Judge
Overview
Judge is an interactive puzzle-solving novel set in the fictional dystopian 1980s nation of The New Republic of Chiu. Players step into the shoes of Yao Bang, a government investigator serving the Committee of Justice.
Narrative themes lean on dystopian and totalitarian thought, inspired by Orwell's 1984 and Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem. I translated those ideas into mechanics the player performs rather than reads.
Contributions
- Refined iteration on a previous investigation prototype.
- Narrative enhancement: deeper branching and dossier writing.
- In-game computer system redesign: GUI plus console hacking.
- Real-time progression: evidence evolves as the shift continues.
Gameplay Loop
Investigation loop overview
The shift
Every case is a shift at the Committee desk. Files arrive, the clock runs, and the player must read, cross-reference, and commit to a verdict before the day ends. The mechanics carry the moral weight, not the text.
Hack email (left) · Cross-reference evidence (right)
Read · connect
Players hack a suspect's email to extract threads, then cross-reference those threads against dossiers already on the desk. The mechanics are simple; the judgments are not.
Submit evidence: verdict window
Commit the verdict
Submission is final. The player stamps the dossier knowing the file they picked becomes the state's version of the truth. Complicity is built into the interface.
Desk Interactions
Computer interface, GUI
01 · Computer interface
A simplified GUI handles navigation while a console handles email "hacking." I added it after playtests showed the original text-only interface was too opaque.
Office manual, diegetic help
02 · Office manual
A diegetic manual lives on the desk, a discreet onramp for players who need help without breaking the investigator fiction.
Board, evidence workspace
03 · The board
Players print, drag, and annotate documents before submission. The physicality reinforces the investigative loop and turns reading into acting.
Tutorial Design
Tutorial progression (left) · Email interface (right)
Day one on the job
The teaching should feel like day one on the job, not a tooltip. Players understand the core loop and mechanics in a seamless, diegetic manner. It walks them step by step through examining files, working the board, and submitting evidence.
Evidence submission, annotated walkthrough
Annotated walkthrough
Playtests revealed difficulty grasping the investigation workflow. A guided first shift runs the player through each mechanic in the order they'd discover it naturally. No menus, no overlays, just work.