The Shivah
A point and click adventure game about a rabbi investigating a mystery.
Where The Shivah comes up2 episodes and tests
Gcreator of Game Maker's Toolkit testWhat Makes a Good Detective Game?
Gcreator of Game Maker's Toolkit testHow Event[0]'s AI Puzzle Assistant WorksThe Shivah, a point and click mystery about a rabbi, stood out for making players do the deduction themselves. In the Ethan Goldberg puzzle, you piece the name together from emails and a ledger, then type it into a fictional search engine, where Goldwater fails and Goldberg works. The lesson: have players recall and type answers instead of picking from menus. No sales or growth numbers appear in the sources.
- 1Read emails and ledgerClues only say "Ethan G"
- 2Deduce the nameGuess Ethan Goldberg, accounting firm
- 3Type it into searchText field gives no prompts
- 4Test the guessGoldwater gives no hits; Goldberg works
From Mark Brown on The Shivah
What was said about The Shivah
The Shivah makes players type deduced names into an in-game search engine. Players read emails and a ledger, guess that "Ethan G" is Ethan Goldberg from the accounting firm, then test the guess in a fictional search engine. Goldwater gives no hits and Goldberg works. The game also has you remember names and places you hear and type them in to solve puzzles.
The game never hands over candidate names, so working it out in your head or on a notepad feels electric. A text field gives no prompts, unlike dialogue options, so the player has to know what to say. Mark Brown contrasts this with Event[0], which hands over crew names like Nandi and Anele at set moments. He suggests it could have hidden the names around the ship and let players ask Kaizen "who is Nandi". Brown's phrasing: "we have to take the information out of the game world - and into our heads".
What Makes a Good Detective Game?
You work out "Ethan Goldberg" in your head from emails and a ledger, then test it in a fictional search engine, where Goldwater gives no hits and Goldberg works.
The Shivah makes players type deduced names into an in-game search engine. Players read emails and a ledger, guess that "Ethan G" is Ethan Goldberg from the accounting firm, then test the guess in a fictional search engine. Goldwater gives no hits and Goldberg works. The game also has you remember names and places you hear and type them in to solve puzzles.
The game never hands over candidate names, so working it out in your head or on a notepad feels electric. A text field gives no prompts, unlike dialogue options, so the player has to know what to say. Mark Brown contrasts this with Event[0], which hands over crew names like Nandi and Anele at set moments. He suggests it could have hidden the names around the ship and let players ask Kaizen "who is Nandi". Brown's phrasing: "we have to take the information out of the game world - and into our heads".
How Event[0]'s AI Puzzle Assistant Works
Has you remember names and places you hear and type them into its search engine to solve puzzles. Event[0] could have done the same with crew names.
The Shivah makes players type deduced names into an in-game search engine. Players read emails and a ledger, guess that "Ethan G" is Ethan Goldberg from the accounting firm, then test the guess in a fictional search engine. Goldwater gives no hits and Goldberg works. The game also has you remember names and places you hear and type them in to solve puzzles.
The game never hands over candidate names, so working it out in your head or on a notepad feels electric. A text field gives no prompts, unlike dialogue options, so the player has to know what to say. Mark Brown contrasts this with Event[0], which hands over crew names like Nandi and Anele at set moments. He suggests it could have hidden the names around the ship and let players ask Kaizen "who is Nandi". Brown's phrasing: "we have to take the information out of the game world - and into our heads".
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