Working Title: Motive to Kill? [Murder Mystery, Crime Drama]

[ZeroSine]

Motive to Kill?

"3 Days, 4 Suspects, 1 Opportunity...."

A murder mystery visual novel in the works:

Story:

You stumble into your home, legs weary from an hour long jog.
The lights are out, but you don't think anything of it.
You walk through the hallway, your steps echoing throughout the large mansion; almost eerily in the absence of any other sound.

"Mum.....Dad?" You call out.
No answer.

A little creeped out, you halt your vocal attempts for now and make your way to their office study, where the light is still on.
Creaking open the door, you're ready to berate them for ignoring your calls when you freeze in horror.

"No....no, no, no."

Blood, everywhere.
Your parents lay prone, haphazard in their positions. No hint of grace in their bodies.

You freeze in shock, your brain failing to comprehend the concept of death.
How could this be? Who did this? Why? When?

A thousand questions pop up at once, threatening to destroy the semblance of composure you feebly held onto.

A couple of seconds, maybe a minute. And then the police sirens sounded.
Flashes of violent reds and blues assault your eyes as the door bursts open.
You don't get a chance to say anything before your forcibly grabbed and put in restraints.

"....the right to remain silent. Anything you do or say will be held against you..."

Arrested? You were being arrested? But why? It wasn't you....couldn't have been you.

"But...but why?" you timidly choke out.

"You're the only suspect. We're taking you into custody for the murder of Mr and Mrs. Sinclair."

And just like that your life devolved into chaos. Springing to mind was one thing, and one thing only:

I have to figure out the real murderer.

-----
3 days to save your own life, is it enough?

And the idea is in written form! This is a short look at a visual novel I am currently working on. The premise is simple: You've been falsely accused, and it is your job as the player, to figure out the real culprit.
Your choices will affect how the story plays out, and don't forget, there's a time limit on your head too!

Characters:

Main Character:
You'll play as the character of Theo Sinclair, son of the murdered MR. and Mrs Sinclair, and the one accused of murder.

Suspects:

Sister: Antoinette; Age: 29

Butler: Dimitri; Age: 53

Girlfriend: Maria; Age: 22

Best Friend: James; Age: 24

----

Gameplay:

Entirely choice-based: In control of Theo, you will get the chance to speak one on one with any of the visitors than come in to see you. However, you are on a time limit, and if you haven't figured out the real murderer after 3 days is up, you await the electric chair.

-You can choose who you want to talk to, and what you want to talk to them about
-Some conversations may be more useful than others.....it's up to you to decide
-Multiple endings; Who do you think committed the crime?

----

Progress:

No work on character sprites yet, but I have the outline of the story written down, and the script has begun: Halfway through the first Day

[gekiganwing]

Suspects:
Sister: Antoinette; Age: 29
Butler: Dimitri; Age: 53
Girlfriend: Maria; Age: 22
Best Friend: James; Age: 24

One challenge that you might face as you write this story is how to portray the characters. How can you make sure that none of them are clearly the killer, or clearly innocent? How can you help the reader understand who they are, what they want, and how they might distort the truth?

However, you are on a time limit, and if you haven't figured out the real murderer after 3 days is up, you await the electric chair.

It's good to have a story where the main character needs to be quick and decisive. I understand that fiction is not real life, and that it's okay to emphasize the drama of the situation. However, your premise might cause the reader to ask "Why would Theo be only three days away from execution?" Think about how you can justify this. Perhaps you will benefit by presenting the least realistic part of your story first.

[ZeroSine]

Hey thanks for your response!

One challenge that you might face as you write this story is how to portray the characters. How can you make sure that none of them are clearly the killer, or clearly innocent? How can you help the reader understand who they are, what they want, and how they might distort the truth?

Of course I can't outline here exactly what role each character plays (I'll leave that for the game itself) but I have essentially created a table of sorts outlining possible motives for each character, how they connect to the situation/crime scene, pros and cons to their alibi (if they have one), character motivations regarding Theo etc.
The biggest hurdle is writing each character in such a way that they are all believable, and each has a realistic means for committing the crime, as well as not seeming totally obvious to the player....I think I've managed to accomplish this, but I won't know for sure until I can get feedback and such from players themselves

It's good to have a story where the main character needs to be quick and decisive. I understand that fiction is not real life, and that it's okay to emphasize the drama of the situation. However, your premise might cause the reader to ask "Why would Theo be only three days away from execution?" Think about how you can justify this. Perhaps you will benefit by presenting the least realistic part of your story first.

Hmm, that didn't actually occur to me. In my scenario, Theo is directly found at the scene of the crime and immediately highlighted as the culprit. In a prologue of sorts, Theo talks with the lead detective on the case, and essentially buys himself some time: The detetctive will hold off the case for as long as he can (i.e. 3 days) before coming to a decision. The idea is that Theo needs to collect enough evidence to successfully shift the blame away from himself.

Now if that doesn't make much sense, I'll be happy for any suggestions. The 3 day time limit was also a sort of construct for me to work with as well: I can narrow my focus across a set timeframe, and hopefully keep the story condense enough that I don't write too much! Still trying to keep the scope of this first VN relatively small, and I know I have a habit of getting carried away with my writing!