You play as Lynn, violet-eyed executive assistant to Detective Dio Cross. One foggy afternoon, a buxom dame by the name of Alessa Ravendall comes to the agency with a letter, a postcard, and a strange request: help her solve seven riddles left behind by her newly-deceased uncle. Having bills to pay, wages to earn, and nothing much else to do, you and your boss oblige. That is where the fun begins.
Update (12/21/2014): ... And now we have the early DEMO for the game. The story portion is just the intro and the first 'battle', ending just before actually entering Raven Hall. It's short and can be finished within 10-15 minutes (maybe 30 if you choose to read up and explore past it), but should give you an overview of the mechanics and features that would be available in the full release.
... Completing the intro also unlocks the 'Tarot Fortunes' in the Extras section. Just because. ^-^
Download links below:
DetectiveCross-0.22-win.zip || Mediafire
DetectiveCross-0.22-all.zip || Mediafire
Questions for those who tried the demo:
1. Did the game launch/run properly? Please list any errors/bugs encountered, if any. (Screenshots and copy-pastes are appreciated!)
2. How about the interface? Any problems/issues with the text display, buttons, etc.?
3. Which Lynn did you play as? Cheerful, snarky, or ditzy?
4. What are your thoughts regarding the in-game characters?
5. How did you find the puzzles in the demo? Were they too easy? Too hard? Just right?
6. How did you find the dialogue? Was the story easy enough to follow as it is, or does it need more narration? (Also, please list any typos/grammatical errors found, if any. Thanks!)
7. Any other comments and/or suggestions re improving the quality of the game?
Thank you for playing the demo and taking the time to answer these questions! Happy Holidays!
-CREDITS-
Story, Coding, & Graphics: Michan
Music: (borrowed from) Tempus, N. C. H., & Roganis
SFX: SoundJay, SoundDogs, & MuseScore
Art Resources: SketchUp (Backgrounds), http://www.morguefile.com (the Raven Hall exterior), assorted free fonts (GUI), the Rider-Waite Tarot deck (1911)
Engine: Ren'Py
Special Thanks to Anne (1st!), Shaples, & ColaCat, for sending in the correct answer to the 'Every second counts' puzzle before the demo came out!
Features:
- A cliche 'search for the missing will' detective story
- Easy to moderately difficult puzzles
- Choose one among three different personalities (Friendly, Snarky, or Perennially Flustered) for the protagonist, with plans for an unlockable fourth (Clingy Psychotic?) personality.
- A 'Codex', to quickly refer to clues/items relevant to the investigation
- Music from CC/Free-to-use tracks by Tempus, N. C. H., & Roganis
- Extras
- Excerpts from some literary classics that are in the public domain
- The Rider-Waite Tarot deck
- Multiple Endings
Free or Commercial? FREE!
Release Date: short demo is up! (full game to be released April~December 2015)
Progress as of 21 December 2014
Script: 24%
Codex: 95%
Puzzles: 100%
Backgrounds: 90% (done with GoogleSketchUp, GIMP & FotoSketcher)
GUI: 100%
Sprites: 75% (considering adding another character...)
Extras: BG Gallery 90%, Music Room 100%, Tarot Fortunes 100%, About 100%, Profiles 60%, Trophies 0% = 60% done?
Decided to post this at last, after months of dilly-dallying. Detective Cross is my first Ren'Py project to be anywhere near completion.
What will be point & click:
- Initiating conversations with NPCs
- Examining items in the rooms
- The 4 buttons (+1 button to access the Save screen) at the lower right of the screen when at the Raven Hall house, which let you:
1) access the MEMO screen, for info on conversation points and the case so far;
2) access the CODEX, for info on the clues collected so far;
3) MOVE to another room/area; and
4) hide any NPCs in the room so you can INSPECT stuff without them in the way.
What will mostly use menu choices and/or input screens:
- Dialogue responses
- Puzzle 'deduction' and solution
- selecting the areas/rooms to move to
Talking/interacting with the other characters would still be an integral part of the game.
Screenshots: