I was the scriptwriter, level designer, art director and play tester for Mind of a Killer. I wrote a 12-episode story arc, developed characters, broke each episode’s story, created Unity-readable branched scripts and assembled a playable game.
Originals was a choose-your-own-adventure mobile game where players could make story-altering decisions as they played through. With a target audience of female millennials, Originals attempted to be a more sophisticated and tonally mature alternative to the competition.
That various series within Originals took inspiration from both prestige television and guilty-pleasure novels. It was an odd combo, but one that was able to cultivate a dedicated fan base. Mind of a Killer was one narrative under the Originals series.
My goal with Mind of a Killer was for players to feel like they were in a gritty detective thriller such as Silence of the Lambs or Seven. That meant giving players agency as a detective and crafting key choices that would make them feel that they were actively working towards solving crimes. I wanted to give players the opportunity to solve mysteries their way — imitating the skillsets of some of their favourite detectives from pop-culture. By offering players the opportunity to work through crime scenes and engage in challenging interrogations with suspects and serial killers alike, I sought to make them feel like a true, gritty detective — delivering on the game’s core promise.
However, there were a number of obstacles in executing on that vision. Chiefly, Glu issued me a challenge; bring Mind of a Killer to life without using any new art or assets. Mind of a Killer would be realized in entirely recycled assets.
The lack of assets meant I had to be creative in keeping the player engaged. I couldn’t just keep tossing bloody crime scenes in front of them with the challenge of solving the murder based on visual clues. First, because I didn’t have enough original art to keep that compelling. But also because I felt the players were sharp enough that they would probably figure out the identity of my big, bad serial killer somewhere in the half-way mark of the 13-episode arc.
The solution was in the core gameplay of Originals. The fun of the game was always described to me as, “Our players want to get to know the characters.” So, I instead of focusing on plot-heavy mechanics, I decided to push the story into character-driven reveals.
I drove the narrative away from Silence of the Lambs and Seven, and leaned more into True Detective and Mindhunter .
Using their detectives skills, I allowed players to uncover shocking reveals about the characters around them. I gave them agency to decide how they felt about what they had learned about the characters, and to make future decisions accordingly. This helped to build hard-hitting story beats, which the players felt they had earned, without requiring any additional art.
Instead of asking the player simply to examine clues and make an educated guess as to the killer’s identity, I instead gave them the opportunity to react to information in the way they felt was most appropriate — in the way they would want to in real life.
I also had to be creative with how I used the art assets I did have at my disposal. I repurposed older assets to create codas and exposition scenes. These helped to both recap the story and offer character reveals for further narrative emersion. I built engagement into those scenes by offering players choices within them.
In some cases, such as when crafting more action-oriented scenes, I decided to focus more on the characters and the tension of moment, so as to not to overuse the art that I did have. I also strategically used those big action moments to make the player feel empowered as their character — making them feel competent and capable.
Our audience ended up loving the mysteries, the characters and the tough choices in Mind of a Killer. They also loved playing as a competent, seasoned character with the agency and ability to drive the story forward. Players felt they were able to play the game their way and forge their own unique story. I consider that a win.
I’d also be lying if I said it wasn’t also fun to see them question which characters they could trust, theorize who the killer might be, and doubt their own morality. A definite high moment for me as a writer.
Some of the players even made fan art, which is beyond rewarding.
You can see an example of how I scripted the branching paths of an episode here.
Have more questions about how I crafted the story, solved creative challenges or worked to bring each episode to life?
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CHRIS D'ALESSANDRO 