Why Early Access?

“I'll be honest: This may not be my best work... but it is my most work. And because I've involved my friends in this project and don't want their talents to go to waste, I wanted to make sure this got released in one form or another. I wanted to have something published by May 12th, 2025 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the in-game murder. The game is fully playable from start to finish, but I'd like to be able to continue working on some of the puzzles to give players a better final experience with the game and make the puzzles a bit easier to understand.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“This game will serve as my first project published on Steam, and therefore I plan on using it as a form of testing ground and launching point for future projects. My goal is to use the rest of this year to improve what I can and have the full version completed by no later than the end of 2025.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“The two main differences I plan to implement between the full version and early access are the puzzle quality and extra world building content in the form of red squares. I'd like to get to a point where the puzzles are more easily understood given all the necessary information. I'd also like to tweak a few minor inconveniences in the gameplay to make the experience feel a bit less rough around the edges. Right now the game has green squares for interviews and blue squares for things found during an investigation, but there are also red squares which I'd like to use for extra information that the player wouldn't necessarily discover just from the investigation alone.

I'd also like to add Steam achievements to the game and learn a bit more about Steam API for future projects so expect that as well.

Overall, it shouldn't look too much different than it does right now, but the little extra tweaks and bits will hopefully make the game better to play.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“As I said, the game is fully playable, but at the moment I haven't gotten as much play-testing in on the puzzles as I would've liked and as a result some of the puzzles are some-what rough around the edges. There are also red squares in some of the characters profiles that currently do nothing. These are supposed to unlock bonus worldbuilding information as the game progresses.

The game currently contains:
- 10 fully playable levels with non-linear gameplay (one per character profile)
- 25 FMV interviews with the suspects (green squares)
- 12 pieces of evidence the player can view from the hub (blue squares)
- All necessary event markers for the player to solve the timeline
- A link board with which the player can establish connections between the characters and unlock new investigations
- Flashy end credits containing a blooper reel

What I'm hoping to add:
- At least 4 extra info nodes (red squares)
- 1 more FMV to reward players for their exploration
- More clues in each level to make solving easier
- More props in each room to make the game more visually interesting and believable
- Steam achievements for completing levels and other tasks
- Improvements to the timeline for easier readability
- Added connections that are now obvious in hindsight”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“The price for this game will not change when it comes out of early access.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“Let me know if you like the game. Let me know if you find any bugs or where you're getting stumped on some of the puzzles. I may add some clues to the game here and there to make it a bit easier to work through. My goal is to have a game experience that the player can solve on their own without needing to contact the dev (me) for help. I'm just one guy with 3 jobs doing what I love when I can find the time.”