Unreliable Narrator
Exploring stories in games and the art of telling tales
SAM BARLOW
Detective videogames are all the rage. But haven’t they always been? Even before video, games loved murder. Yes, Cluedo, but also curios such as occult novelist and boardgame designer Dennis Wheatley’s popular ‘dossiers’. Each dossier contained a case file and pieces of physical evidence, along with a sealed envelope holding the solution.
Illustration
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When videogames came along, the synergies were obvious and the subject matter stood out next to the colourful early arcade games. The box for The Vera Cruz Affair promised “the sordid underworld of detectives, pimps and prostitutes” alongside an age rating of ten years and up. Infocom’s Suspect gave players a socialite’s costume ball, while Magnetic Scroll’s Corruption threw in insider trading, cheating spouses and cocaine.