Kid Detective

ABOUT THIS GAME
Kid Detective is an Open-World Murder Mystery Role-Playing Game where the player can prove any suspect guilty in a Court of Law. Designed to fit the parameters of Game Maker's Toolkit's video on "What Makes a Good Detective Game", Kid Detective aims to make the Story and the Mechanics indistinguishable from one another. Inspired by narrative driven games like "Undertale" and "Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney", detective games like "The Return of the Obra Dinn" and "Outer Wilds", Kid Detective aims to take discovery, mystery, and that Eureka! feeling to the next level.

Features(synopsis):
-Open world investigation. Solve multiple Cases in whatever order you choose.
-Narrative Driven Gameplay with rich and nuanced characters.
-Logically deduce means, motive and opportunity for each suspect,
-Accuse any one of up to 5 Suspects and head to Trial.
-Back up your accusation in Court, or just go with the flow!
-Expose lies using cold hard evidence, or just let them slide!
-RPG upgrade system to get even better at lying, including:
------->Use Social Media to influence what people think is true!
------->Take misleading photos to use as evidence!
------->Become Supernaturally good at lying...
-Work your way through 7 murder mysteries, and 1 supernatural mystery! If you can...
-Make mistakes and start over!
-Be forgiven and forgive others!
-Pursue truth and justice at all costs!
-I love you!


INVESTIGATION
As Kid Detective, you'll be set free in New York City, tasked with hunting down high-profile Serial Killers. Walk from building to building, explore the mysterious forest, jump across earthquake torn outcroppings, point and click as you examine crime scenes, and attend a party with New York's most influential elite.
Investigate any of:
2 tutorial Cases (available NOW in the Demo)
3 Serial killing Cases
2 additional Cases will be revealed depending on your choices
and 2 Grand Conspiracy cases that tie everything together
Also:
Who's that guy with a bag on his head?
Why is New York City surrounded by a dome?
Why does my stuffed dog, Bampo, seem so real? Isn't he just my imaginary friend? Why is my imagination so vivid?
I'm an orphan, so... Who are my parents?
What's up with the Diamond encrusted dwarf star, Lucy... and why is she watching me?
As Kid Detective, you are legally allowed to investigate anything, so let your curiosity run wild! You might just discover a Grand Conspiracy, or you might just wish one into existence... You see, the Kid Detective decides what's true. Even if it's not.

MECHANICS
Using grid-based logic puzzles as inspiration, Kid Detective will have you narrowing down Means, Motive, and Opportunity (and various other factors as Cases get more difficult to crack)in your Journal. Taking a page from Obra Dinn's manifest, you will only be told you are correct once you've pinned each Suspect with the proper Means, Motives and Opportunities for murder. This ensures the player will have a hard time "brute forcing" solutions, thereby forcing the player to truly engage with the logic surrounding the murder, and most importantly, the story.

By providing a Clue Inventory, it will ensure the player doesn't have to repeat dialogue, or trek back to old crime scenes to remember every detail. You'll gather Clues in your Clue Inventory by:
Point and Click Investigation
Taking Photos of Evidence, or... framing Photos to look suspicious
Questioning Suspects and Witnesses
Using that Article that you saw on Social Media... you know the one.
Using your IMAGINATION!!!!

Once you've narrowed down Means, Motive, and Opportunity for each Suspect, the Kid Detective is legally allowed to accuse a Suspect and take them to Trial. It may be difficult, but there will always be a logical way to deduce who the real killer truly is before accusations! And just because you accuse someone doesn't mean that they'll be found guilty... after all, there are always other Suspects, and plenty of people who want to see them behind bars.

TRIAL
The Trial system in Kid Detective is based off of the "Cross-Examinations" from the Ace Attorney games, but with a twist. The Witness will give a Testimony to the Court, and you can either:
Contradict their Testimony with a Clue that catches them in a lie! Or...
Let it Stand.
When you Let it Stand, it could be that you agree with the Witnesses Testimony, or you just don't have a clue that can contradict them. A new Defense Attorney will have to come to the stand, and suddenly, a new Suspect will be on Trial.

The ability to "Let it Stand" allows the Trials to feel like REAL Trials. A Lawyer may submit a piece of evidence that is too compelling to ignore, that you are simply unable to dispute, or maybe it's so compelling that it sways the whole court's opinion! By allowing any Suspect to be found guilty, the Trials in Kid Detective have an organic feeling, like having a heated argument. A real debate.

And don't worry! If you show up to Trial and realize you need more evidence, you can always Back Out. After all, it was all in your imagination, right? But, it certainly seemed real... In Kid Detective, YOU get to decide what's real or not. Saving and Loading an old game is part of the narrative, because your imagination is really, really good... or is something else going on? I guess you'll have to find out...

STORY
The mysterious orphan, KD, and her foster family struggle to make ends meet on the forgotten outskirts of the domed New York City.
The Diamond dwarf star Lucy hangs in the sky.

Become the Kid Detective! The government appointed Chief Detective, and Child Star! You'll be set on the case of the most famous serial killers in all of New York City, and the people are begging for a show! Convict the juiciest suspects you can, as long as you have the evidence to back it up.

In the near future, the truth is a feeling, not a fact. It's up to you to decide who's guilty. And you'd better be careful. Powerful forces are at work, powerful institutions get to remain powerful. Will you challenge them? Or will you provide for your family? Or maybe become a pathological liar?!?!?!