Introduction: About the Game
Tiny Rooms Story: Town Mystery is a puzzle-driven adventure game developed by Kiary Games. It’s intended for people who enjoy mysteries and using logic to solve puzzles. Tiny Room Story: Town Mystery is available on Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, iOS, Android, and Mac. In this game, the player takes the role of a private detective that is asked to come to a mysterious town, where they interact with a contained 3D environment to uncover its mysteries. In this blog, I will look at the mechanics that strengthen Tiny Room’s mystery narrative, the architecture’s impact on the story, and touch on the ethics of accessibility features.
Part 1: How is narrative woven into the mystery through its mechanics?
The mechanics of interacting with the environment and dialogue fragments strengthen the mystery narrative presented in Tiny Rooms Story: Town Mystery.
Firstly, the mechanic of allowing the player to interact with the environment strengthens the enacting narrative by enabling them to uncover clues just like a private detective would. For example, in the image below, the player can interact with the desk to discover the password to the computer. This interaction mechanic is powerful in reinforcing the mystery and immersion that comes with playing as a private detective. One way I would improve the game is by introducing a multiplayer mode to foster a sense of fellowship and shared discovery. Allowing multiple players to explore and interact with the environment together would enhance the fun and create a more dynamic mystery-solving experience.
Similarly, in the game, the dialogue pieces drive the embedded mystery narrative. This is because these dialogue chunks are telling a mysterious story. For example, after the player beats the prologue, the player begins chapter 1. In the image below, the dialogue from chapter 1 reads, “The city seems empty…so does the house where you were asked to come.” These cryptic sentences reinforce the mystery that exists in the narrative of the game. These snippets are powerful in immersing players in the mysterious narrative. Likewise, these snippets have sentences that even set the enacting narrative that exists. For example, in the prologue the first sentence is “You are a private detective.” This sentence establishes that the player will enact the role of being a private detective throughout the game.
Together, the mechanics of interacting with the environment and snippets of dialogue embedded in the game reinforce the mysterious narrative of the game.
Part 2: How does the architecture of the setting control the story?
The architecture of the setting controls the story in two ways: by determining the bounds of the story and by concealing clues.
The architecture of the setting controls the bounds of the game because the player is only allowed to interact with certain objects or sides of the environment that the player can swipe to. For example, in Chapter 1, if the player attempts to touch the trash can, the game will say, “I am not a raccoon!” This statement tells the player that this item is not to be interacted with. In the image below, when the player attempts to swipe to a different view of the house, the game will say, “There is nothing of interest.” Likewise, the player is bound to only the front view of the house, unable to swipe to another side of the house. These bounds control the story because they direct the sequence of the game. These constraints keep the player from steering off from the story progression.
Another way the architecture controls the story is through the concealment of clues. For example, in the image below, the player can find hidden compartments like this closet. At first the closet is unopened, but the player can open it. Then, the player is confronted with a toolbox, and only after interacting with it can they uncover the tools needed to progress the story. These tools advance the story because the player will use them to turn on the light in the room. There are many more examples, like being able to type passwords into computers. At its core, the architecture of the setting is designed not to fully reveal the clues. The player must interact with the architecture of the setting to progress the story forward. After all, it is a mystery game.
Ethics: Are there any accessibility features that try to mitigate these barriers?
In Tiny Rooms Story: Town Mystery, there are no accessibility features in regards to disabilities. I tried to find accounts from disabled players playing this game and could not find any. This leads me to believe that this game is not as accessible for disabled people. One way to improve this could be to have audio more prevalent for players who are visually impaired. For example, they could read the dialogue snippets out loud and when the player is interacting with objects. Shifting more towards accessibility for people who are struggling with the puzzles, I think there could be hints added to the game. There could be a total of 3 hints per level to make it more accessible for people who want to get into puzzles but don’t want to run around circles. All in all, this game is not designed to be accessible for disabled players or players who might struggle with puzzles leading to barriers.
Conclusion: A Short Summary
In summary, the mechanics of interacting with the environment and dialogue embedded in the game create a mysterious narrative. The game could really consider how to design this fun mysterious narrative into a more accessible way.
