Hey guys,
I would like to introduce my little game. (well it's more an idea yet)
It is about beeing a detective but without running around the block catching culprits.
You have to analyze files about murder cases. It is supposed to be only reading and finding clues and it is supposed to be very hard.
You can find a detailed description also on the blog:
http://projectcasefile.blogspot.com/UI Mockup:
(see below for current Screenshot)
Done with Java+lwjgl+slick
Game-Idea with little example:Disclaimer : English is not my mother tongue! Please allow me to make some mistakes 
After LA Noire was, at least in terms of beeing a detective, a disappointment,
I got to thinking, as an ideal "Solve the murder" game for me would look like without being too easy or completely impossible to implement for me.
The following game is then grown in the recent months, piece by piece in my head.
Basic idea: You play some kind of analyst for unsolved murder cases.
You get files with various information (witness statements, found evidence, crime scene photos, etc. ..)
Only with this file the case can/must be solved.
Here you have the opportunity to highlight text and photographs and thereby get an inventory object.
(Photos can also end up in the inventory without any mark)
Additionally you can also make your own notes.
Now you can attach these notes/pictures from the inventory to a wall panel according to taste.
(Ordered by protagonists or a timeline of events)
The game does not take you by the hand - the player has to find the clues and filter information for themselves.
The only feedback that the player gets from the game is reduced to 1.working out new clues
and on 2.solving the case at the end.
Here is a very simple example to the game mechanics :You see a photo: Body in alley. Next to it is a ladder leading to the roof.
This ladder is marked by the player on the image ,so it will get in the "inventory".
Now you read that local residents say they have heard a metallic-sounding noise by the time of the murder .
You mark this statement and it will be stored in the "inventory".
The obvious: the body was transported down the ladder. (Apart from the fact that this is quite a feat)
As there are no information about the roof in the file, you can request some kind of additional investigation.
You will be asked by the game what you want to examine and you have to enter keywords about your needs.
In this case, that would be "roof". You will be prompted for a reason why it is believed that this investigation is relevant and you bring up the selected text and the selected photo from the inventory.
Now you get a new page for the file. This shows a new image and / or text information.
On the picture you discover a hatch on the roof spilled with traces of blood, with the result that these belong to the victim.
You learn which apartment owns the hatch and after reviewing the records, you also learn that these residents have already made a statement.
Now you can "resolve" the case by first nameing the culprit. Now you must substantiate the suspicion.
Here you have to proceed step by step. In this example we take again the testimony of the neighbors.
Now the picture with the marked ladder followed by the picture of the hatch with the image of the blood.
Since we analyzed only the file themselve and gave hints there is now an evaluation,
that the apartment was searched and the police found the murder weapon. Hence the case for the player is done.
The presentation would ideally be kept in 3D.
You move in ego perspective through your office to the desk or go to the wall panel or to
to initiate phone calls for a further investigation. (maybe even a radio that plays MP3s )
This type of presentation would enrich the atmosphere in any case -
But in the end is not crucial for the gameplay itself.
Additional gameplay elements such as a phone book or map excerpts from the crime scene and the environment are also being considered.
Development:I recently started the development. All work will be done in Java.
At the moment there are some essential classes ready as well as the XML based "case-loader" and the regarding handler classes.
Next step :
Some first printing of text (I've yet to decide how I will do this) with the possibillity of marking it and saving this fragment as an inventory object.
Dummy XML case structure:<Case>
<Title>Fall 1</Title>
<Page id="1">
<Visible>True</Visible>
<Name>Page1</Name>
<Text>blabla</Text>
<Picture>
<Name>Pic1</Name>
<PositionX>0</PositionX>
<PositionY>0</PositionY>
<Clue>
<Name>Pic1Clue</Name>
<XRegionFrom>300</XRegionFrom>
<YRegionFrom>200</YRegionFrom>
<YRegionTo>500</YRegionTo>
<XRegionTo>300</XRegionTo>
</Clue>
</Picture>
</Page>
<Page id="2">
<Visible>True</Visible>
<Name>Page2</Name>
<Text>blabla trololo</Text>
<Clue>
<Name>TextClue1</Name>
<Text>trololo</Text>
</Clue>
</Page>
<Page id="3">
<Visible>False</Visible>
<VisibleOn>
<Evidence>TextClue1</Evidence>
<Evidence>Pic1Clue</Evidence>
</VisibleOn>
<Name>Page3</Name>
<Text>blabla Name</Text>
<Clue>
<Name>Murder</Name>
<Text>Name</Text>
</Clue>
</Page>
<Solution>
<Murder>
<Name>Murder</Name>
<Evidence>TextClue1</Evidence>
<Evidence>Pic1Clue</Evidence>
</Murder>
</Solution>
</Case>
Update Feb/10/12 :
Current in-game picture
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