❄️🏔️ With Murder Is Game Over: Streaming Death I wanted to introduce the idea of being chased around by a “ghost” like in Scooby-Doo. In the second half of that game, Elias Abel (actually the killer in disguise) randomly appears while exploring and moves toward the player. The easy difficulty mode is very straightforward. The hard difficulty mode also randomizes the time before the ghost appears so that it’s much more unexpected. The world map is designed to provide lots of opportunities for being chased, and lots of space to maneuver around an aggressive ghost.

With Murder Is Game Over: Deal Killer instead of going big, the concept was to go small spaces. I wanted the player to get the feeling of claustrophobia and being stuck in a small hotel with nowhere to go. There’s little room for a ghostly crook to hide or sneak around. So this concept got me thinking about what other mechanics I could use for a hero or villain to trick people.

That’s how I came up with the new costume mechanic for this new game in the series. Just because there’s no space to hide doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways that a person can be deceptive. Partway through the game, our detectives discover a trove of costumes that Guy can wear as a disguise. The disguises will prompt instances of mistaken identity and different (sometimes extremely silly) reactions from suspects. The costume theme might also play an essential part in how the crime was committed, and how the detective solves the case.

Do you prefer being chased around a village by a spooky ghost, or being stuck in a mountain top chalet during a blizzard with nowhere to go? As the Murder Is Game Over series continues to evolve, my goal is to come up with different gameplay concepts and mechanics that make each title feel different and unique. 🥸

Thanks for reading!

Matt (indiedev of Murder Is Game Over series)

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2478850/Murder_Is_Game_Over_Deal_Killer/