The Trace
A detective game where you drag clues onto questions to solve a case.
Where The Trace comes up1 episode or test
- 1Drag clues onto questionClues and observations go onto each question
- 2Give several answersMany questions need more than one answer
- 3Guessing becomes impracticalThe space of possible answers is large
- 4Reason from evidencePlayers must think the case through
From The Trace game design note
What was said about The Trace
The Trace needs several dragged clues per question, so guessing fails. Players drag clues and observations onto each question, and many questions need more than one answer. That makes brute-force guessing impractical and pushes players to reason from the evidence.
The question still prompts the player a little, but guessing is out of the equation. The lesson for builders is that a large space of possible answers forces players to think.
What Makes a Good Detective Game?
Asks you to drag clues and observations onto each question, often needing several answers, which defeats guessing but still prompts with the question.
The Trace needs several dragged clues per question, so guessing fails. Players drag clues and observations onto each question, and many questions need more than one answer. That makes brute-force guessing impractical and pushes players to reason from the evidence.
The question still prompts the player a little, but guessing is out of the equation. The lesson for builders is that a large space of possible answers forces players to think.
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