Final Project by Javiera Cortes | MA Digital Narratives
Germany 2020 | Location based game / crime game

Vision Statement:

You could say that »Catch Me« is a serious and location-based game.
The player is a detective in the case of a missing woman. He or she has to physically walk through downtown Cologne to find out what happened.
The project deals with prejudices that exist when gender-based violence occurs, such as victim blaming as a factor that affects investigations, public image, as well as the sanctions against perpetrators.

Synopsis:

The game will seek to immerse the player in the story, not only through the location-based feature (like the pervasive game that it is), but also through its narration of the crime that occurred.
It is important that the player manages to see beyond appearances to identify who speaks with prejudice about the victim, who is honest and who is capable of committing a violent crime or having participated in the disappearance. The game wants to put the player in the shoes of the detective, so think of it as a simulator of reality as well as a game.
The player is a detective in the missing persons unit. He/she will have to work on the disappearance of Joahnne Volken, a young woman who disappeared in broad daylight in the center of Cologne.
The last information about the case you have is that she was about to move to Berlin 24 hours ago, but never arrived.
You have to visit the last places she went before she disappeared and talk to the people who last saw her and know her best.
The core mechanics require the player to visit at least 7 locations (out of 10) before deciding who is guilty. Each place you visit will give you a testimonial about Johanne. But not all the information is really important for the case. Some of the people you meet will give you personal information about the victim, opinions that could lead the player to wrong conclusions about what happened to her.
To help the player not to be distracted from the truth, he or she can count on his unit partner, who will give him or her concrete information about the case and about crimes such as disappearances, kidnappings and gender-based violence.
To solve the case, the player must profile the characters that he/she thinks are likely to be suspects and determine who is involved in Johanne’s disappearance.
In the end the player will be faced with 3 different endings, depending on who he/she arrested as the culprit. All endings occur in different places and all have different consequences for Johanne. The experience of playing »Catch me« should make it explicit that violence against women occurs all the time, is normalized almost everywhere, and sometimes can be prevented if people are aware of it and know the proper channels for help.

Crew and Cast

Game developer, creator and narrative designer: Javiera Cortés González
Game designer: Daniel Ribeiro Camelo
Graphic designer: Giuseppina Palma Parra

Check the prototype at:
javieracats.com