Messages

And best of all, if you get stuck in your own game, there is even a hint thread to it on this site! 

Nice, dreamlike drawings. If that is what you're aiming for, quite good.

NO
Was Gwen's father not her real father?

Ufortunately, I think this rules out Stupot's solution. We already know who the killer is, and the murder method is irrelevant. What we need to do, is figure out what's written in the journal and why she called her uncle; and why this led to the door being left open.

Did Gwen call to inform her uncle about her father's death?
Did her uncle do something to inform about the death in the family to the public? (ad, flag at half-mast, mourning bands, Facebook entry or similar)
Did her uncle sing her a lullaby mentioned in the journal?
Did Gwen call to tell her uncle she was in the house so that he didn't need to come this evening?

My thoughts:

Stuck on You by Slasher:

Spoiler

Long and funny story, quirky characters and some great dialogue. I laughed from start to finish. The pipe puzzle was cool, if easy.

[close]

Prelude to an Adventure by Hobo:

Spoiler

I played both the Lowrez version and the MAGS version to compare, and really liked the bigger window here in MAGS. This was very cute and kid friendly, and the graphics are very good for the style used. (Though I probably would have liked a highrez version even better...) Very nice setup with the diary and task list, and the thought bubbles worked very well. The White Elephants indeed are added on to nail the theme with some nice pictures in the end sequence. Edit: My six-year-old played this two times in a row, the second time to see how many fish he could catch or how many bottles of water he could collect.

[close]

White Elephant by Milkannanan:

Spoiler

Joke game. While somewhat funny, it can't really compete with the others. I also ended up in the endgame by accident, always trying everything in the first room. Edit: I let my six-year-old try this, and he thought it was very funny. Especially that the character had no hands.

[close]

I voted for:

Spoiler

Stuck on You. While I quite liked Prelude to an Adventure, there was more to do in Slasher's entry, and it was the best fit for the theme of the month.

[close]

Did her uncle deactivate the locks/alarm system (remotely)?
Did she call him to deactivate the system because she was staying the night?

Was there a power outage?
Did Gwen deactivate the alarm/locks?
Did she call to ask her uncle about something?
Did she call to tell her uncle about something?
Did she know about her uncle before reading the journal?

I'll attempt a solution. I guess Gwen called her uncle to ask for the codes to deactivate the alarm system or automatic locks. Or the uncle deactivated them remotely. Then she fell asleep and neglected to lock the doors (if that was even possible). A burglar entered the building and ended up killing Gwen when he was surprised by her presence.

The big hole in this theory is that what's written in the journal is supposed to be relevant, and unless there are some details about the building or the alarm, I don't know what it could be.

Looking for the delete button, as I guessed on an old submission...

Kitten - We tried to find Kitten Catastrophe and Space Cat vs the Virus, but neither were available. 'Kitten' is a very difficult sidescroller. The first level involves tearing up items in a house, which was fun, but probably too difficult for kids under about 10 or so.

Kitten Catastrophy (Not Catastrophe) is mentioned in a thread on this site, but the download link in the thread seems to be broken. It doesn't look like it's been added to the database. You can find it here: https://www.softpaz.com/games/download-kitten-catastrophy-game-22369.htm

Space Cat is on this site: https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2432-space-cat-vs-virus/

Kitten Catastrophy is made by animated child's drawings, which I find very charming. Space Cat is a shooting game with point and click controls, where the Cat from Play Xylophone is fighting Covid-lookalikes.

And if your kid likes dinosaurs, there's Day of the dimetrodon by Blondbraid.

My kid loved Escape the barn when he was about that age, almost no text either. 

Good suggestion! Come to think of it, probably most of Cat's games are suitable for kids. My kids played that one with hidden apples, but I think they were younger then.

I guess I probably shouldn't rely on Tvtropes to clarify genres.

I have vague ideas, but still no main idea.

I'm not qualified for mutual partnership, but if you want to play ball with your ideas, feel free to drop me a PM.

Did the murderer use a spare key?
Was the door locked?
Is it important where Gwen was when she called? (For instance near a window, where the reception was better.)
Did her uncle send the murderer?
Are any other relatives than her uncle involved?

Was the murderer looking for money?
Was the murderer looking for jewel(s)?
Was the murderer looking for a work of art?
Was the murderer looking for a stamp(s)?
Did Gwen call her uncle?

Perhaps some of these:

Space Cat vs the virus (Perhaps the controls are too tricky on this one)
Play Xylophone
Mr Bear teaches English
Number Rescue

I have come up with an idea now, too. It will be a story about a mouse detective. When a mouse from the community is murdered, he has to overcome prejudice to prove the innocence of a cat thats under suspicion. It may sound a bit weird, but I hope I can make it work

I'm getting Mord im Laufrad vibes here! Sounds fun! EDIT: (The English title was Murder in a Wheel.)

Uhm, I grew up with parser and for me at least, I'm convinced it helped with my english. Even if the sentences you needed to write were a bit limited "open door", "take bag" (there was LOT to read and understand though)... but I do feel and consider they had a positive influence for my english. 

Though I was not technical a "kid" longer, but more like an "new" teen. Can't remember exactly when I got the pc and started playing them though (but probably 13 or 14).

I second that. Those of us who had played adventure games expanded our vocabulary quite a bit. Of course, nowadays the children and kids are watching international TV or Youtube, and they are exposed to a lot more English than we were. But the parser games were played at home, never in school.

How about Three little pigs or Kitten Catastrophy? I'd say BYO-Hero, but ToeKnee hasn't released it yet (perhaps waiting for my kids to give the Beta another go first).

Are you looking for short games or longer ones?

Was there something hidden in the journal?
Is the person she called the one who killed her? (Thanks, Riaise.)
Is what's written in the journal relevant?
Did the person she called tell anyone else about the conversation?
Is the person she called older than Gwen?