Writing a story is a complex task. Writing ten of them simultaneously is even more challenging. And doing so within an interactive environment such as a narrative video game is, quite frankly, a titanic task.
Communication theorists explain that when telling a visual story, the narrative core travels in parallel through several channels: the setting, dialogues, objects, actions, and even silences. The player receives fragments of this information through different paths, and it is the sum of these perspectives that allows them to reconstruct the story and understand the mystery.
In Clue: Murder by Death, the player faces 10 parallel stories that can be discovered in pieces depending on observations: a hidden detail in a painting, a casual comment in a conversation, the subjective description of an object, or a scene glimpsed in passing.
The Player’s Perspective as a Narrative Tool
When the player chooses their “assistants” at the beginning of the game, they are deciding through whose eyes they will experience the story. Each character offers a unique narrative perspective, with their own interpretation of events, prejudices, and motivations.
John Smith, the protagonist detective, does not know the mansion, the guests’ customs, or the role each one plays. Nevertheless, he is the common thread in all playthroughs. The two companions who accompany him not only provide information but are also active participants in the plot: they may hide information, lie, or even be the murderer.
This approach creates a subjective narrative: what the player sees, hears, and interprets depends on the chosen characters, and this changes both the dialogues and the events they experience.
Applied Narrative Game Design Theory
In video game design, there are two major narrative approaches:
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Linear narrative: the player follows a sequence of predefined events.
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Emergent narrative: the story arises from the player’s interactions, decisions, and discoveries.
Clue: Murder by Death opts for a combination of both: there is a central mystery —who killed Lord Robert Anderson, how, and why— but the path to discovering it is different in each playthrough.
This poses significant challenges for game design:
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Maintaining the internal consistency of all storylines.
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Providing enough clues without revealing the mystery too early.
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Creating dialogues and situations that make sense from multiple points of view.
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Ensuring that every player decision has a real impact on the perception of the story.
This type of design encourages replayability: each playthrough is an opportunity to discover new details, establish new connections, and gain a more complete view of the case.
Replayability as the Core of the Game
Instead of a single closed experience, Clue: Murder by Death is a narrative puzzle made up of ten interconnected stories. In each playthrough, the player gathers pieces of this puzzle, and only by replaying will they be able to complete the full picture.
This makes every session unique, as the interactions, conversations, and even objects of interest can change depending on the initial choices and how the player explores the mansion.
An Interactive Mystery Experience
In the end, the heart of the game is this: to uncover the hidden stories of the ten characters and, with a combination of logic, intuition, and observation, figure out who committed the crime, how, and why.
With its distinctive visual style, unique narrative structure, and commitment to emergent storytelling, Clue: Murder by Death offers an experience that combines the best of classic mystery with the unique possibilities of the interactive video game.
