Illusions

Our group quickly agreed that the DS style visual novel would suit a Portopia reimagining very well. It was decided that in order to keep true to the spirit of the original, we would retain the murder mystery theme while revamping the dated interface. Sam took the role of 2D character design, and Chloe the design of 3D assets. Stina took charge of anything photoshop related, such as logo design, game document design (I'm working primarily on the content) and game screenshot mockups. I requested to take control of the narrative and some of the gameplay aspects, though most things gameplay related are fed back and forth through all members of the group.

While I originally wanted to map out the entire flow of the game, the scope of the project would have gotten away from me and Matt advised that the project is not a creative writing one. Therefore, within the game design document, I am creating a timeline of the flow of only one of the first sections of the game. This shows how it would be played, without going into excessive detail or straying from the point of a game design document.

Setting wise, our group chose to keep the game world within Japan, in an unspecified city. Inspired by the geisha of Kyoto, Stina suggested we base our murder mystery around the beauty of their world. She and I later decided after a little deliberation that we would create our own version of a geisha-like entertainment, named the Illusionists. I found it interesting that Stina had the wish to base the game in a culture so idealized and beautiful considering Portopia's subject matter. However, I liked the idea of such a stark contrast and started thinking about opposites and incorporating that into the theme of the game. It was an easy theme to consider implementing, as it could be done across many different areas of the game; through the characters, through the visual style and through the setting vs the subject matter.

With this in mind and knowing our setting was firmly based in the east, I began to contemplate how to counterbalance it. I decided on using the main character to do so, knowing he would be present at all times and always able to provide that opposite view point. With the setting in the east, I wanted a character from the west -- this would allow for the portayal of very different cultural views, as well as allowing these views to influence gameplay (cultural ignorance creating conflict between characters, for example).

With the Illusionists being so graceful and an attempt at embodying 'perfection' through beauty and idyllism, I wanted to create a character who was very much a cynic and blunt in his interaction and handling of culture differences and barriers. I wanted to portray these things and get them across immediately -- so the character could be something familiar to the player in an unfamiliar environment. I didn't want to give the player an empty avatar to control, but I also didn't want the main character's past, motives and personality to distract too much from the main story and other characters. Thus, I began to create a character who drew on the established traits of a private investigator or former detective/policeman. In doing so, I hoped to create something that would be immediately recognizable as that kind of person in the first few minutes of gameplay.

I began by mapping out the beginning, middle and end of the scenario I wanted to take place, as well as establishing the dynamic between the two main characters. Many games that are story heavy feature a 'sidekick' type character so that multiple views, personalities and ideas can be bounced back and forth while keeping the fourth wall intact. Furthermore, many crime based and murder mystery shows feature two partners for the same purpose; to present multiple views and ideas and allow a conclusion to the case to be plausibly reached without becoming unlikely or unrealistic. Keeping with my theme of opposites, I wanted the second main character to be someone to counter the main character -- it made sense to make the secondary character a member of the Illusionists, considering that was what the main character was meant to be the opposite of.

I wanted a secondary character that was light hearted and optimistic. This was an easy trait to find in youth, and I got the idea to use a younger character from the shrine in multiple roles; the best friend left behind, the sidekick, and the red herring.

Above: Maia Fey and Louis DeNonno, the optimistic side kicks to the more serious main character.
Below: BBC Sherlock's Watson, the realistic, empathetic and exasperated sidekick to Sherlock -- eccentric, at times sociopathic, and ever energetic.

I looked into television shows and games about police work and detectives in order to determine some reoccuring situations and attempt to incorporate them into gameplay mechanics. Some of the reoccuring things I found were:

Reoccurring situations:

• Interrogation/Interviews.
• Clue hunting. 
• Evidence examination.
• Suspects.
• Red Herrings.
• Audience kept at the same level of knowledge as the investigators – maintaining the mystery.

Shows like CSI are well known for their 'forensic science' and evidence examination. It also has interrogation/interview sections, suspects, red herrings, clue hunting, and generally the audience doesn't know who commited the murder any sooner than the characters. LA Noire, a game in which the player follows Cole during his rise through the ranks of the police force features evidence examination and interrogation both.

Evidence scanning from CSI: The Game.

An issue with this form of 'interrogation' or 'interview' is that the options of 'truth', 'doubt' and 'lie' are very vague. The player doesn't know exactly what they're getting in to when they click each one, or how Cole will vocalize what they selected. This can lead to frustration when one thing is expected and another occured.

The player can pick up various clues at the crime scene and turn them over to hear commentary from Cole.

Evidence is then filed!

Phoenix Wright has a form of this, too. Evidence examination was touched upon in a previous blog post, but characters can also be 'interrogated' outside of the court room. The process is slightly more fantastical than the more down to earth LA Noire.

When asked a question they don't want to answer, characters will lock down. This is portrayed literally with 'psyche locks' holding back their secrets. The player must prevent relevant evidence to answer the green key questions Phoenix asks during the process in order to break the locks and find out the secret a character is keeping.

One interesting and well known form of testing is using luminol. Luminol is a versitile chemical that reacts with appropriate oxidizing agents. It is useful in crime investigations in that it reacts to the iron found in hemoglobin. Upon react, the chemical turns a distinctive glowing blue.

With the Illusionists presenting themselves as something fantastical and unreal, I wanted to make the UI very grounded and immersive. After walking with Stina, we considered a system wherein the player had to go into the main character's bag and withdraw items that corresponded to whatever function they wanted to perform. Inspiration for the bag took the form of Stina's actual satchel.

The following items were chosen to perform various functions within the game:

Save/Load System: Character's mobile phone.

Travel System: A map of the city.

Character Profiles: Kept within the MC's case file.

Notes on what happened previously and where to go next: A journal/memo book kept by the MC.

Suspect List: A page of the character's journal.
Player made memos: A pen that the player uses to write in the MC's journal.
Inventory: A zip-lock bag of evidence.

Below are the draft pages for the suspect list and journal pages.