Murder Mystery Board Game Development Guide
Murder Mysteryis a detective board game where players analyze clues, exchange information, and solve cases together. The key elements are an interesting case composition, an immersive narrative, and an intuitive clue investigation system.
The following is an introduction to the main processes of developing a Murder Mystery Board Game.
Determine the Purpose
First, clearly set the game's development purpose and direction.
Define the Game Experience
Determine what kind of atmosphere and fun you want players to feel.
Examples: logical reasoning, emotional empathy, narrative-centered, puzzle interpretation, etc.
Setting the Budget
Determine the total cost of development, prototype production cost, illustration and text work cost, etc.
Setting the Planning Period
Set the overall project schedule and the target schedule for each stage.
Initial Planning
Design the game's core system, worldview, and case structure.
Set the Game Structure
Decide on the desired form between cooperative murder mystery and competitive murder mystery.
Character and Background Setting
Design the characters the player will play and the world view to which they belong to.
(e.g. medieval castle, old monastery, space station, etc.)
Write the Incident Scenario
Who, when, where, how, and against whom did they commit crimes?
What is the truth that the players need to find out?
Is it structured so that multiple paths and various clues can lead to the same conclusion?
Sample Production
Create and test a basic prototype based on the planned content.
Prototype Production
Create character sheets, clue cards, timeline boards, rulebook drafts and more in simple forms.
A real printer, paper, post-it, etc. is enough.
Test Play Progress
Internal Test → Gradually Expand to External Player Test.
Is the mystery difficulty appropriate and does the case naturally resolve?
Do cooperative mechanisms and devices for misreading actually work well?
Reflect and Revise Feedback
Lack of Connectivity between Clues
information Bias of a Particular Character
Improvement of iissues such as Excessive Difficulty or Lack of Immersion
Design Work
Create visual elements to enhance the completeness of the game.
Theme Design
Express the historical background and atmosphere of the incident (e.g. Gothic, steampunk, modern, etc.)
Graphic Design
Compose character cards, clue cards, boards, infographic elements, etc.
Consider user interface (UI) and readability.
Usability Test
Check if visual elements do not interfere with the flow of the game.
Test if clues can be found and organized intuitively.
Production of Finished Product
Once the design is completed, it enters the final production stage.
Prototype Production
Quality testing is conducted through small-scale production using actual materials.
Final Test
Check for errors between components.
Final review for typos in text, inconsistencies in information between cards, etc.
Packaging and Production
Packaging design and component organization that matches the theme.
Write the rule book intuitively and easily understandable even for beginners.
Marketing and Release Preparation
Establish customized marketing strategies that vary depending on the target user base (mystery fans, TRPG users, board game enthusiasts, escape room enthusiasts, etc.).
Conclusion
Murder Mystery Board Games are a complex genre of games that focus on mystery, cooperation, deception, and immersion.
The structure of the story, clue design, and balance of character roles are key, and the goal is to create an experience where players 'experience the story while uncovering the truth together'.
If you check the purpose at each stage and continuously improve from the user's perspective, you can develop a high-quality Murder Mystery.
Murder Mystery Board Game Development Guide
Murder Mysteryis a detective board game where players analyze clues, exchange information, and solve cases together. The key elements are an interesting case composition, an immersive narrative, and an intuitive clue investigation system.
The following is an introduction to the main processes of developing a Murder Mystery Board Game.
Determine the Purpose
First, clearly set the game's development purpose and direction.
Define the Game Experience
Determine what kind of atmosphere and fun you want players to feel.
Examples: logical reasoning, emotional empathy, narrative-centered, puzzle interpretation, etc.
Setting the Budget
Determine the total cost of development, prototype production cost, illustration and text work cost, etc.
Setting the Planning Period
Set the overall project schedule and the target schedule for each stage.
Initial Planning
Design the game's core system, worldview, and case structure.
Set the Game Structure
Decide on the desired form between cooperative murder mystery and competitive murder mystery.
Character and Background Setting
Design the characters the player will play and the world view to which they belong to.
(e.g. medieval castle, old monastery, space station, etc.)
Write the Incident Scenario
Who, when, where, how, and against whom did they commit crimes?
What is the truth that the players need to find out?
Is it structured so that multiple paths and various clues can lead to the same conclusion?
Sample Production
Create and test a basic prototype based on the planned content.
Prototype Production
Create character sheets, clue cards, timeline boards, rulebook drafts and more in simple forms.
A real printer, paper, post-it, etc. is enough.
Test Play Progress
Internal Test → Gradually Expand to External Player Test.
Is the mystery difficulty appropriate and does the case naturally resolve?
Do cooperative mechanisms and devices for misreading actually work well?
Reflect and Revise Feedback
Lack of Connectivity between Clues
information Bias of a Particular Character
Improvement of iissues such as Excessive Difficulty or Lack of Immersion
Design Work
Create visual elements to enhance the completeness of the game.
Theme Design
Express the historical background and atmosphere of the incident (e.g. Gothic, steampunk, modern, etc.)
Graphic Design
Compose character cards, clue cards, boards, infographic elements, etc.
Consider user interface (UI) and readability.
Usability Test
Check if visual elements do not interfere with the flow of the game.
Test if clues can be found and organized intuitively.
Production of Finished Product
Once the design is completed, it enters the final production stage.
Prototype Production
Quality testing is conducted through small-scale production using actual materials.
Final Test
Check for errors between components.
Final review for typos in text, inconsistencies in information between cards, etc.
Packaging and Production
Packaging design and component organization that matches the theme.
Write the rule book intuitively and easily understandable even for beginners.
Marketing and Release Preparation
Establish customized marketing strategies that vary depending on the target user base (mystery fans, TRPG users, board game enthusiasts, escape room enthusiasts, etc.).
Conclusion
Murder Mystery Board Games are a complex genre of games that focus on mystery, cooperation, deception, and immersion.
The structure of the story, clue design, and balance of character roles are key, and the goal is to create an experience where players 'experience the story while uncovering the truth together'.
If you check the purpose at each stage and continuously improve from the user's perspective, you can develop a high-quality Murder Mystery.