Who here thinks a good murder mystery game might be successfull? Perhaps, call it... "Murder At Midnight" based on the old radio prodcasting show. Or any other ideas you can think of?

Well, I had and idea for a murder mystery game story but the game I would make wouldn't be called "Murder At Midnight" since that would be based off the actual radio broadcasts so it would be a spin-off of the old radio show.

My idea for a Murder Mystery Game is one where you are a Corporate Business Owner who has built a large commercial empire. Everything is going well and you are about to become one of the largest Multinational Companies in the US however, your partner is unexpectadly murdered. You don't remember what you did the night of the murder but only that you went to work as usual the next day. Evidence is planted that links you to the crime and you know that someone is plotting to destroy all that you have earned. You decide to discover who it is that wants you out of the way. To solve the mystery as to who is behind this atrocity you have to leave you placid business life and walk in the colorful paths of criminals and villians who might also be those attempting to bring you down. You can trust noone not even your own Associates who are starting to distrust you. Your reputation is being damaged the longer it takes you to uncover and expose who have changed your life. Will you be able to bring your life back and keep your empire or will this tragedy get the better of you? Can you solve the mystery will what little you know?

Thanks for the links Estok, I really liked DreamBell, but the story should have a different title, 'dreambell' isn't really the catchiest one for that genre. I liked the off shoots from our Collaborative Writing Project, I think that any game using the ideas that we laid out in that Project would be interesting. As for 'Cardinal Prime' well I think that if you have a good enough game design it could be a big hit.

I must say though 'Bad Day on the Midway' sounds like an intriguing game. I like how the description makes it seem incredibly abstract. I wouldn't mind taking a look at what the gameplay is like.

I think it's a reallg good idea but not without it's flaws. Firstly just how interactive with it be? If you're simply looking around crim scenes in a point and click style that could be very dull. It may also be hard to give the player enough rewards for playing as the crim wont be solved until the end of the game. I think the biggest problem is that it has no replay value, which for me, is the biggest problem. You could over come this by having multiple routs. I think you should check out Blade runner and Shenmue, whihc are probably the best mystery games around, although shenmue is a lot more than just a mystery game. But I think shenmue is a good example of how to reward the player. As you're constantly getting new leeds to follow up whihc lead you to new areas to explore new people to meet. Maybe if you could release a new mystery game every three months for around £10 to download this would help. There are a lot of ways ytou could attack this.

Pretty good examples! I haven't played either of them but I will definitely look into them. Shenmue does look like more than a Murder Mystery and more of an RPG/Adventure hybrid game. Blade Runner is kind of different than the type of game I was envisioning. And as far as replay ability and interactablility if the mystery is enticing enough the rewards will keep the player quiet interested. For example, Myst or Riven those types of games had a big fan base because believe it or not there are people who enjoy the story and finding out the little idiocincracies of a mystery type of game. So its not without its marketability. And especially with the FPS and Adventure saturated market today. Although I'm no business market expert so you'd have to do some research.