Storyline for crime solving game

[Skinney]

Hi,
I've decided title, characters and basic storyline for my game and i'd like your oppinion on the storyline. It's going to be a point'n click game, not sure if its gonna be 2d or 3d yet and to begin with its going to be very basic but i might make more out of it if it becomes good.

Old Maxwell Warhill invites his 7 sons for dinner at his mansion, Warhill Manor. In the middle of his welcoming speech he dies misteriously. It's not until after the police shows up that its discovered that Maxwell died of poison, but its not clear how he inhaled the toxin and its not clear wether it was suicide or a murder. As Detective James Thorpe you're leading the investigation on Warhill Manor. Hopefully you will manage to select the correct suspect as you later on will play as the Prosecuting/Defending(not 100% yet) atourney batteling for a guilty/not guilty verdict.

That's the basic storyline for the game, im not going to aim for this at the very begining, this is just what the whole complete game would look like. In the begining i might have 2-3 sons and you only play as James Thorpe, excluding the court marshall.

One good thing about the storyline is its flexebility, the idea is that you make a decision as a detective based on the evidence and then later on as a detective you'll have to convince the jury of your belief, using the same evidence. This would be very cool beeing the defending atourney, maybe you should plead for insanity? try to prove it was suicide? was your client at the wrong place at the wrong time? again, i won't go for this flexibility unless i get the "basic" version adictive enough to finish the project.

So what do you guys think?

[Seve]

Hello:
I think it is a great format and idea.
I would fall back to the greatest of em all .... Sherlock Holmes :) Well at least in literary terms. :)

Seve

[Skinney]

actually. James Thorpe is a character i have based on Sherlock Holmes(im a big fan). I created a new character to better suit the modern society and besides, there's always the license crap :P

[Seve]

actually. James Thorpe is a character i have based on Sherlock Holmes(im a big fan). I created a new character to better suit the modern society and besides, there's always the license crap :P
Hello Skinney:

Not sure about all the license and copyright stuff, but you you may want to have a look see. Certainly not a legal guy here, however, since the author has been deceased for at least 50 years, don't know if there is anything else to be worried about.

Seve

[Dan]

Certainly not a legal guy here, however, since the author has been deceased for at least 50 years, don't know if there is anything else to be worried about.

SeveDepends on whether or not a publisher, business partner or family member has registered or renewed the copyright.

Now, Skinney... the whole idea sounds really interesting. But... Just between us... Whodunnit?

Dan

EDIT: Copyright Info removed.

Copyright documentation is available on pdf format from the US Government Copyright office. Where? Let's just say that Dogpile.com is your friend.

D

[Skinney]

lol Tangled...
As far as i know, its my own idea :P but it wouldnt surprise me if someone had a similar storyline in a book or something somewhere... My guess is that the copyright has been renewed. The guess is based on a former Sherlock Holmes game(Sherlock holmes and the Silver Earring), i believe that Frog games(i think they were called) spent some time aquiring that license(though, i can't be certain). Anyway, using James Thorpe also gives me more freedom which means i don't have to read a couple of stories/notes to make sure that Sherlocks language and methods are genuine ;)

[Dan]

Yeah! But... Whodunnit?! :D

[Skinney]

*stare at TangledWeb a long time.... SMACK!*
lol... now what would be the point/fun in revealing the killer now? i can share one detail though... it is someone in the manor! :O lol ;)

[Dan]

...i can share one detail though... it is someone in the manor! ...With a single swift deadly stroke of a poorly made baloney sandwich? :eek:

[curlytopper]

In my opinion you should revise the plot just a little bit. Instead of having just his sons as suspects you might want to add these characters: stepwife, butler or driver or maid. I think the storyline is already very flexible and I believe it will work. Lastly, it would be more fun if the gameplay is 3-dimensional with the players able to click on items to look for clues.


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[Skinney]

yeah, i have thought of Lawyer, Butler and Step-wife but again, i don't want this to be too overwhelming in the begining. As for 2d/3d i've yet to decide... Going for japanese anime style 2d is kind of appealing, though 3D of course will allow me make it all the more realistic, but then i need more help from graphic artists... :(

at TangledWeb: didnt i say he was poisoned? :P

[Dan]

at TangledWeb: didnt i say he was poisoned? :P I see you share my opinion of baloney sandwiches :p


EDIT: Mangled spelling is intentional!

[Skinney]

More Info:
Title: Murder at(on, in?) Warhill Manor
Concidering the importance of the case(Maxwell is the richest man... like ever) James Thorpe is given orders to wrap the case up as fast as he can(meaning the investigation will be time based) and it becomes clear that Maxwell invited his sons to the manor to announce the heir to his heritage.

On the technical side i've decided to go for 2D gameplay(at least in the begining) as i've thought of a way to make it easy to implent diffrent graphics(sprites/characters, guis, items, thumbnails(of characters/items)) and thus i can have an art competition where the best sample in each catagory(gui, character, map, etc.) will make it into the game. As far i see, that's the easiest way to spark interest for the project and get help at the same time :P

I've also been thinking of a progress/status system for our dear investigator that makes things a bit simpler for him. I've been thinkning that James Thorpe could have a journal where he can write notes, and where victim/witness/suspect data appear, along with evidence and witness accounts. When James's time limit is up, he'll be allowed to review his journal before he has to conclude his investigation. And after that it all goes to the trial(milestone 2)

Don't think i missed out anything now...

EDIT: dang, i did miss something... For the trial part of the came i've reached the conclusion that you will play as the defending attourney, Hugh Calley. This way i think you'll be forced to look for another possibility than the one you've made up as James Thorpe and could be a very exiting twist. You can only use evidence already found and you won't be able to run your own investigation, thats James's job. If you do manage to convince the jury of your clients innocence, Mr. Thorpe's case will be re-opened and he will be forced to return to the Manor for further investigation(this time also with a time-limit because the court is waiting ;))

What do you think of these ideas?

[Dan]

Cool!

Keep at it. I might even play it... and I hate Mystery stories!

Dan

[cypher543]

Certainly not a legal guy here, however, since the author has been deceased for at least 50 years
I had to look into copyright laws when I was trying to start my own web design business. I found out that a copyright is good for 100 years after the death of it's owner (assuming the copyright was still valid before his death). So, even though Sir A.C. Doyle has only been dead for 50 years, his works still have a valid copyright. I'm just assuming he's been dead that long, since that's what you said. I don't know for sure and I'm too lazy to look it up. :p

[Dan]

Hah! Lazy... but nice work anyway, Cypher! :)

Dan

[Dan]

Hey Skinney!

If you'd like to download that copyright documentation PDF, I'll leave it up for the rest of today before I pull it down to save the server space. :p

Dan

[Skinney]

Doyle died in 1930, so the copyright should then be valid until 2030...

[curlytopper]

I think you should start designing your and developing your characters and the environment. The story is already shaping up into something quite intriguing. Keep it up and I'm sure you'll find some real graphic artists on the web.Good luck.

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