Blackford PI
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux
A retro styled isometric detective adventure, set in 1940s New York in the offices of a secretive engineering & design company . You play Clarence Blackford, a man tasked with unravelling the mysterious goings on at Midtown Design Bureau.
The game takes inspiration from classic 8-bit games such as MOVIE, Contact Sam Cruise & the Magic Knight series. Its puzzles are built on a traditional verb/noun structure but implemented via a menu system.
Playable demo now available!
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I really enjoyed the demo as far as I made it (I got stuck finding which fuse I should use to fix the elevator) and would love to see a full game.
As to the comparisons to Richard Ayoade, I think having Blackford's Fedora so dark is making it visually read as an afro. That and the tall thin character design is probably reminding people of Moss in the animated into to The IT Crowd.
Thanks for the feedback. As much as I stare at that hat, I can't get it to turn into an afro, but maybe I should change it's colour regardless :o)
Admittedly I tend to have my display brightness turned down low. I think it is a combination of that, the in game lighting effects and the filters darkening the hat and losing detail. The screenshot with the parrot is the best example.
Yeh some of the shadier areas do get quite dark. I like that though, I find it quite atmospheric.
That's exactly where I got stuck!
It's what I always thought M.O.V.I.E should have been: very atmospheric! Well done! I'm properly stuck though: (possible spoiler: I think I need blueprints, but can't find them anywhere! I'll keep searchin'.)
Thanks. There are no blueprints in this demo version, so that's a bit of a red herring :o)
Oh, wise guy, eh? Why I aughta....
Why do I get the feeling you're sat playing this game, dressed as Columbo? :o)
Brilliant game to just chill out to and admire the graphics, love the parrot and the mix of gameplay and reward was perfect. Full version will be ace.
Cheers Davie ;o)
I've really enjoyed the demo, puzzles were nice and the graphics are gorgeous, congratulations!
Played in Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon, 64bits, X11, every option worked fine except the F12 fullscreen toggle, that made it crash with this message:
X Error of failed request: BadWindow (invalid Window parameter)
Major opcode of failed request: 40 (X_TranslateCoords)
Resource id in failed request: 0x2800457
Serial number of failed request: 453
Current serial number in output stream: 453
AL lib: (EE) alc_cleanup: 1 device not closed
Can't wait to play the whole game, great work! Thanks!
Thanks, glad to hear you enjoyed it. That's an odd crash, although I don't recall testing full screen on Linux, I'll have to try it out here. Cheers for the info.
Beautiful piece of work, Richard. Love the period detail, the lighting, the feel of the game - both retro and contemporary. The menu system is sharp and the game is effortlessly playable. I think I uncovered some glitch/bug in that (spoiler alert) I worked out I needed 20 amp fuse for lift mechanism. To insert I needed to pull switch in maintenance room to turn lights out. However, once I inserted it into switch, I could not get back in maintenance room and received the message 'blocked', even though it was unlocked. Anyway, that aside, it looks like being another great addition to your body of work. Can't wait to see it finished.
Thanks for the feedback, appreciate it. At the moment, there is the risk that you can leave an object or furniture in a position that means the player can't spawn in the room when you try to enter it, resulting in the "Blocked" message. I suspect this is what you did. If I continue the project, this problem will be sorted out somehow. :o)
The demo was just the right length to let you get to grips with the mechanics and what is expected of the game. This is truly superb and had me hooked. I can't wait for the full version.
Cheers Kingy ;o)
ooooh. luvly. Another gem in the making. Great demo, looking forward to the full release.
Thanks :o)
Dude that's Richard Ayoade
Haha, you're not the first person to say that. It's getting a bit weird. :o)
love it, great atmosphere and feel to it
Thanks, look out for the demo coming soon.
Looks fab!
:o)
Looks amazing! I love Movie game.
Thanks :o)
So nice!
Thanks
This looks totally awesome. Can't wait to play it.
Thanks, demo coming soon.