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Feb-22-2004 20:32

I have a couple of questions I'd like some feedback on. Please Answer by replying to this post.

1) Is the game fun? Really fun, kind of fun, funner than going to the dentist?

2) Can you think of anything that would make the game more fun?

3) Is the game too hard? Too easy?

Thanks
-Ben

Jul-28-2004 10:30

yeah, just take them out and go to the detective item shop

Jul-29-2004 09:23

This is just an offhand comment, not anything major. But I was wondering if it would be better, when listing the members of an agency, to have the director(s) on top of the list followed on the way down. It just seems to follow the standard I guess.

Jul-30-2004 09:59

I see you've actioned the previous post already, in typical fashion!

1) It is really fun. It can be repetitive, but it is kind of compulsively repetitive.

2) More things to do, I suppose - but I can't think of any good ideas at the moment!

3) Once you can solve 'ridiculously hard' cases with reasonable regularity, it gets a little routine. Perhaps you could have a level beyond/instead where you can't depend on the number of suspects and/or the number of real/fake alibis. More types of evidence (DNA from an old/young person or something)? More townspeople? Oh dear, do I sound like a hungry baby bird? I do think this game is great!

Jul-30-2004 14:59

I agree with Evita on the concept of a further level, but would like to ask for even more! (Greedy me)
What would be realy great, and, incidentally, would probably require a gameplay change, is if these levels beyond ridiculously hard would come with their own set of skills, accessable only when you solve at least one ridiculously hard case. These skills would then tackle the new physical evidence, DNA, murder weapon, that kind of thing, and of course be ridiculously hard to get, I'm thinking somewhere along the 20 or 30 skill points. If these cases would somehow contribute to something akin to the treasure hunts, that would be realy great, but also ask for a even more thourough rewrite I fear. Well, maybe something to think about as the game grows...

Jul-31-2004 02:30

OK, I've had a think about improvements and there are two aspects of the game that could be used more. The first is motive - it's only ever a problem with your client, everyone else automatically has a motive when you first hear about them, and the other is the 'ask if you have heard anything' question, since it may save a little time but it doesn't save any valuable questions before clamming.

Suggestions: characters could be introduced without motive somehow (the simplest being that when a townsperson mentions someone you don't know about yet, they appear in the list but without a motive). Perhaps you could find suspects at the fortune teller etc., or ask the fortune teller if they have heard anyone talking about the case. Then they could appear to you, but without a motive so far.

Alternatively, if a townsperson says that so-and-so thinks they know who the murderer is, that could earn you an extra question ffrom so-and-so, to make it worth asking the townsperson.

Jul-31-2004 20:39

It might be cool to actually have your contact know something about the cases you are working on. I've had the butcher for about 24 cases now and she has yet to know anything.

Also it would help if when a townsperson tells you that so-and-so knows who the murderer is, that he/she actually does know.

Of course that would probably make the game way more easy so forget that last one.

Aug-2-2004 10:40

A last comment for now. I think there needs to be more for the more advanced players to aim for. Once you have the smarts and either charm or tough skills, and plenty of money, there is little more to achieve except solving more and more cases and treasure hunts. It could be a special status once you get to 1,000,000 experience points or a special attribute.

Another idea is for a tough type of hunt that requires a lot of collaboration. Treasure hunts are a bit like that but they don't really require additional skills to solve, just luck. One where you need all ten types of contact, perhaps.

Aug-2-2004 12:03

Having all 10 contacts shuts out the smaller agencies from being able to go after them. While they might have trouble anyways, that blatantly shuts them out.

Aug-2-2004 14:23

I wasn't thinking that you had to be in an agency, but I agree if you did it wouldn't be fair. Perhaps the rule should be that you can't be in the same agency, to encourage interaction.

Aug-3-2004 09:35

I just had a thought, and it doesn't need to be implemented, I just thought I'd bring it up. It seems to me that when you're doing a favor for one of the "townies," and you're trying to solve a mystery in which one of their close relatives or friends was murdered, I wouldn't think that they would want to clam up on you, and that they'd try to help out as much as possible during that case. Any thoughts?