The Investigation
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux
[ A serial killer. Two detectives. An anonymous tip. ]
SUMMARY
The Investigation is a small third-person 3D point and click room escape adventure where you take the role of Rebecca Castle, a fearless yet impulsive police detective. You and your partner, Christian Sanders, are following a lead on the Kingsroad Killer, a heartless murderer that kills his victims after torturing them for days.
TECHNICAL DEMO
The Investigation project has been developed using exclusively the Game Creator tools for Unity as a demo of what can be achieved without programming a single line of code.
If you are interested in creating similar games you can give it a try heading to the Asset Store page.
KEY FEATURES
- Move the character across the scene and interact with different elements.
- Unravel the story behind the Killer as you and your partner investigate an abandoned hospital.
- Cutscene driven story with incredible photorealistic environments.
WHY IS THIS GAME FREE?
Our business is focused on creating tools for developing games. We needed to test if it was really possible to create a full featured one with the Game Creator tools we've been working on, so we decided to create a (small) one.
CAN I GIVE YOU FEEDBACK?
Please! We'd love to hear from you. Even if we're not going to make a complete version of this game (as we're focused on making the dev tools) we'd love to receive some feedback. Just drop us a line in the comments or send us an email at hello@catsoft-studios.com.
For more information on how to create games with Game Creator visit http://gamecreator.io.
Download
Development log
- Development Update #4Oct 03, 2018
- Development Update #3Jul 18, 2017
- Development Update #2May 26, 2017
- Development Update #1May 23, 2017
- Bug ReportMay 17, 2017
Comments
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Very good graphics but I am having a hard time controlling the characters so I am quite glad to know that you'll use the WASD control. Can't wait for the full game to be released!
Well... Unfortunately we don't have any plans to continue its development. At least in the short term. However, if we were to in the future, we'd definitely use WASD and have more interesting puzzles and meaningful decisions! Thanks for playing!
really good game , only thing i would say is :
- change control from clicking to wasd clicking sometimes gliches
- make another part i know you said you werent but i think it would be really popular
- love story line
:)
Hi Tina! If we were to continue, we'd definitely use a WASD control. Thanks for your kind words, it really does mean a lot. If we have time in the future, we'll definitely explore the world of the Kingsroad Killer and make a short, but whole game.
Yup. Setting the player's controller to Directional (which uses the WASD keys on PC) will automatically display a virtual joystick when it detects the game runs on a mobile device.Cursor clicks are also automagically translated as finger taps (single tap is left click and tapping with two fingers is right click).
Be sure to join our Discord server if you have any more questions!
amazing game when the full game will be released ?
Thank you :-) Although it's been more than 4 years and our focus has shifted towards other endeavours, so I don't think it's going to become a fully fledged game, unfortunately
OMG this game was AMAZING even if it was short. Love the atmosphere, cant wait for the full version!!!!
Thank you :-) Unfortunately I don't think there will ever be a full version. This was a tech demo for our engine
ah, my heart.. well do let us all know if anything like this is ever born again. it was phenomenal (-: happy developing!
Definitely we will. Thanks and cheers!
There wasn't much to it, but I did enjoy myself with what was here.
Thanks :-) Looking forward creating an extended experience
Interesting little game!
It made me think of a combination of different horror franchises.
- The puzzle aspect and camera angle such as classic Silent Hill and Resident Evil games
- The crazy killer who tortures people, such as Jigsaw in the Saw franchise
It made it very interesting, although it was more of a mystery than a horror game.
I have to say though, I was not a big fan of the point and click aspect. It didn't really work that smoothly. Characters would often not move to where I clicked, or moving in place. Felt a little odd.
I'd love to see more of the game, wonder how the story will develop!
Like you can see, I also made a little video on the game. Feel free to have a look or to use parts to promote the game!
Hi Mister Bopi!
Thank you so much for playing this. We agree 100% on all your points. We implemented the point & click mechanicmostly because it was more of a challenge than because it suited the game. In a future game this would most likely change into a directional or tank-control.
Looking forward creating a second demo or further expanding this one. :-)
PS: Chris is definitely useless. We'll make him more resourceful next time
crashes have crash report if needed
Yeah, if you can send it to us at support (at) catsoft-studios.com. Thanks!
Show post...
LOL
U no like?
Show post...
i like ...hope full game story! you game is good
Thank you so much! :-D We've been focused on creating the tools for making these kind of games. We're eager to continue and expand this story into a fully fledged game, but unfortunately, that won't be possible in the foreseeable future. Looking forward to it in maybe a couple of years!
Show post...
ok i think lot working ..other version 2020 ..
It's super dark, and almost impossible to see something right if I play the game by day
Either increase your monitor's contrast settings or play somewhere where the sun doesn't hit your screen. Not much we can do about it, since the game is supposed to be dark.
Remember you're in an abandoned Hospital with barely any light source coming through the dirty windows and ominous fog
Please tell me this game is going to get a part two or completed in the near future? I loved this little demo and i want to play more of this!
Unfortunately no. We didn't envision a fully-fledged story although we'd love to revise it and create an entire game surrounding an investigation. We do have plans for a similar game but set in a dystopian future, but it's still in draft and it will probably take some years to come. Thanks for the kind words though! We really appreciate it!
I'm saddened by the lack of a credits screen. The VA for the Kingsroad Killer is fantastic.
We couldn't agree more! The VA name is Kyle Brauch. He provided a top-notch performance and we hope to count him in if we continue developing the story of the KRK
A realy good start to a game. Its too bad it will never be a full game though. I would love to see that happen some day. What I saw so far got me excited. Also if you make a full game can you make their lips move please? Thanks!
Definitely! Thanks for playing! Even though we're focused on further developing Game Creator we really enjoy your videos. Hope we can revisit the story of Rebecca and Chris some day.
I look forward to it!!
never played a clicker game like this one before :D
Thanks for playing! Hope you enjoyed it! :-D
anytime and yeah it was good :D
Kind of late to the game….I had it downloaded for a LP when it first was published hahaa but here we are. I found the game to be rather enjoyable. Too bad it will not be updated anymore :[ but still a great experience! FYI This game is mashed up with another short game in my video below. The first game is The Investigation!
Great work!!!
Thank you! We've really enjoyed your video! Yeah, sorry about that. We built The Investigation (that's the name of the game) as a proof-of-concept for a tool we developed in-house called Game Creator. We don't plan on continuing the development though we'd love to (and maybe will, under a different name).
By the way: Yeah, the Hospital needs 3 fuses to power-up the place, though the elevator works and there are lights and... Well, we could make up an excuse, but the truth is that we didn't notice ^^'
Hope you enjoyed the (rather short) demo!
I've been stuck in front of the first door, even bringing the key. It's happened just once. Maybe it is a bug.
Really? That's new. Unfortunately The Investigation is no longer under development in favor of the Game Creator tools.
When's the full release ?!
We don't think we're gonna continue the development of this particular game. It was intended as a "vertical slice", which means that we wanted to gather feedback from players and see what we did right and what not (and videos like yours do really help in this matter).
For now we're focused on developing the tools for making games like this (check Game Creator), though we're confident that in a near future we'll be back into game development and make a full featured game.
that's great! keep up the amazing work!
This Demo is very Nice! :D I'm looking forward to a bigger version of the game ^^
Danke Schon! That is the extend of our German :-D We hope to create a full-featured game once we finish making the Game Creator tools. Cheers!
3D TV VR box google cardboard video side by side sbs stereoscopic 3d
Awesome! We don't have stereoscopic googles, but it's pretty cool! Thanks! We hope you enjoyed playing The Investigation!
Nice game, i like the movements but i know you work on the game and so far you are doing a amazing job making this game, cant wait for it to be longer, keep up the good work guys its going to be great.
Thank you! We're on halt due to we're developing the tools for creating games like this. We'll come back and make it even better as soon as we can!
Hi... sorry but I don't know how to install or run the game... ive got a data folder and a executable file that only let me choose the screen resolution... thanks in advanced !!!apreciate your work...
Hi! Open the window that let's you choose the screen resolution and hit the "Play!" button at the bottom-right corner of the screen ;-)
thanks a lot !!! my screen is small and I didn't see the button ... :) good Luck !!!
Pretty neat stuff, would definitely be interested in seeing more from you!
Tanks @Mister! We just just launched the tools to create a game like this (in an Andventure Studio or RPG Maker way). We really hope we can come back and create a full featured game!
First of all thanks for sharing your work with us! The game was cool i would definitely love to see the full development of this one xD This is my Let's Play :
Awesome! Thank you @Prasthebutton for playing The Investigation! We got some useful insights from your gameplay! See you around!
I had a blast playing this, I recommend this to any who have not played, and I hope it gets done soon the graphics, story, banter between partners which to be expected in this, made me laugh a lot too xD she was a bad b***h and I must see more, pardon my language haha thank you devs for giving me the experience and chance to play this game!
Hahaha Awesome! Thanks @Syphon! We laughed a lot with your gameplay (specially the last jump scare at the end of the video ^^). Glad you liked it!
Haha you guys are awesome hope to see more from yall! glad I made yall chuckle chuckle! Haha Love the work thus far!
a really good game.
Glad you like it ;-D
Im really interested to see what else you come up with. I really enjoyed this expierence! It played well too, though, sometime Rebecca would go places I didnt click. Can't wait to see more!
Thank you @CJmiller97! We're thrilled to start working on a full game too! Right now we're focused on developing the tools for making games like this, but we've also been shaping a new story-driven adventure (like The Investigation) with a new unique mechanic that we think you're gonna like :-D
Cheers!
Hi! I've played the demo over the weekend :) It's cool how a game can be created without typing in a single code (I'm now feeling inspired to make my own some day :P). However, I got 2 bugs, 1st is major and 2nd one just minor. The major one is there are times when I move Rebecca on the edge of the screen she gets stuck and I couldn't control her anymore whatever I click and prevented me from moving forward so had to restart (not included in my let's play video below anymore, but there's a part where she almost got stuck again when she moved behind Chris). Was wondering what could've caused it, if it's just a graphics glitch or its a bug with the game creator or unity engine itself, and how it can be fixed/prevented? The 2nd one which is just minor is if it's possible to make the objects destructible just for effects?:P Thanks a lot! And cool demo game and game creator tool! I love the camera effect the most! :D
Hi @bigeyekitteh! Thank you very much for the review! About the first (major) bug, we think it's been fixed in the new update (you have v-0.1.2 while the current is v-0.1.3. If you play again and see this error again, please let us know! Anyway, we'll dig in case we missed something ;-D
We don't understand what you mean about the second bug, but you surely can destroy objects with the Game Creator tools (not displayed in the demo)! The tools are currently in review. Once they are live, we'll post an update and if you decide to start your own game (go for it! We actually want to do the same!), don't hesitate to ask us any questions! :-D
PS: In case you want to know, the first glitch was caused because of a bug of the game creator tools (now fixed thanks you all the community in itch.io that spotted it) that happened when clicking near an interactable object that moved the player. What happened was that there was a "fight" between the instruction of moving the player to the mouse position and the interaction happening at the same frame.
Cheers!
Awesome! *spoiler alert* We're adding a popup message in the next update so that if you cut the red wire, you'll know the demo has ended (and not just that you died). Cheers!
This game looks cool and plays well! I loved the feel the camera gave to it.
We'll definitely try to pull a more... coherent "flow" of events if we develop the full game. Thanks for the insights @Pecanyoutube!
Hey!! I really loved playing this game, it has an interesting storyline going on with it and i love the fact that there is an AI companion with you. Here's my Lets Play of The Investigation for you people that wanna check it out and i hope you decide to subscribe!! :)
Thanks for the insights @BMC-UNIT! This demo is supposed to be just that, a technical demo, but since people are really enjoying it, we'd really like to continue developing a full game based on this story. Oh! And Chris would definitely have more weight to the story and development of events! Believable companions are also our soft spot ;-)
That's cool!! :)
*Rurr* Hello! I played, critiqued, reviewed and had some fun with this demo/game, my experience, commentary and silliness is in the video below ;P
Congrats! We concluded you just won the prize for the buggiest walkthrough ^^
Seriously though, we'll definitely get it fixed for the next version as it breaks the experience. As you guessed, the third fuse is located behind the stretcher. Thanks for the review!
Woo~ buggiest walkthrough! ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED!
A few bugs, but still pretty cool :D
Thank you @Noah! Sorry about the bugs! We'll work hard to fix 'em as soon as possible. Great job btw! *spoiler alert* Finally someone that cuts the red wire!
Thanks for the update, I've just tried the new version (Linux build).
By the way, I've noticed that in the chamber blocked by the stretcher, if Rebecca is near the fuse but turned of the shoulders from the camera, she won't grab that fuse even if I click on it since it's visible in between her foots.
Also can I ask if you can add a game page "Bug Reports" specific topic (or something like that), so we can avoid spoiling, in case, story elements while talking about bugs in the regular comments?
Thanks in advance for you attention.
Hi @trota68! Thank you very much! We think we know what the bug is, probably the character's collision capsule is blocking the view from the fuse. We'll try to have it fixed for the next version.
As for the bug report section, sure! This is actually the first time we're publishing something on itch.io. By game page, do you mean a devlog page? Or is there a way to add pages to a project?
See you around!
About the "Bug Reports" section, you can add topic sub-pages to your main project page, like in this other project page (look at the bottom page, section "Community" posts): https://r00k.itch.io/rust-dust; By clicking the "Bug Reports" topic link (this one created by me), you will be redirected to a new page where you can see it's possible to add new posts clicking on "New Reply" button (or "Post" button at the bottom page), and reply to each new message like with a regular comment (with the exception of the first message so that it can be used to describe the topic purpose and, for istance, the bugs posting segnalization rules).
However, it has to be noticed that, for now, itch.io make you choose in the project edit page, section "Community", between have only a section for simple comments or an organisable/plain section for Community topics (discussion board), not both a the same time. So, switching to the second option, you will have a confusing plain list of topics, one for the Bug Reports, and every other one for every single comment.
Also I've make some test in a Community topic organization, trying making categories and sub-categories for Bug Reports and regular comments, and I have to say that it's a little confusing to use and buggy.
Maybe in the future they'll add the ability to create a separated section only for Bug Reports, as they have already done for the "Develog Section".
We will see...
Thanks for the attention.
Great! Thanks @trota68! We've tried setting up the Discussion board but all the current the messages disappear (as expected). We're setting the first Devlog post as the Bug Report so we can keep all previous messages while having a bug report page. See you around and thanks!
That was fun, thanks. Will play the full game if you guys finish it :) Definitely hoping for difficult puzzles!!
Awesome! We'll work on the initial bug (sorry ^^). The Investigation is actually just a "technical demo" for another product we have, but since people are liking the setting of this game, we're thinking of making a full one. Thanks for the input and the video Gab!
oh man hope you guys pick it up someday! :)
Bug reporting: - With Linux build, after a first complete run untill the end, restarting the game from the main menù (without closing the program first), I was able to open the first locked door without the key and then some scripted actions won't start trying to interact with other rooms elements;
- If I point Rebecca to Chris, she will keep move against him until clicking elsewhere.
@trota68 Thanks for letting us know! We'll get hands on right away!
About pointing Rebecca towards Chris, could you elaborate? Do they actually move or just play the turn/walk animation? Really appreciate the input!
First Rebecca walk near Chris, then, when she stop near him, her legs start moving left and right very rapidly while Chris legs animation "walking backwards/rotate" starts playing at the same time (Chris doesn't change his position anyway).
Yup we reproduced both bugs. We'll try to get them fixed for the next version. The first one is more critical and actually affects our dev. tools, so a big thanks for spotting it ;-)
How long would you say is an average playthrough? :)
Between 15 and 20 minutes give or take ;-D