Game Name: Master SleuthLast Revised: 16/05/2016

Basic Story Outline..............................................................................................................2Player Characters.................................................................................................................2

Character #1.....................................................................................................................2Non-Player Characters...................................................................................................3 - 4

Character #1.....................................................................................................................3Character #2...............................................................................................................3 - 4

Character #3 ………………………………………………………………… 4Settings................................................................................................................................5

Setting #1.........................................................................................................................5Other Important Narrative Elements...................................................................................5

Gameplay Mechanics.......................................................................................................5Historical Lore.................................................................................................................5

Game Name: Master SleuthLast Revised: 16/05/2016

Brief and Basic Story OutlineIn Master Sleuth, the player takes on the role of Leopold March, a Detective in 1920s London. Gameplay centers around interviewing 10 suspects to crimes around the city – some of which will parallel to real historical events happening at the time, for example the signing of the Lucarno Treaties in London. The player will begin by asking the suspects a number of pre-scripted questions. After listening to their responses, the player will have to identify 5 inconsistencies in their statement to crack the case and move on to the next case or level. When the player succeeds in correctly identifying all 5 inconsistencies in a suspect’s statement, Detective March will have outwitted them and a scene will unlock revealing an honest confession. The game will be animated in a cartoon style and point and click, text and type will be the primary ways in which the player interacts with the environment. The game will have a film noire atmosphere and a muted color palate.

Player CharactersThere is only one playable character in Master Sleuth – Detective Leopold March.

Character # 1: Detective Leopold MarchDetective Leopold March is a veteran of the First World War and lost an arm while serving as an Officer on the Western Front. He now wears a wooden arm prosthetic. He is extremely intelligent and was educated at Sandhurst. After the war, he had to leave the army due to his injuries and joined the London Metropolitan Police as a Detective. He specializes in solving difficult cases and in extracting confessions with his superior wit. Although he is charming, Detective March is also shrewd and a keen observer. Personality wise, he is going to be conceived as a mix of Columbo and Sherlock Holmes. Detective March will be seen from a semi-profile during the game. He has neatly cropped black hair and is in his mid-40s. He wears a grey suit, fedora and smokes.

Concept art is not ready, but Detective March’s look will be inspired by the following characters and objects from the period:

Game Name: Master SleuthLast Revised: 16/05/2016

Non-Player CharactersThere will be 10 non-player characters, corresponding to the 10 levels/cases that the player progresses through to complete the game. Each level is going to be one case, with one suspect (the non-player character) being interviewed. The stories and characters will be standalone, although familiar from some film noire archetypes. Some of the example non-player characters include:

Character #1: Lady Kitty MontgomeryLady Kitty Montgomery is a wealthy, spoiled heiress in her mid-20s. She is pretty, blonde, with a seemingly shy and demure demeanor. Despite her outwardly innocent appearance, Lady Kitty is prone to quick flashes of temper that reveal a darker side to her character. Lady Kitty is interviewed by Detective March after her best friend tragically falls to her death during her engagement party to one of London’s most eligible bachelors.

Concept art is not ready, but Lady Kitty’s look will be inspired by the following characters:

Character #2: Pierre LacoeurPierre Lacoeur is a handsome French diplomat in his 30s who is in London for the signing of the Lucarno Treaties. He has jet black hair, green eyes and wears an expensively tailored dark blue suit with a pocket handkerchief. He is extremely charming and flirtatious, but evasive under questioning.Detective March is interviewing Mr. Lacoeur after a young woman is found strangled in the hotel where the French delegation are staying.

Game Name: Master SleuthLast Revised: 16/05/2016

Character #3: General Geoffrey SamuelsGeneral Samuels was Detective March’s instructor at Sandhurst. He retired recently (in his 60s) after a long and distinguished military career, but remains widely respected in London society for his intelligence and past accomplishments. General Samuels was something of a mentor for March and has a very affable, friendly and open manner.Detective March is interviewing Samuels about the disappearance of the governess hired to mind and educate his children.

Game Name: Master SleuthLast Revised: 16/05/2016

SettingsThe game has a single setting – an interrogation room in Scotland Yard. There is also a second interface called the Detective’s Notebook that the player can interact with to submit inconsistencies they picked up in the suspect’s statement.

Setting #1: Interrogation RoomThe interrogation room is going to consist of a wooden table, with the suspect being interviewed in the main part of the frame and Detective March being seen on the left side of the screen, closer to the player and drawn almost from a profile. The room will be gloomy, but there will be one window through which a foggy London with some major landmarks (e.g. Big Ben, St Paul’s) will be visible.There is going to be an ash tray on the table and a fan above it. These are going to be animated, unlike the characters who will be static illustrations. Text is going to run along the bottom of the screen and the multiple choice questions that Detective March can ask in the initial part of the interrogation will appear on its right hand side.

When the player wants to log an inconsistency that they picked up in the suspect’s statement, they will tap through to a second screen called the Detective’s Notebook (styled like an old, leather bound notebook). Here, there will be free text forms for entering up to 5 inconsistencies. If correct, the text will be highlighted and become fixed. If incorrect, then the player can continue to edit that text box.

Other Important Narrative Elements

Gameplay MechanicsIn Master Sleuth, the player needs to embody Detective March’s defining characteristics – intelligence and wit – to win. They will get to ask a number of pre-scripted questions from the suspects and need to listen carefully to the answers. After listening to all or some of the dialogue, they will need to start picking up on inconsistencies in the suspects’ statements. These can be entered into the Detective’s Notebook and once all 5 have been successfully identified the case is won (with a cut scene where the suspect confesses to what really happened) and the player can move onto the next case.The game is intended to give players the experience of solving cases like Sherlock Holmes or Columbo – with intelligence and through outwitting the suspects. Gameplay mechanics are therefore organized around interrogation and telling a compelling story with each case.

Historical LoreThe setting of the game is 1920s London, although the action takes place exclusively within the confines of an interrogation room. Nevertheless, real world events from the 1920s are going to be referenced in the game and weaved into the cases.