On a drizzly night in the year 19XX, the Great Culinary Exhibition opened with a grand ceremony to celebrate the city and its cuisine. Quite the delightful event, if I may say so.
But only a few hours later, the biggest sponsor of the event was found lifeless in his quarters, a rather unfortunate turn of events, wouldn't you agree?
This marks my second foray into the realm of game development, where I collaborated with the remarkably talented artist, Hai Lam Dang, the melodious musician, Jonas, and the proficient programmer, Anton for the 4th Hannover Game Jam. The designated theme was "Trade Fair" or "Exhibition," and we had a rather tight time limit of just under 46 hours. Intriguingly, seven other teams also participated, but it gives me great pleasure to report that the jury declared our game the undisputed winner, a matter of great pride.
The Concept, I Must Say
Much like the British weather, when it comes to game jams, one often finds themselves caught unawares. We were granted a single hour to conjure up ideas that would best fit the chosen theme. My initial thought revolved around a top-down management simulation where one orchestrates the arrangement of booths at a fairground to optimize the flow of attendees. However, my colleague Jonas astutely pointed out that such a concept sounded dreadfully dull, a critique I found to be quite valid.
Our subsequent notion took inspiration from the extensive queues one typically encounters at fairs. The idea of creating a game centered on queue-jumping, either through surreptitious maneuvering or audacious physical confrontation, struck us as rather entertaining. Alas, we soon recognized that a stealth game concerning the art of waiting in a queue might be even less captivating than the aforementioned management simulation. The prospect of a hack-and-slash affair, while appealing, appeared rather disconnected from the essence of queuing for an event.
Our journey was fraught with challenges in the realm of brainstorming, with time ticking away without a concrete goal in sight. Fortunately, following this initial brainstorming session, our colleagues who were more decisive in their ideas made pitches to recruit those of us who were still seeking inspiration. Hai and Anton presented their vision of an Ace Attorney-style murder mystery, set within the context of a trade fair. The concept struck us with awe, and thus, we readily embraced this promising direction.
A Peculiar Style, You See
The most distinctive aspect of our creation lies in its distinctive black and white noir style. During an earlier phase, we contemplated introducing colored neon lights to infuse a touch of vibrancy. Regrettably, we had insufficient time for the meticulous creation of background art. In fact, we had no time at all for background art and thus resolved to invest a modest sum of 9 pounds in stock assets. Anton gracefully rendered them into grayscale and introduced a wind effect to the trees, and, if I may say so, it yielded rather commendable results.
I harbored an aspiration to incorporate a means for players to track their progress through the narrative, particularly when they might have missed crucial details during conversations or forgotten elements presented earlier. Inspired by the mechanics found in AI: The Somnium Files, where the protagonist maintains a ring binder to record characters and events, I opted to include a notebook within which Detective Pierce could pen handwritten notes regarding characters and discoveries within the point-and-click segments. During playtesting, it became evident that some players were overlooking the ability to scroll through the notebook using the 'A' and 'D' keys, leading me to include a cover page with prompts encouraging players to experiment with these keys. While implementing these features, I also tucked a concealed surprise on the back page in the form of game credits.
The Opening Cutscene, An Ingenious Addition
There exists a quotation, the essence of which posits that a good idea addresses one problem while a great idea adeptly tackles multiple dilemmas. I take immense pride in the opening cutscene of our game and would like to expound upon its ingenious facets.
On the second day of development, we contemplated the inclusion of a title screen. However, I was of the belief that a simple title screen in a distinct scene, followed by a transition to the primary game scene, would prove rather unremarkable. Consequently, I proposed the introduction of an opening cutscene featuring the Detective's arrival at the crime scene. This proposition, as it transpired, resolved not one, not two, not three, but an impressive total of four quandaries, if I may say so:
- It served as an elaborate title screen.
- As the Detective traverses the entire left half of the crime scene, it introduces the expansive game world to the player.
- Given that the style and ambiance of the game are its principal selling points, this introductory cutscene immediately immerses the player for 20 seconds, during which their mobility is restricted, allowing them to fully absorb the visual and auditory splendor.
- When the player approaches Inspector Alonzo, the "E" tooltip is displayed, thus serving as a tutorial on how to initiate dialogue. A rather ingenious solution, wouldn't you agree?