A pixel art point and click murder mystery in a world where toys are the only people there are.
Layer 1
The world
No humans. The toys run the place, and one of them has been murdered.
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The world
No humans. The toys run the place, and one of them has been murdered.
Setting
A 1920s seaside hotel, cut off by a storm for one weekend.
Built from shoeboxes and biscuit tins. Lobby, library, ballroom, kitchen, boiler room, pier.
Tone
Cosy Christie with a dry streak.
Velvet hares in evening dress, tin soldiers, a cook who is a wooden spoon. Nobody winks at the camera.
Look
Painted pixel art, 320 by 180.
Warm lamps, rain on glass, a storm made of blue cellophane.
Layer 2
Mack Bruin
A plush detective on holiday. Polite, patient, and very good at borrowing clothes.
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Mack Bruin
A plush detective on holiday. Polite, patient, and very good at borrowing clothes.
Who he is
- Honey-coloured plush, bead eyes, a bent ear, a tidy patch on one elbow.
- Polite, patient, underestimated. People tell him things.
- Was here on holiday. The manager asks him to stay the weekend.
- Each outfit gets him somewhere the trenchcoat cannot.
The cast around him
- Mrs. Bobbin, seamstress: doctor, undertaker, morgue.
- Pip, wooden bellhop, docked a button a day.
- Chef Ladle, a wooden spoon who hates guests.
- Miss Glaze, porcelain receptionist, says only what flatters the hotel.
His voice. Old, raspy, dry, never in a hurry. Four lines.
“Somebody opened him up like a letter. Folded the stuffing after. That isn’t anger. That’s housekeeping.”Friday night, the library
“I was here on holiday. The manager asked me to stay the weekend. Nobody asked the storm.”Arrival
“Two jackets, one hare. Either he was vain, or he was expecting company.”The luggage room
“The hare on the slab has a cheap glass eye. Lord Cotton never wore anything cheap in his life…”The accusation, Sunday night
Hover an outfit to see what it opens.
Layer 3
You are what you wear
The core mechanic. Mack slips into staff outfits. Doors open, NPCs react differently, and each outfit reaches one clue.
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You are what you wear
The core mechanic. Mack slips into staff outfits. Doors open, NPCs react differently, and each outfit reaches one clue.
Opens
Staff-only doors.
Bellhops get backstage. Mechanics ride the lift down. Only the seamstress may touch the body.
Changes
What people say to him.
The same clerk gives alibis to a detective and gossip to a bellhop.
Costs
Get caught changing and that outfit is burned in that room.
The final costume has to be earned with three favours, one of which is giving the first outfit back.
Layer 4
The case
Lord Cotton, who owns the stuffing mills, is found unpicked. Storm. Six suspects. No way out until Monday.
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The case
Lord Cotton, who owns the stuffing mills, is found unpicked. Storm. Six suspects. No way out until Monday.
Click a suspect for motive and alibi. The round button plays their voice.
Six interviews, five locked doors. Two pickups on the lawn.
Each yields one hard fact. One removes a suspect.
Assemble the costume, cut the boat loose, accuse.
Layer 5
Ten rooms
A seaside hotel built from shoeboxes and biscuit tins. 1920s Christie by way of a toy chest.
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Ten rooms
A seaside hotel built from shoeboxes and biscuit tins. 1920s Christie by way of a toy chest.
Layer 6
The twist
Spoiler layer. The killer pulled the same trick the player has been pulling.
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The twist
Spoiler layer. The killer pulled the same trick the player has been pulling.
Someone at the ball is wearing the same costume as Mack.
“You should have asked the better question, detective. Not who died. Who could afford to.”
The body is another grey hare, bought cheap and dressed in his jacket. He changed clothes and walked out as the salesman. The same trick Mack has used all weekend.
Why it works
The player has been changing clothes to be someone else for two acts.
So has the killer. The reveal is earned by the mechanic, not by a cutscene.
Getting it wrong
Accuse the wrong toy and hotel justice unpicks them.
Fade to black, one long seam, and Mack wakes on the balcony with the band still playing.
Layer 7
Production
Small, contained, dialogue-heavy. The art is the cheap part.
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Production
Small, contained, dialogue-heavy. The art is the cheap part.
Scope
| Rooms | 10 painted backgrounds, 12 to 14 screens with sub-views |
|---|---|
| Cast | 8 speaking characters, 6 suspects |
| Outfits | 6 sprite sets for Mack, one walk cycle each |
| Puzzles | 7 mini puzzles, 11 items, 6 evidence pieces |
| Playtime | 2 to 3 hours, one case, replayable for the wrong accusations |
| Main cost | Dialogue: six characters in six moods each |
Position
Cosy on the surface, sharp underneath.
Plays like a classic verb-coin adventure. Reads like a Christie. Sits next to:
Rights
Everything is original. A generic teddy bear and a 1920s hotel belong to no one. Ships worldwide without a licence. detectivebruin.com is ours.
Series potential
Detective Bruin is a series name. One hotel per case, one new wardrobe per hotel. This case is called Unpicked.
Interactive prototype of every room and puzzle: open the design prototype. Concept art generated for layout; final sprites will be hand-drawn.