The Missing Staple

Video Demo

About this project

The Missing Staple is an interactive AI-powered detective game where users investigate the murder of longtime Staples employee, Larry. What appears as an average office supply store quickly becomes the scene of a workplace mystery when Larry is found dead, and every employee has a reason to be guilty. Players take on the role of an investigator tasked with uncovering the truth by listening to tapes on employees, gathering evidence, and piecing together the events leading up to the crime. Each suspect has their own unique personality, perspective, and information regarding Larry and the other employees. Instead of average scripted dialogue trees that other games have, our system uses AI-generated conversations and questions that allow players to ask their own questions and conduct investigations how they want to. In order to solve the case, players will need to look for conflicting reports from our interviewees regarding what they could have seen. Evidence serves as the objective source of truth, which allows players to confirm claims made during the interviews and separate facts from rumors you might hear. Through careful analysis and questioning, players must figure out who committed the murder. This project combines both the elements of classic detective games and modern conversational AI, which makes a unique mystery solving experience where no two investigations feel the same.

Gallery