Youdunnit by NightShadow0

[raw]
made by NightShadow0 for LD29 (COMPO)
Reverse whodunnit where you play as the murderer, with a twist: you've been cursed into becoming a monster, but you don't know what kind of monster. To get away you'll need to learn what you are and place the blame on one of the other guests, all while keeping the curse in check.

"Beneath the surface" here refers to both the monster lurking inside you and the facade you need to put up to escape. I also used the secret bonus theme, study the Tome of Curses closely if you want to find it.

I managed to finish pretty much everything i set out to do, except the room backgrounds which were an unrealistic goal to begin with.

Thanks for playing!

*ActionScript 3 + Starling in FlashDevelop
*Artwork in Photoshop (i used a lot of references to make the silhouettes; not sure what the compo stance on that is, since in a way it's basing yourself off existing images, but they are my creations and i spent plenty of time on them)
*Music in SunVox
*Name database from http://www.outpost9.com/files/WordLists.html

Ratings

Coolness 100% 1
Overall 3.33 398
Audio 2.91 457
Fun 2.87 691
Graphics 2.69 852
Humor 2.50 503
Innovation 3.50 260
Mood 3.36 269
Theme 3.42 417

Feedback

ezombort
28. Apr 2014 · 17:03 UTC
I don't know why but this game reminded me of the old Tex Murphy games, which is a very good thing :D
quickfingers
28. Apr 2014 · 17:15 UTC
Very nice job, A very well put together plot and an enjoyable experience :)
Aske
28. Apr 2014 · 17:17 UTC
Fun stuff :)
skymen
28. Apr 2014 · 18:13 UTC
Good overall and pretty well made game. The theme is respected, the music is cool, graphics are good. The only problem is that it's too "short". I mean that you should set a system of achievments to make the story longer (if you got a proof, it's listed in a kind of book) then, if you have all the proofs and hypotesis necessary to inculp somebody, then you can go see the officer to tell him.
Jeffalisk
28. Apr 2014 · 18:41 UTC
Good fun and an interesting twist on the usual whodunits. Love how everyone's names change between rounds so you have to start your detective work all over again!
whalebot
28. Apr 2014 · 18:45 UTC
I think I want to come back to this game later... I really enjoy these types of puzzles, and you've done it on two levels. You have to figure out what you are so you can last long enough to figure out who is exhibiting traits of another monster that you can frame them as. I still haven't won yet, but this is definitely a game I'd have to write things out to figure out. Awesome work. I only wish the music was a little more ambient/eerie than it is.
Hypnohustla
29. Apr 2014 · 11:38 UTC
So mysterious! :) Not usually a huge fan of so text heavy games but this was nicely written. :) Solid job!
Potartz
29. Apr 2014 · 17:29 UTC
The premise is very good, and there's a nice level of strategy involved. I like how the thought of becoming a monster is ever present. Overall,I enjoyed it.
mutuware
30. Apr 2014 · 17:36 UTC
Clever idea.
SmilingCat
01. May 2014 · 17:37 UTC
Great mood, loved the silhouette graphics.
Ragzouken
02. May 2014 · 17:49 UTC
neat idea, the creature descriptions are a little hard to read but otherwise pretty damn good :)
ThingoStudios
04. May 2014 · 16:31 UTC
The text in the book is a bit hard to read, but otherwise I found this game really enjoyable. You have to examine everyone while at the same time examining yourself, which is a pretty clever twist on this sort of mystery game. The constant feeling of dread is great too.
BadgerPriest
06. May 2014 · 08:29 UTC
Very fun once I got the hang of it.
clearlyspam23
07. May 2014 · 18:59 UTC
Pretty fun game, Althought i think my lack of knowledge of mythical creatures kind of hindered my ability to play
Clément Duquesne
08. May 2014 · 17:37 UTC
Oh my that game is awesome :D (even if i'm not fond of narrative games usually) It has got replayability, the story is great, good job !
Raiyumi
10. May 2014 · 17:52 UTC
This is really clever and fun. I'm not a big fan of these types of games, but it got me playing for a bit. :)
Moosefly
10. May 2014 · 20:15 UTC
Took me four tries but I did manage to blame the murder on someone else! Interesting twist to the whodunnit formula. Not a big fan of the humor though.

Anssi@MooseflyGames
Jason Lay
13. May 2014 · 19:15 UTC
Well written.
SevenKingdomsSurvivors
14. May 2014 · 05:31 UTC
Great mood. I enjoyed it!
Hempuli
14. May 2014 · 18:14 UTC
The game's controlling system feels very archaic and thus makes the mission the player is on feel very overwhelming; I think I'll play again later. I really wish you had had time to visualize the areas more :) a very ambitious and interesting concept.
ZeppelinCaptain
15. May 2014 · 17:01 UTC
This was a great riddle game, I enjoyed figuring out what I was. Figuring out what had killed the victim was quite hard though, but that didn't necessarily hurt the game.
2HitAdam
16. May 2014 · 15:39 UTC
Great mood, fun game :) I found it pretty hard to work out what I was meant to be doing or remember everyone's names/comments (wasn't a whole heap to distinguish them) but it's a great concept and very well written.
DrPrettyPatty
19. May 2014 · 02:08 UTC
This is fantastic! A little rough as far as graphics and controls go, but the gameplay, randomization, and storytelling are amazing :) I didn't manage to pin the murder on anyone, but I'm definitely going back to it to try again!
🎤 NightShadow0
20. May 2014 · 02:33 UTC
Thanks for playing and voting, everyone!