IFComp 2024 Impressions is a series where must-play entries from the aforementioned jam are showcased for your convenience. Final Arc would like to give a disclaimer that it does not encourage readers to vote for any particular game mentioned in this series.
I'm a huge fan of detective fiction. Growing up my mother introduced me to Agatha Christie's works. In fact, earlier last year she got me to start watching the 1957 Perry Mason show. So when Daniel M. Stelzer, aka Draconis, was looking for beta testers for a Christie-inspired murder mystery, I just had to try it out. No mystery there. I also knew them from our entering IntroComp 2023 together. Their game, Loose Ends, was a fun experience and won first place and a warm reception at SpringThing 2024.
What is Miss Gosling's Last Case?
Dear me. What happened?
Your vision is a bit blurry. Nothing hurts, at least. You can hear Watson barking. It’s bright, very bright, so it must be morning.
The last thing you remember was coming down the stairs. Did you stumble and fall? Nigel would fuss and scold you over it, saying to be more careful at your age. Things are coming into focus now...
Oh. Oh no.
—Text by Daniel M. Stelzer.
Miss Gosling's Last Case is a murder mystery game entered into IFComp 2024. In this game, you're the famous sleuth Miss Winifred Gosling of Marswich Green, who figures out the one responsible for her poisoning. How does this work, you ask? Why it's simple: You're a ghost. Not the kind that can throw stuff around the room, sadly. Instead, your faithful canine companion Watson recognizes your presence and follows your commands.
You've taught Watson plenty of ways to manipulate objects: he can TAKE and DROP them, but also PUSH, PULL, OPEN, CLOSE, CLIMB, and SEARCH them, among others.
—Text by Daniel M. Stelzer.
The thing is, Watson is a dog. Our four-legged friends can only do so much before being stopped by impossible tasks such as reaching high-up places or speaking to humans. Due to his biological limitations, we as players must be clever and figure out some out-of-the-box ways to let Watson find evidence. Without going into spoilers, this often involves improvising solutions using whatever's lying around the house. Interactive fiction (IF) fans may recall another game called Toby's Nose where you play as a canine character named Toby and to sniff your way to the truth. In Miss Gosling's Last Case, you must do everything a dog can do to crack the case.
It's always such a nuisance, the bottom of the dumbwaiter shaft being a good foot above your head. But it comes out right in the middle of the room, and better this than banging your head on it every time, or it getting all fouled up when the cellar floods. It still works well enough to bring things up to the kitchen...
...at least for you. Watson couldn't possibly reach it.
—Text by Daniel M. Stelzer.
When talking with Stelzer about the influences that went into their game, they mentioned watching T.V. with their grandmother who also loved murder mysteries, which gave them the idea for Miss Gosling's Last Case. While it's clear to mystery fans that Miss Gosling herself is inspired by Christie's Miss Marple, they noted that Gosling's confidence in her abilities of detection comes from the famed Belgian Hercule Poirot. There are other works that impacted the game, of course, but you'll have to play and find their traces.
One big thing Miss Gosling's Last Case does well
Make no mistake, this is a parser text game (expect many parsers in this series). One of the biggest reasons the format's fallen to the wayside over the years is that younger generations of gamers are used to clicking and tapping, not entering precise commands like the good ol' days. It's a problem that the community's still trying to solve.
What makes Miss Gosling's Last Case stand out is Stelzer's commitment to making the format accessible. They included both a typical Z-Code file for offline play, and an online version with a hyperlink interface. The game doesn't have a whole lot of verbs that stray from the usual adventure game standards, so the two experiences don't differ too much. The hyperlink UI does present verb choices in a dynamic way depending on the context which is great for newbies. Seasoned interactive fiction (IF) veterans can opt to download and play the Z-Code file in their interpreter of choice.
Who should play Miss Gosling's Last Case?
Hughes stands, smoothing out his moustache again. "Right then! Biddlecombe will be setting up in the library to handle communications. Phillips, I want you to find and test those medications first thing. They have to be somewhere in her room. Davis, track down the details on those suspects. We'll be asking them a few questions. We'll have this case cracked right open before it hits the papers!" He glares down at Watson, who's snuffling curiously at his hand. "And get that bloody beast out of here!"
—Text by Daniel M. Stelzer.
To my fellow mysterious death lovers, aka murder mystery and detective fiction fans, you will love this charming cozy mystery game. It follows the classic detective game formula of finding important pieces of evidence to make progress in the game (which is shown by a little progress bar at the top right of the screen). If there's anything mystery lovers enjoy it's a familiar structure, which you have here.
Second, any text game fans who've been curious about trying parsers, but have been turned off by the archaic interface standard of the genre need to try Miss Gosling's Last Case and its hyperlink UI. Sure it's not the absolute best solution out there but it's a solution. I think giving Stelzer feedback on how to improve it can not only help a great author hone their craft but also contribute to the community keeping a beloved tradition alive. This is bigger than just sharing your thoughts on a competition game, it's also about the survival of parsers itself.
Before you float off…
> NW
Watson saunters northwest, and you drift along behind.
—Text by Daniel M. Stelzer.
Hold off on fading out of the mortal plane for just one moment. I'd like to share with you a final message from Daniel M. Stelzer I gleaned by channeling the space between worlds:
“My goal with this piece was an homage to classic murder mysteries as well as to classic parser IF. Mystery novels have a long tradition of the Watson, the Captain Hastings, and so on—the character who mediates between the reader and all the action—and I wanted to see what would happen if I combined that character with the role of the parser, the player’s hands and eyes in the story.”
It's time to get to work! Watson's whining again and these constables need help. You can play Miss Gosling's Last Case through the IFComp website or IFDB.
D. S. Yu
profile
Edit: This article has been updated with the correct pronouns for Daniel Stelzer.
Justin's many things: Memer, designer, developer, game maker, Tarot reader, writer, and more. Now he's a keyboard monkey for Final Arc (don't tell them he said that). Website: heyjustinkim.com
