This topic will serve as an ongoing journal of my experience with this game. Maybe it will help developers spot things they could still improve, if not now than maybe someday in the future, in a directors cut for instance.

At the beginning of the game I had to select my Values which are Hedonism, Stimulation, Self-Direction, Universalism, Benevolence, Tradition, Conformity, Security, Power and Achievement. Each of these gives me a certain number of points for each of the attributes grouped under the following 4 symbols:

Flame: Determination, Authority, Sincerity, Indifference, Impatience, Specifics, Selfishness, Target
Light Bulb: Inspiration, Spontaneity, Optimism, Verbosity, Energy, Expression, Atmosphere, Intuition
Puzzle Piece: Rules, Calm, Loneliness, Caution, Logic, Facts, Discretion, Accuracy
Heart: Empathy, Listening, Trust, Compassion, Amicability, Service, Pacifism, Education

The values are important for the Profession paths one can take. It is possible to gain points during conversations, depending on the dialogue choice, by using abilities, manipulating things in cyberspace etc. Sadly this isn't explained until a later point in the game when the relevant codex entries become available telling me how this Value system works. Up to that point all I can see is how the bars are filling up, how many points for each dialogue choice I earn towards one of the five symbols and which Profession path I can select. Since there are several which would be relevant during the first case, but it's not easy to pick the correct dialogue which only hints at the Values one will receive points in, makes it difficult to play the way my character would.

This is the first problem with this game. I briefly mentioned the Codex which contains useful information about all sorts of things. Some entries need to be unlocked as they are and some got additional entries to unlock as one goes. Right from the start the Codex starts filling up with information so there's lots to read. Many don't contain anything that's relevant at the time they unlock. For instance right at the start I learn about Rendan and Sensing. I don't need this information at this point and when it would become useful knowledge it could be to late. I will only hint at the situation where I find would have been the perfect point to introduce this information to me so as not to spoil anyone reading this. In the very first case there is an NPC which could have been saved had I read information about Sensing before. I did not because there were already so many that there was enough to read for the next half hour.

Other entries are also present right from the start, before I even know where I am and what's going on. For instance in the Organization tab there is an entry for Blue Whales Interactive. This entry isn't irrelevant but could have been added when I discover the butler system. Reflecting about recent events during one of the first scenes, there is mention of a character Ken Zhou. My character tells me what game and team he was playing for and some entries were added for me to read. She must have known about this event beforehand so she could reflect about it while standing at the window. I myself on the other hand could have learned about this incident when turning on my characters holographic television set.

Not only do I learn about the event at the wrong time, I get the codex entries which at this point in time is completely irrelevant to me, without rhyme or reason. The best order would be to have me turn on the television to hear about it in the cut scene, to receive two bits of information in the Codex, then allow my character to maybe return to the window to reflect on this news and what it could mean for her. Sadly I can't go back to anything as once I made my choices all I can do is move on. It wouldn't hurt to be able to get back to the window to explore other options. If I were able to maybe opportunities to gain more Value points could be locked but points in each of the attributes could be raised which determines how events and dialogues will play out and which additional options become available to me.

Summary in a nutshell The information I gain early on is way to much, it is introduced at points where it isn't relevant, there is no connection to it at the point in time it is received, so ultimately timing and pacing feels completely off. It takes lots of time to read all the information which for many could get boring fast so they skip over and might miss something important. The Values system and how it works, influences on dialogues and choice of profession one can start out with, should be explained in the character creation screen. Maybe by way of a short Codex of its own or by allowing to click on each of the Value symbols to learn more about the many attributes each holds.

When I get up the next thing I wish to write about the experience of solving the first case and what I noticed.

The first case in Virtualium was interesting and a little disappointing at the same time. The theme of the game hinted at way more graphic scenes which I expected to encounter during my investigation. It would be interesting and probably fun to learn about the reason for it.

Not to spoil anything I will only go into the technical part of the investigation process. Deduction is a straightforward process. Once enough data has been gathered it is possible to click on an available conclusion which over the duration of the investigation will unlock more information and data until one is ready to solve the case.

It didn't seem to be possible to collect all available data for most of the paths opening up for deduction but one. The conclusion I have drawn may not have been correct but there was no going back. Once a decision has been made and new evidence comes up the only way is forward. This isn't much of a problem because eventually I was able to solve the first part of this case to my clients satisfaction. There's a hint based on a locked conclusion that there's a second part to this case. After leaving Virutalium I wasn't so sure that there will be a second part.

When there is enough information to decide on a path to open up it mustn't necessarily be the correct one. NPC could have lied during questioning which could take the investigation in the wrong direction by selecting the wrong path. This isn't the way it works here of course, all clues will hint to the correct answer. After the decision has been made it isn't possible to unlock further information on any of the points which might lead to a different conclusion.

Here is how I think the investigation and deduction process could work in a more natural way. It should be possible to keep investigating to gather more information on a given point while progressing with the investigation. If new information has been uncovered pointing in a different direction a new path could be unlocked or a conclusion changed. This could lead to more questions for possible suspects and witnesses, which will eventually lead to another set of clues setting the investigation on the right path in case a wrong decision has been made.

One problem I have with the Deduction as it is right now is that there are a number of locked paths. Above the lock symbol there is information that says Gather more informations to unlock this path When hovering over it I can still see what the conclusion is going to be. For instance Meeting with the clan leader. This should not be the case and I should be unable to know this when there is lack of data to unlock that path by drawing this particular conclusion.

Keeping it the way it is should probably add an incentive to replay the game, to follow new paths and to ask different questions during the investigation. If that is the case I can't be sure at this point whether I would want to go back for a replay as there is a lack of incentive for me. The cases might play out a little different based on the Profession and personality might alter the world if I did, but that's hardly enough for me to go on a second run. Once the cases are solved there is no more mystery.

This is why I wish cases could be more dynamic, allowing me to gather clues, to alter paths during an investigation, to have more questions and dialogues and to be able to maybe earn some points towards unlocking a different Career path, which would again alter the way a case can be investigated. If there was a mechanic that would allow to respec, maybe if there also was a way to revisit a closed case or leave an active case and come back later on, it would be perfect. Maybe there are new clients to be had also. Some of which in one way or the other are connected to any of the old cases which would make the process of solving them even more interesting to me.

Up to now so far it wasn't a bad experience but it could be way more than it is. I also feel that where I am at this point in time, it all started to feel somewhat rushed, and I really can't think why that is the case. Once I am finished I will add another post to summarize what else I found.

These are good points, and I somewhat agree with most of them as I felt similarly. Luckily I read everything as it was presented to me, but there is a LOT to read.

What makes it worse IMO is that while some entries are presented as nice and concise encyclopedia entries, many more are presented as the text transcript of a talk show or something along those lines. Personally I found the talk-show format mostly painful to read through, making it more difficult to find the useful nuggets of information. I understand that this format may make sense for stuff marked as "gossip" etc., but IMO there are too many presented in this format, and while some are entertaining, most are more effort than entertainment.


Additionally I have a somewhat inverted issue to this: namely, there are things that one would expect the character to already know, yet these are presented only just at the time they are used, and often this is done in a way that makes it seem like my character knows all about this, while I (the player) have no information.

I'm mainly talking about the various gamedec tools and programs that we supposedly have at out disposal. One would expect there to be a detailed set of entries, one for each specific gamedec program or tool, and for this to be available immediately upon starting a new character. Not suddenly opened up at some point when my character decides "hey, there are two tools I can use here, choose one".... Because that makes no sense. If I'm a gamedec, then I will know what tools I have. Imagine an FPS game suddenly letting you know that "hey, you actually have grenades" - and this happening about two levels in, just before the game decides you need to throw one.

Speaking of the gamedec stuff - the TV talk show/underground blod format for the descriptions for these tools felt really out of place. If I am a "professional" gamedec, and supposedly have been so for some time, surely I would have better reference manuals than some random hacker's dark web blog... It's pretty jarring...

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and views, squid!

This is what in the end was a huge negative on my list. There are things we should have intimate knowledge about, basic tools, yet this is withheld from us, information is scattered all over the place. The way we learn about things, darkweb is a perfect cue here, this is how I would have structured it:

Access the web, get in contact with hacker, have some back and forth, gain their trust, learn that there are tools you could use. How they are used I would embed in a short hands-on tutorial. The other way would be to have my players work from the basic tools at their disposal which they should know, an entry when they first get to use it in the Codex, to build on that and figure things out. Whatever they learn from this trial and error will be noted but failure will be mainly inconsequential.

Much of what we learn about people, I think this talk show format is a great choice, for everything else a more streamlined Codex would be a better choice. Gossip/World, could be put to better use if there was a way to interact with that information in a meaningful way. Gossip could lead to people who may be able to help, maybe they got some clues or turn out to be they can provide more information about some other person. Maybe it's pointing to Virtualia places you been to already and will want to go back to them.

Gossip allows us to learn some more about the background of more prominent clients. There might be news about them, News also being a separate category ... what is this client up to, how can we approach them, how do they tick, that's what we can learn from it.

The worst about scattering information across about 10 menus and again fractured into several sub-menus, which forces you to dig around in the hopes of finding something that's actually useful. It makes using the Codices a tedious process with little return but wasted hours reading random junk. Why?!

On top of all this there are words written in italics and some are highlighted in purple color. Not to spoil anything there is an entry from right in the beginning called "Liners - Skyliners", where you will find the word poleis being highlighted. When hovering over it, you can't click on it of course, you get to read the same text that's already being presented in the main entry. In the entry of our first client, in one of the sub-headings, there is his name in italics we could hover over, again a smallish window popping up, this time with information from another codex entry. This is beyond useless the way it is so remove it!

Here is how I would do it: 3 Menus tops, one for Realium, one for Virtualium, one for Characters. While in Realium my players are able to discover information by looking out the window, watching the news, reading papers. Instead of adding a bunch of entries there will be one entry for relevant information, which, as my players progress through the game, will expand until it's completed.

When I first hear about a character, a portrait will be added. The more I learn the more information and entries can be uncovered and connected to that person. Instead of having several new sub-menus, everything will unfold within that one window, keywords either bold, highlighted, will allow to connect pieces of information in a useful way. If a player discovers something that's not relevant they are able to discard it. If there is something catching their interest, they are then able to hop on the web to look things up, eventually adding something new.

Deep Thinking about a person or thing would mean to my players they can actively connect whatever it is they found. Slowly they will learn about the world, about how things work, about history, tools and everything else. If they are interested in entertainment, they can read that but without being swamped with useless stuff, just fluff basically. The whole world would be a source of wonder full of possibilities to interact and explore. Not walls of text, nothing to say against that per say, they got their place, as long as it helps the story along, acts as medium to build the world in the player's minds and introduces them to their reality, job, people.

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I can say this much, the experience of playing it was more tedious than fun, but I liked it. It's not one of those games I will come back or hold fond memories of, a once only game if you will in the state it is right now. It is difficult for me to give a recommendation or a very high rating for it, for numerous reasons which I have outlined here, but still a game to pick up on a sale for someone who loves reading. Graphics are outstanding, writing? Could be better could be worse. All in all it would need lots of polish to turn it into what it could be even for a small team of developers to which I would like to say the following.

Make everything in this game meaningful and don't use the Codex as a mere dump of information! There are myriads of ways to immerse us, have us do what our job description says: Detection, Virtuala and Realia, all one entity, an endless source of entertainment, information, things to do and interact with! This mustn't mean you would have to turn this into one giant sandbox. Just look at Disco Elysium and other games how they've done it and try to emulate what worked best.

It would be lots of work but even if you'd do half of what's been suggested already it would turn Gamedec into so much more than it is right now. Maybe you will work on it, maybe there's going to be DLC changing things for the better, who knows? I would gladly be willing to pay for it because this game turned out to me to be a rough diamond deserving to receive its polish to make it shine. That's of course on you to go the extra mile or simply fix things and move on to your next project, using what you learned from this one and do better. Either way, best of luck to you!

Pretty much agree with most of your points here.

I would just add that it's a bit strange that codex entries just happen to "appear" based on conversation choices (in some cases). If it's the case that we're getting this information via some kind of wireless network connection, then this should be at least mentioned somewhere.

Ideally it would have been better if the main character perhaps had a specific tool - e.g. a smart-phone or similar - or perhaps everyone has their brain wired or something - but again this needs to be mentioned somewhere - but ideally this would be something we could perhaps search through ourselves instead of getting it dumped out in the codex for us.

I do appreciate that getting data in codex form is often preferable to having it presented in the tiny dialogue window - so for large entries especially, and things like emails, this makes sense. E.g. when we get emails from someone's walktel, for example, or other times when the main character goes "hey, I've looked up this thing on the web and here it is...". But still, it feels a little force-fed for what's supposed to be a detective game, and could have been made - as you state - more interactive.

I also think there should be a distinction between stuff that we should know - or could easily look up - such as definitions and explanations for things like Walktels etc. - and stuff that we should have to hunt for.

I too actually enjoyed this game quite thoroughly - played it through twice now, although both times I was still missing around 5 or so people according to the codex, so I'd like to know what I missed and how. The second time I managed to open up more endings for me, and discovered more clues in some places, but somehow missed others I got the first time (due to choices I imagine). It didn't help that some of the ending slides mentioned the wrong things (pretty sure I sided with the Trolls this time around and not the clan for example).

Overall a good game though, and it looks like there's more stuff coming up according to the roadmap, so will play this again in a few months once more updates have come out.