GamingBolt had a chance to speak project manager Alexandre Migeon from Artefacts Studio and ask about the development process for Agatha Christie – The ABC Murders, among other things.

"The game reminds some of titles like The Room or other puzzles-dedicated games. The gameplay has been developed to be easy to understand and fun to play with a friend or the whole family."

What inspired you to create a game based off of Agatha Christie’s The ABC Murders?

Alexandre Migeon: We wanted to develop an investigation and adventure game with a rich plot and charismatic characters. Beginning with one of the trickiest, and most beloved, stories from the Queen of Crime felt like a good way to start.

How difficult was it to adapt a literary novel into an interactive medium like this? How did the point and click adventure genre best fit the overall story?

Alexandre Migeon: With a main character such as Hercule Poirot, an adventure game made the most sense.  An action game would have been more original but not as relevant J. Hercule is tired of lifting his cup of tea and prefers to think rather than to search for clues in the field.

It’s a very rich and complex story-driven game. Players don’t need to be video game or adventure specialists … being an adventure game keeps it easy for most people to play and enjoy. One of the main difficulties was to make the game interesting enough for the people who have already read the book.

The art-style for the game takes a very refined approach. What were the influences behind it and how does it best embody the spirit of the novels?

Alexandre Migeon: We wanted to give it a very specific visual – a real artistic approach – that will last over time.

Beyond the artistic approach, each place has been modeled based on the book or other Agatha Christie works. For example, the Hercule Poirot Apartment is very-well respected and each object is carefully placed just as the way Hercule Poirot would place it.

What are the inspirations behind some of the puzzles, which seem to mostly challenge players to open different locks, modify gears, etc.?

Alexandre Migeon: We wanted to focus on a wide audience that enjoys investigation games but also puzzle mechanics.  Our goal was to make people discover The ABC Murders story in an interactive way. The game reminds some of titles like The Room or other puzzles-dedicated games. The gameplay has been developed to be easy to understand and fun to play with a friend or the whole family. The integrated help system is representative of that.

"Alternate endings are triggered by a decision players can make toward the end of the game. Repercussions are more in short time."

What kind of variety does The ABC Murders offer players? Are there chances for certain deductions to go wrong or multiple outcomes?

Alexandre Migeon: It was important to those who handle Agatha Christie’s legacy that there is indeed an alternative ending.  Deductions from the player, like in the reconstitutions sequences, can be wrong or incomplete, and players will then have to investigate deeper to gather all the information necessary to complete the murders reconstitutions.

Are there any long time repercussions to your decisions that can lead to different endings?

Alexandre Migeon: Alternate endings are triggered by a decision players can make toward the end of the game. Repercussions are more in short time. The way they conduct the questioning sequences will have influence on the clues they gather from witnesses and their reactions.

What influences did Frogwares’ Sherlock Holmes games have on The ABC Murders, especially since that series is also centered on a famous literary detective?

Alexandre Migeon: For sure Sherlock and Hercule Poirot, with very different styles, are two of the most famous detectives in literature and beyond. Similarities can be found in the games but Sherlock was more hardcore adventure fan oriented. ABC is designed more to make the player discover the story in a playful way making them believe they are as bright as the inimitable Belgian investigator J.

Some critics have praised the overall game but found a lot of the puzzles and inspections to be quite easy. What are your thoughts on the same?

Alexandre Migeon: It’s impossible to please every type of player. We think we managed to adapt the difficulty to the group of players we were aiming for. Some players find it difficult while those who play these types of games frequently found the challenge too easy for them. However, our next adventure game from Pendulo Studios (who brought the Runaway saga), will answer their thirst of difficulty.

"Being gamers ourselves, we would love to see real full backward compatibility for every brand. Microsoft is trying hard to improve the brand image since the start of the Xbox One."

Will we see future titles in The ABC Murders series?

Alexandre Migeon: ABC cases will be solved at the end of the game but it doesn’t close the case on potential other Agatha Christie’s game adaptations.

What are your thoughts on the adventure game genre in this era especially with so many compelling games and remasters having arrived in the past year or so? How will this influence the longevity of The ABC Murders franchise?

Alexandre Migeon: Let’s hope we are asked to do a remake of ABC in 15 years as many players request remakes of classic adventure hits J. I don’t know if it will be the case as I lost the key of my time- traveling machine, but we hope to already give a good experience and fun for 2016 to the budding detectives.

From a developer perspective, What is your personal take on the differences between backwards compatibility feature offered by the PS4 and Xbox One? Sony is obviously charging for this feature whereas Xbox One is providing it for free.

Alexandre Migeon: Being gamers ourselves, we would love to see real full backward compatibility for every brand. Microsoft is trying hard to improve the brand image since the start of the Xbox One. Let’s hope backward compatibility will be soon available for most of the fantastic 360 games launched this last decade and that the hard work will be appreciated by gamers.

"We really hope that players will enjoy the game through the story, the characters, the dialogs and all the elements we hid in the game to add re-playability value."

What are your thoughts on the Xbox One’s eSRAM? Many developers think it’s a massive bottleneck. Do you think in an alternate vision, Microsoft could have opted for a better solution than eSRAM?

Alexandre Migeon: This hardware choice can be a challenge especially for engine developers. It’s one of the reasons we used the Unity engine, so it could give us the opportunity to focus on mainly on the game.

What resolution and FPS does the PS4 and X1 version of the game run at?

Alexandre Migeon: Both versions are at 1080p and 30 fps with an enabled vertical synchronization. This feature gives the game a fluid feeling.

Is there anything else you want to tell us before we let you go?

Alexandre Migeon: We really hope that players will enjoy the game through the story, the characters, the dialogs and all the elements we hid in the game to add re-playability value.

Backwards compatibility will continue to remain a major issue for all kinds of console fans, especially as the generations roll on. However, the approaches being taken are pretty different when you look at Sony, which introduced PS2 emulation on the PS4 months ago and also PlayStation Now for PS3 games, and Microsoft, which offers backwards compatibility for Xbox 360 games as a free feature on the console.

GamingBolt spoke to Alexandre Migeon, project manager for Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders, for his take on the same. “Being gamers ourselves, we would love to see real full backward compatibility for every brand. Microsoft is trying hard to improve the brand image since the start of the Xbox One. Let’s hope backward compatibility will be soon available for most of the fantastic 360 games launched this last decade and that the hard work will be appreciated by gamers.”

What are your thoughts on backwards compatibility? Should it be a paid service or offered for free? Let us know in the comments.

• 1. Development
• 2. Story
• 3. Gameplay
• 4. Characters

Development

An official announcement took place on January 7, 2016. Two weeks later, Microids announced a new official trailer to Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders. Officially titled the Pre-order trailer the video was meant to show people just how they would be solving the murders contained in the game. In addition to these videos, Microids released a number of behind the scenes videos that were geared towards showing people how the company developed the game. The videos also shed light on the mechanics and the modes that make up the title.

It was originally slated for release in early February of 2016 but it was eventually pushed back until February 23, 2016.

Story

Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders features the same story that was in the popular book. In the game, the private detective Hercule Poirot will find himself up against a mysterious opponent who goes by the name of “ABC”. This particular killer is good at what he or she does and quite smart. That will challenge the detective in ways he hasn’t been before.

Gameplay

In Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders the player takes on the role of the famous Hercule Poirot in a 3rd person perspective adventure game. As the developers have pointed out, Poirot is not someone who is going to be running or jumping in order to catch the killer. This is a man who tends to try and outthink his adversary and may be able to catch them simply by having them in the same room at the right time. One of the key aspects of the gameplay then, is called the Brain Mode. This mode centers heavily on the character using his “little grey cells” which is a direct homage to the character in the books who often referred to this turn of phrase. When using this mode, players will identify different clues that were surrounding a particular body and attempt to answer a number of questions that include but are not limited to the time of death.

Another mode that is used when investigating a murder is called the Summary Mode. This particular mode is supposed to embody the detective’s penchant for psychological observation. This means that the character will actually be able to deduce a number of things just by the way one character or another reacts to comments or questions. The developers have shown off one video where a woman is being interviewed about an apparent male murder victim. The detective notices the woman is sad, after being given a couple of different choices to answer relatively the same question. This leads right into the investigation mechanism. This isn’t much different from other games of this kind and is even used in other adventure games where investigating isn’t the key goal such as The Walking Dead from Telltale Games. This particular game play mechanism offers the player a number of different ways to approach a conversation. If a witness or suspect has just announced they were in a fight, Poirot can either decided to be somewhat antagonistic, or just curious as to what happened. In other situations, the player can choose to have the detective attempt to empathize with the character. The game has several turning points that will help you deduce who the ABC killer is when all is said and done.

Not all of the investigating is done by interviewing people or simply hovering a cursor over something that is found at the crime scene. There is also a puzzle solving aspect of the game that is needed in order for the detective to go down the right path. The developers have said there are more than 15 puzzles total in the game. Puzzle solving isn’t the central aspect of Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders but it does appear to play an important part in finding the right kind of clue and discovering who is doing the murders. Some of the puzzles will focus on having the player manipulate a kind of mechanism while other puzzles will be based on the player’s observations from earlier in the game. By doing this, the developer has said it is attempting to bring the true feel of being a detective to the game.

Characters

The main character in the game is the Belgian private detective Hercule Poirot. This is a man who relies on his wits and his experience. He does not believe that detective work requires someone to get down on their hands and knees in the dirt. Another of the characters that might turn out to be a top suspect in the murders is a man by the name of Franklin Clarke. Clarke is a supremely confident man who has recently turned his amorous attention towards his deceased brother’s personal assistant. He’s described as a big fellow with a tanned face. A.B. Cust is a tall man who is somewhat socially awkward. His odd mannerisms have led to the attention of many other characters in the story.

Sir C. Clarke was the third victim of the ABC killer. The rich former doctor used to enjoy long walks around the grounds of his estate. This apparently made him a target for the murderer. Donald Fraser has landed on Poirot’s radar as one of the prime suspects. The young Scotsman’s beloved wife has gone missing and there are many who believe Fraser is the one who made her disappear. Elizabeth Barnard is presumed to be another victim of the ABC killer. The 23 year old was outgoing and friendly and was engaged to Donald Fraser when she went missing.

James Harold Japp is a police detective that attempts to work alongside Poirot despite the two men having investigative approaches that sometimes clash. Poirot feels as though Japp misses too much and talks too loudly. There are other characters in the game that the company has said will only be discovered by finishing the game.

Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game

Complete Agatha Christie – The ABC Murders with the help of this HD video walkthrough and game guide.

Agatha Christie – The ABC Murders has been adapted from the Agatha Christie novel. The players takes on the role of the famous detective, Hercule Poirot who needs to resolve deadly puzzles and explore the city to find potential clues, as the players find themselves against an unknown person who only goes by the name of ‘ABC’.

Agatha Christie – The ABC Murders is now available for PS4, Xbox One and PC. The game is published by Microïds and developed by Artefacts Studio.

Check out the video walkthrough of Agatha Christie – The ABC Murders below and let us know if you have any questions in the comments section below. For video game guides, tips and wikis, check out our gaming portal here.

Announced earlier this month, Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders got its first official trailer earlier this week and it goes a long way towards showing us the secrets to how to catch yourself a killer. The video shows off the unique art style in the game, as well as just how you are going to be doing your investigating. The player steps into the shoes of Agatha Christie’s popular Hercule Poirot as he attempts to go through a number of witnesses, knowing that one of them is likely the criminal.

The video shows that the player needs to be able to look through a number of different scenes in order to find clues. Sometimes these clues will be plenty easy to find and other times it appears as though they are quite well hidden and will need a keen eye. There will also be a number of puzzles that will need to be solved in order to gather several different clues. Along the with this first official video, Microids and Kalypso Media released a statement detailing just why they decided to make this game.

“Recognised in the Guinness World Book of Records as the most successful novelist of all time, Agatha Christie specialized in locked room thrillers and classic whodunit mysteries. Her 66 novels, 154 short stories and 19 plays have been translated worldwide into over 50 languages. And Then There Were None, Death on the Nile and Murder on the Orient Express are just some of the many titles that have been adapted for film and TV,” Kalypso Media stated. The companies said that Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders will be available on Steam on February 4 and on the Xbox One and PS4 on February 5. Those who preorder the Steam version will be able to get a 20 percent discount.

It appears Kalypso Media and French publisher Microids think neither the PS4 nor the Xbox One have quite enough mystery themed games on their platforms. The two companies announced a partnership earlier this week in order to bring Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders to the current generation consoles, as well as the PC starting on February 4. The story is reportedly adapted from the book by the same name and will allow players to take on the role of the much loved fictional detective Hercule Poirot.

The game will be a point and click adventure game that will have players interviewing witnesses and trying to figure out who the murderer is in this particular story. This isn’t actually the first time Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders has made it into the video game world. The title was released on the Nintendo DS back in 2009, but it’s likely that this version is quite a bit different.

There are of course, different developers attached to the game for one thing. Microids appears to be putting together a brand new game. There is of course the realization that this is being made for current generation consoles and the PC, rather than a handheld. That alone ought to add some content and power to the production of the game. Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders will be available on the PC, PS4 and Xbox One starting February 4, 2016.