Mystery getting stale or repetitive.

[Mimic Fox]

I've been working on a murder mystery VN in which the murderer kills multiple times in the first, let's say, 75% of the story before being discovered.
(Think, Persona 4.) And I've run into a problem, the murder happens, the characters go through an investigation and then the plot needs to start up again so that the next murder can occur.

Example, the first murder happens and the MC investigates, eventually they establish a timeline of events and rule out 1 or 2 suspects. And then the investigation needs to reach a dead end, and the story needs to switch focus so that it doesn't end in the first act. And I should mention, it's really important to the story that multiple murders happen so having just one isn't really an option.

I'm not sure if this is just me, but that seems like it could get frustrating, especially the second or third time. I feel like the reader (player?) would lose interest in the investigation parts of the story if they know that they're only going to get a little closer to solving the mystery before reaching a dead end and being told to sit tight until there's another murder.

Any thoughts on how I can keep peoples interest and not make investigations feel insignificant or redundant?

[yurimaple]

idk prob try to make a branch out choice that will lead to bad end or something

[Mutive]

I think a way of avoiding the sense that the same thing is happening again and again is to make things somewhat different each time.

Maybe the MC is lead to believe the wrong person is the murderer. Maybe one of the deaths has an especial resonance with the MC (a friend, a lover, a family member). Maybe an innocent person is arrested and MC feels the need to keep the innocent person from being condemned...

I'm not sure it matters precisely *what* happens, but I'd argue that it needs to feel different each time.

(And while mysteries aren't my thing, I think reading several novels and finding ones you like is always helpful. Get a sense as to what's working and isn't working in each and use similar techniques to further your own writing.)

[parttimestorier]

I think Mutive's advice sounds good, but also, I don't think repetition in itself is necessarily a bad thing. For instance, the Danganronpa games follow a format that's a little bit like what you're describing: in every chapter, the characters just hang out for a bit, then there's an inevitable murder, then they investigate and have a trial, then it starts over again in the next chapter. I felt like that worked really well, because in combination with some generally fun writing and good pacing, having a vague idea of what might happen next kept me looking forward to reading more. It wasn't frustrating for the narrative focus to shift to slice of life for a bit, because I was always anticipating the next murder that I knew was just around the corner. Higurashi and Umineko are also both stories that are kind of based on having the same pattern of murders over and over again, and they're massively popular (although I found them a bit less well-paced myself). You might want to check out some of those for inspiration if you haven't yet!

[Mimic Fox]

I think Mutive's advice sounds good, but also, I don't think repetition in itself is necessarily a bad thing. For instance, the Danganronpa games follow a format that's a little bit like what you're describing: in every chapter, the characters just hang out for a bit, then there's an inevitable murder, then they investigate and have a trial, then it starts over again in the next chapter. I felt like that worked really well, because in combination with some generally fun writing and good pacing, having a vague idea of what might happen next kept me looking forward to reading more. It wasn't frustrating for the narrative focus to shift to slice of life for a bit, because I was always anticipating the next murder that I knew was just around the corner. Higurashi and Umineko are also both stories that are kind of based on having the same pattern of murders over and over again, and they're massively popular (although I found them a bit less well-paced myself). You might want to check out some of those for inspiration if you haven't yet!

I think a way of avoiding the sense that the same thing is happening again and again is to make things somewhat different each time.

Maybe the MC is lead to believe the wrong person is the murderer. Maybe one of the deaths has an especial resonance with the MC (a friend, a lover, a family member). Maybe an innocent person is arrested and MC feels the need to keep the innocent person from being condemned...

I'm not sure it matters precisely *what* happens, but I'd argue that it needs to feel different each time.

(And while mysteries aren't my thing, I think reading several novels and finding ones you like is always helpful. Get a sense as to what's working and isn't working in each and use similar techniques to further your own writing.)

Thanks! BTW, Parttimestorier, I love the Danganronpa games, they were a big part of the reason that I wanted to get into VN's in the first place!

[RicharDann]

I agree with the above advice. When I play a mystery game, as long as the investigation process is well designed, I'll be as interested in the gathering of clues and figuring out how a crime was committed as in who did it. The investigation part can be as fun that the actuall "Aha!" moment when I figure out who the killer is. This is the case for games like Danganronpa or Ace Attorney (and even Persona 4 to some extent) where you get to participate in the investigation, by interrogating people or collecting pieces of evidence. Or if it's a less interactive game or novel by reading how the MC does so. If every step the investigation takes offers some kind of information (even if it's a red herring), I'll want to keep digging for more.

[Rikkertje-Dap]

Does the investigation really need to hit a dead end? It sounds to me as if you want the new murders only to occur AFTER investigating the previous murder. This is very linear and I think it can get very stale when this cycle is repeated over and over again during the game.

Like Mutive said before: you need to make every cycle a little bit different. I find that a great way of doing this every once in a while is by abruptly ending the cycle. For example: the main character investigates the previous murder and just before he’ll hit a dead end the next murder occurs somewhere else. The next murder happens WHILE the previous murder is being investigated.

It’s a great way to add some action and to drive the story forward.

But then again, the key is not to repeat every trick over and over again. Keep every cycle fresh!