◦ Designer by Day and

Writer by Night

◦ vgiannoutsos@gmail.com

Vasili Giannoutsos

Setting Character Conflict Plot Action (rising/falling) Climax Resolution Conclusion

Quick Overview of Narrative

The driving force of Mystery and Suspense

The Big 5 Qs of Mystery

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◦ Who?◦ What?◦ Where?◦ When?◦ Why?

The 5 Ws

Let’s take a fun trip through time and look at some of the greatest Mystery

makers to gain some perspective.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1800s)

Creator of Sherlock Holmes

Over 56 stories Crime Fiction England

Most Known for Noir classics, “High Sierra”, “Little Caesar” and “Scarface”

37+ stories 35+ films Most recurring theme

was Redemption The appearance of the

“Femme Fatale”

W. R. Burnett (early 1930s)

Master of Suspense “Birds”, “NXNW”,

“Rear Window” and “Psycho”

Creator of the terms: twist endings, MacGuffin and crime psychological

Alfred Hitchcock (post 1930s-1960s)

Shifting focus…

From serious to funny…

Over 100 different animation cartoons, half of which were Mystery themed.

Scooby Doo Mystery was not just

about serious gangsters anymore

Supernatural elements, heroic characters and spy elements

William Hannah and Joseph Barbera(1960s-1990s)

Detective Comics, first appearance of Mystery and Hero theme

Gritty realism, gangs, drugs blackmail

Bob Kane(1930s) – Paul Dini(1980s)

The Different Kinds of Mystery Traditional Mysteries

(Locked Room and Puzzle Mysteries)

Legal Thriller Medical Thriller Cozy Mystery Police Procedural “hardboiled” –Private Eye

The bigger Question now is…

How do we go about writing mysteries?

How?

Because you already know your purpose.

Where does that Leave you?

Beginning Ending

To figure out the inbetween…

Middle

So let’s talk about what one of the first everyday

questions game designers ask themselves?

How do we engage our players? Practically the same question we teachers have, how do we engage our students?Well any answer from a producer will be sure to tell you to make sequels or introduce something new to the mix.

What does Mystery have to do with it?

Why should you care?

Supernatural

Doctor Who

How does this translate to Games?

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Mystery is a tool! What are you

solving? What is the purpose? How do we come to

a conclusion?

It is meant to help you.

Choose your Example:

FablesWorld of Warcraft

Being able to define your Question will help define your Mystery…

Any Questions?

Aspect Ratio Test

(Should appear circular)

◦ Designer by Day and

Writer by Night

◦ vgiannoutsos@gmail.com

Vasili Giannoutsos