And we're back! This third preview covers most of the new elements in the game's enviroment which didn't exist in the previous entries of The Deed series.
NPC Movement
As was mentioned in the last preview, there are certain key NPCs who will move around the brothel according to their own personal schedules. Perhaps they will need to get some fresh air, or take a trip to the bathroom, or head upstairs with a client.
This movement can have numerous consequences. For example, if you ask someone about another character while that person is still standing within earshot, the subject of your curiosity might become offended. Whereas if they have already moved elsewhere, the person with whom you're conversing could be more open to expressing their true feelings about them.
The same applies when you interact with items in the environment. If an NPC sees you trying to interfere with a particular item, it might raise their suspicions - so it could be better to wait and see if that person moves away at some point.
Timing the Crime
Your intended murder target is one of the characters who will move around a lot, so you will need to find a good opening. The movement of other NPCs will also give you various things to consider when it comes to the timing of the crime. Will you have a clear escape route once the deed is done? Who is the character most likely to come and investigate first, and where will they be coming from?
Of course, "brash and bold" is also an option. You can even choose to commit the murder in front of witnesses, if that seems like a fun thing to do. This can lead to some unique and rather unusual endings - and of course there will be some special Steam achievements for managing to reach the more peculiar conclusions.
Planting Evidence
I was never fully satisfied with the evidence-planting system in the previous games of The Deed series. You always had to go into the particular room where you wanted to plant the evidence, then select the item in your inventory, which led to a bit of text describing precisely where the evidence would be placed. This system was far from ideal and not very intuitive, so it was something that I definitely wanted to improve.
So, introducing containers! In The Deed II, you can interact with pretty much any type of container around the brothel - whether it's a desk, a bag, a set of shelves, a cupboard, etc. Then you can take or deposit any item in that container just by clicking a couple of buttons.
Unlike in the previous games where you could only pick up two items during the whole of any scenario, you can now take and deposit items as much as you like, although you can only carry a certain number of things on your person at any given time. So you can also have a lot of fun with moving things around, if you like, confounding the police later on when they conduct a search of the house.
Speaking of the police, in the next preview I'll write about some of the new elements that have been introduced for the "interrogation" stage of the game. See you then!