a team for a game would be a great idea but not always easy to find as such...

Glad you found it fairly enjoyable.

It was a test of new skills really.

Well, thanks again.

steptoe

[DazJ]

I'm glad that you completed the game

[CosmoQueen]

Nice game but for the life of me I couldn't figure out who did it. I thought it was the wife and the guy that worked in the garden.

[steptoe]

Nice game but for the life of me I couldn't figure out who did it. I thought it was the wife and the guy that worked in the garden.

The clues are there. Non human hair in fuse box is a clue to the guilty.

Cheers

[CosmoQueen]

I'm still lost LOL.

[steptoe]

I'm sure trial and error will get you there in the end...

[bustee]

So, I played it and I have to say that it is not very well written

There are almost no interactive choices you can make and the suspects just tell you their stories, sometimes even triggered by strange events. I think Murder Mystery is very intense on writing and you have to give a reason why some people cannot have been the murderers. In the end you just know more about 2 of the suspects, but that does not mean that you have any evidence against them. You should at least give reason as to why the others could not have been the murderers.

To give you an example of what I mean: Assume the wife and brother were not the murderers, then they could still lie, because they have an affair and spent the time together in, say, the shed. Then you have to discover that to exclude them from the list of suspects. This would be a reasonable way of striking suspects off the list. However, this is something that shouldn't be unveiled by itself. Rather by long talks that ask something of the detective.

Sorry, but I think that Murder Mysteries are rather hard to write, because you have to provide a vast amount of possible conversations and you also have to make a sensible story.
I don't find it very sensible, for example, that he was able to climb out of the window, but she didn't have enough time to do so; yet she has enough time to be found in a state of shock near her husband (where she would have had to movebefore, etc.) If you want to hint that, then the Butler should have said something the like. I'm sorry, but I think that the murder and the stories of the others have to written  very precisely and then it is still a hell of a job to get the dialogues. But otherwise Murder Mystery doesn't make much sense. In your case, all basically comes down to trial and error to find the proper suspects.

[Slasher]

I agree,

I found the game ok but as you indicated: this type of game needs careful story and dialog planning.

It has some good scripting techniques but in some areas lacks polish.

All in all it has a potential and i'm sure that he has learnt a lot and no doubt will show this in later games.

I found it enjoyable even though it could be vastly improved to a higher standard by more thought out dialogs and visual display but the idea was there.

[bustee]

Sorry if I sounded too negative. I just wanted to express what this game lacks.

I agree that some scripting parts are really nice and the curtain thing gives a good feeling. It just seems like the majority of the work went into scripting, not writing and that is a problem for this genre.

But I should add that I also enjoyed it. It's just too restrictive and, as the player, you are left quite puzzled.

I also think that a button that lets you review collected evidence (also from dialogues) would be a good addition. Making this would also help to get the story straight, because you have to think things over.

If you really want murder mystery I also wouldn't make it a requirement to collect all the clues and give a summary in the end that goes according to clues found. Maybe even conviction only if you found enough evidence...