Murder Mystery: Visual Style

This game will have two visual styles, as it is based on the idea of two people viewing the same event from different perspectives. The game is also already divided into two playstyles – a flipbook and a doll’s house – so the styles need to fit in with these. The general aesthetic for the game is based on an art deco style with vibrant colours and bold strokes. This will also be represented in all aspects of the board game; for example with the exterior design for the flip book and the exterior of the doll’s house, as well as with the rule book and the box.

Common themes throughout the game include bold and striking text, though this will be used minimally in the flip book and house, it will be used in the art of the rest of the game as well as advertising.

this page documents how the game will look for both players.

Player one

Player one uses a flipbook which tells the story leading up to, and after, the murder. The flipbook will have no text, apart from codes that can be passed on to the other player so they may unlock a dial. Instead information is communicated through exaggerated poses and expressions, or specific items on a table, or a person’s shadow.

There will be no more than six characters and each will be very visually distinct, so that the player can tell who is who from a glance at one of the art deco style pages. These differences will range from body types to outfits to items that they always carry.

The art for each page will look like an art deco poster, like those in the moodboard, and will regularly use colours that complement each other. Characters, objects and spaces do not need to be detailed but their overall shape, colour and occasional details will make them distinctive.

Player two

Player two must navigate a dollhouse by opening up areas and investigating the moment of the crime. The furniture and aesthetic of the house should pop out with vibrant colours and irregular shapes.

To communicate important information guiding lines throughout the dollhouse, hidden within the environment such as a tilted photo or a split in the carpet, should be used. Use examples in theatre set design (see below) to gain an insight of how to do this. Also use colour to differentiate the areas of the house and highlight points of interest; these colours will correlate to those in the flipbook when characters are in specific rooms.

The design of the house does not need to be realistic, though it does need to be functional, and angular walls or furniture can be used instead of blocky ones

that would be needed in the real world. The dollhouse should be aesthetically pleasing and fun to navigate.

The house, along with the furniture and items inside, will be wooden and contain metallic elements. This will allow the player to have a nice tactile feel whilst holding items and investigating, ensuring they are engaged and the package does not feel cheap. Items that the player needs to hold, such as keys or objects used in the murder, need to be unrealistically big and out of proportion with the rest of the house so that they are not fiddly to hold. However, they should be no bigger than 5cm. Some items, such as keys or paper with codes on, may be used to unlock new areas and clues should be on these items to indicate which areas they open.

The body of the deceased will not be in the dollhouse, as there will be no people but only remnants of each main character such as a coat or a cigar. Instead there will be a drawn outline, like in crime scenes, that shows the position that they died in.

time period and location

The murder mystery will take place in either 1920’s fascist Italy or Victorian England. I have compiled two moodboards that demonstrate the rooms, etiquette, costumes and general life of these periods; these will be used to develop the style of the house, along with the attitudes and outfits of the characters. I have also included modes of transport, from Italian cars to English carriages and steam trains, as I intend to have an arrival scene in the flipbook where characters are established individually as they exit their vehicles.

1920's fascist italy

victorian england