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Categories: Commentary
Tags: adventure, c64, csi, infocom, interactive fiction, killed until dead, the witness
I was hoping reviewing CSI: Hard Evidence would bring some catharsis, but I’m still annoyed at that disappointing POS. At first I was frustrated that Telltale blew so many opportunities with licensed goodness, but it goes deeper than that. Telltale bollocksed gameplay which games from the infancy of gaming got right. So now I’m going to reminisce about two games which most of you have never heard of.
First, The Witness (Infocom, 1983). The Witness is a text adventure set in pre-WWII Los Angeles. Freeman Linder has requested police protection, but even with the cop (the player) at his house, he winds up dead. During a conversation with the player in his office, the window explodes and Linder is felled from a gunshot wound to the chest. But should the window have exploded like that? What’s with the wiring around the window? And what’s wrong with the grandfather clock?
From that point on the player has until dawn to search rooms, send evidence to the lab, and question the three suspects, daughter Monica, layabout Stiles, and butler Phong. The player will need to establish motive, method, and opportunity. Unlike CSI: Hard Evidence, it’s possible to miss evidence, come to the wrong conclusions, and arrest the wrong person. Depending on the player’s thoroughness, the case can get thrown out or the murderer can be prosecuted to the fullest.
While CSI no doubt trumps The Witness in terms of the number of characters, locations, and dialogue, by holding the player’s end, the game dampens the thrill of discovery. The Witness lets you confront suspects with evidence, handcuff them, question them (which is more than just walking through preset conversation options), and the game draws a distinction between accusing someone and arresting them. Sure there aren’t any graphics, but the end result is an immersive experience the “next gen” game is lacking.
Killed Until Dead (Accolade, 1986) is a murder mystery game where you have to solve the murder before it is committed. Here’s the premise, taken from the game:
The Story So Far
The world’s Five Greatest Murder Mystery writers are gathered at the Gargoyle Hotel to turn their fictional plots into real-life murder and mayhem.
As Hercules Holmes, the World’s Greatest Detective, you must face the ultimate challenge: You must discover the would-be Murderer, Victim, Weapon, Location and Motive — BEFORE the Killer commits the deadly deed.
There’s no genre which defines Killed Until Dead’s gameplay. Most of the action takes place at a desk which acts as a menu leading the character to notes about the guests, surveillance options, and files with background information. There’s also a phone and a clock counting towards the witching hour.
Here’s how gameplay works: first you read up about the writers and learn about their backgrounds and possible motivations. Then you break into their rooms by answering trivia questions about mysteries. Using clues found in their rooms, you call them up and ask them questions like “Could Mike be the murderer?” or “What do you know about the poison?” Feedback comes in two ways, first successful lines of questioning open up more clues and also the characters’ expressions change so you know you are getting somewhere. Granted, these aren’t state of the art graphics, but they’re more expressive than CSI’s cast of mannequins. Plus, there’s something cool about getting to follow your hunches and seeing how they play out. Lastly, you can eavesdrop on meetings or set up surveillance tapes to record meetings you can’t attend because there’s a lot to do in a short amount of time.
Killed Until Dead is one of those games I would buy right away if it came out as-is for a modern system — and it would be perfect for the DS! Can someone start a petition?