This Goes Deeper... by The Enigma

[raw]
made by The Enigma for Ludum Dare 48 (JAM)

Detective Deeper is laid low with a broken leg. Low on morale and funds a friend asks him to consult on a cold case that he expects will just be a paid holiday. But something isn't right in the city and you can't get the questions out of your head:

Who is Erwin.png

Who Is The Cat.png

Who was Mayor Einstein.png

How to play:

Move around office with WASD press 'E' to interact. Can interact with filing cabinet, file on desk, newspaper stack, cork board and telephone.

Click on notepad to make notes that can be viewed on any screen.

Filing cabinet, file on desk and newspaper stack allow you to view case files, any files taken are saved to cork board.

Cork board used to sort through information.

Phone is used to interview characters to potentially get more information.

Screen shots

S1.png

S2.png

S3.png

Ratings

Overall 1770th 2.81⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Fun 1737th 2.6⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 1021th 3.125⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Theme 1497th 3.125⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 1484th 3.05⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Audio 1066th 2.95⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Humor 729th 2.905⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Mood 1430th 3.075⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Given 60🗳️ 11🗨️

Feedback

Pete Valeo
27. Apr 2021 · 21:19 UTC
I like the mood and the setting, and the graphics are a fun take on the theme. The controls are a little rough, and the exposition text is a little hard to follow, but that can all be tweaked with a little bit more time. Nice job.
batiali
27. Apr 2021 · 21:20 UTC
to be honest, couldn't manage to use some of the interactions in the game (like taking a file, the button didn't work) and there wasn't any message why I couldn't as well. so I played around, tried interacting with the env. and couldn't figure out what to do in the end. that's a bummer because I really enjoyed the atmosphere and general feeling of the game. congrats! great vo :P
NaraJeamfry
27. Apr 2021 · 21:23 UTC
I have mixed feelings... At first I didn't really understand what the game played like! It felt like a quirky simple game. That is, until you start to open files and read them.

I totally didn't spend a lot of time trying to figure out more about the story, but after reading for some minutes and testing the multiple systems, I have to say... with a bit of polish this can be a totally immersive experience. The *tackboard* (specially), the phone, and A HECKTON of information.

In any other game I would say that this needs more polish in art, sound or gameplay. In this, I just need more quality of life and more immersiveness. The content is already there and it is probably gold. Just needs to be easier to immerse into. Kudos!!
AntaresValdemar
27. Apr 2021 · 21:40 UTC
I am the weiner! Cool concept, of course it's very rough round the edges but to be expected with the time constraint. I enjoyed reading the funny files. Nice work!
Reactor-Scram
01. May 2021 · 02:29 UTC
The game didn't scale to my window correctly, so a lot of the text and buttons were cut off
ropedog
01. May 2021 · 03:42 UTC
To start, this game has a really nice menu with many options. I was surprised that I could adjust the music volume, which is a level of polish you don't often see in jam entries. The music fits the mood and game's theme well, and I liked the detective nature of trying to put everything together. There's a lot of content here! I do wish I could move a little bit faster, and at times it seemed like I was a little lost in what I needed to do next. But having the Notepad really did help with remembering things.
I'm really impressed with what the team (mostly Eddie) accomplished in such a short time.
David Mason
01. May 2021 · 08:15 UTC
@reactor-scram Were you using the windows build or the web build?
DigitalMessiah
01. May 2021 · 15:57 UTC
I ran into some minor problems with the screen scale in the html version. But I like pixelart and I didn't expect such a serious plot development. The dossier idea is great. Thank you, it was fun!)
Quite Good
02. May 2021 · 01:02 UTC
This game kind of reminds me of the episode of always sunny with Pepe Silva. Fun concept, a little confusing to play but I think that people that enjoy this kind of non linear puzzle solving (like the game Myst) would really love this! Some of the ui could use work and maybe have the character move faster or just make it point and click. Pretty funny jokes/references/quirkiness in the files!
Madbarron
02. May 2021 · 03:06 UTC
I really like the idea of conducting a whole investigation, but the controls are pretty hostile to be honest. Why not just let me click on the phone/board/files instead of rolling around very slowly? If the interface was cleaned up, this could be real cool!

PS great idea having a notepad you can write on!
Ryan Romero
02. May 2021 · 15:37 UTC
This is an incredible interpretation on the theme! I believe that a stronger hook would help people stay locked into a game that requires more time and thought, but of course for a Ludum Dare entry it is more important to focus on content which you did. Great job!
VixenMink
06. May 2021 · 01:44 UTC
Had some runtime issue for the game but I like the premise
bmacintosh
06. May 2021 · 16:27 UTC
Cool and ambitious concept. The volume of information available is great, and I liked the quantum physics "theme". It might be good to bring the player more information and features over time as it can be a bit overwhelming at the start. The in-game notebook was a great idea. I got the "winner" dialogue from dialing Klaus Fuchs, but I was just dialing everyone to see what they had to say, I didn't really feel like I had figured anything out.