To Kill A Black Swan
| To Kill A Black Swan | |
|---|---|
 Cover | |
| Developer(s) | Marcel Weyers |
| Publisher(s) | Marcel Weyers |
| Engine | Ren'Py |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux |
| Release date(s) |
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| Genre(s) | visual novel |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Distribution | Download |
To Kill A Black Swan (sometimes: TKABS) is a free utsuge mystery visual novel developed and published by Marcel Weyers, an author and translator. The game was released on June 25, 2014 for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux as part of the 2014 Indie Game Development Contest. The game is losely based on To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and features similar themes to Weyers' earlier work This Is Where I Want To Die.
Gameplay & Design
The player simply reads through the story. In contrast to This Is Where I Want To Die, which was a so-called kinetic novel, the player can make decisions at certain points to influence the dialog. Playing as the detective, the player can interrogate subjects and move on a map to discover new locations and find clues. In the end, the player has to identify the killer and their reasons. The game uses silhouettes as characters and blurry black and white backgrounds. The main menus design is inspired by the book cover of To Kill A Mockingbird. Music and sound effects support the game's atmosphere.
Plot
A detective remembers a certain crime case called The Black Swan Case; a man was killed and the detective had to find out why and who the killer is. He interrogated the wife of the killed man, the cleaner in his mansion, his best friend, a friend of his wife, and a fellow yoga course participant. In order to find the culprit, he visited certain places in the city and collected clues. In the end, he had to identify the murderer. It turned out that his wife killed her husband out of hatred, because he was actually a transgender woman. The message of the game is stopping ignorance, hate, and transphobia.
Characters
- The Detective is the unnamed protagonist who investigates in the murder case.
- Audrey is the grieving wife of the victim.
- Sarah is a friend of Audrey and a rich girl.
- Cain is the cleaner in Audrey's mansion. He is obsessed with Audrey.
- Ellen is a yoga course attendant and a friend of the victim.
- Rob is the best friend of the victim. He owns a bar in town.
- The Black Swan is the victim.
Development and translations
The game was developed with Ren'Py, an engine for visual novels. The story and characters were developed by Marcel Weyers. The music was created by Marcel Weyers as well. The cover art was designed by Torsten Sohrmann. Backgrounds, character art, and sound effects were take from free sources and edited by Marcel Weyers. The game was created in less than a month for a contest. A trailer was released on June 22, 2014.[1] The game was originally written in English and was translated into German by Weyers himself. It was later translated into Polish by Damian K. and is currently being translated into Dutch by Visualnovels.nl. The game is the second installment of an untitled series, the first being This Is Where I Want To Die.
Soundtrack
The official soundtrack was released in June 2014 and includes nine tracks at a total length of 7:25 minutes.[2] On July 8, 2014, the soundtrack was also released on Bandcamp.[3]
- Colors [0:54]
- Dusk [0:33]
- Murder [1:04]
- Self-Composure [0:43]
- Sins [0:42]
- Black Swan [1:06]
- Zenith [0:19]
- Skin And Bones [1:03]
- Obsessions [0:57]
Reception
The game was nominated for the 2014 Best Ofs by VNs Now! in the category "Best Drama". Also, Weyers himself was nominated for the game in the category "Most Improved Writer".[4]
References
- ↑ "To Kill A Black Swan TRAILER". YouTube. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
- ↑ "Shop". Retrieved April 25, 2015.
- ↑ "This Is Where I Want To Die". Bandcamp. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
- ↑ "Now Presenting the Nominations for the 2014 Best Ofs!". Retrieved April 25, 2015.
External links
- Official website
- To Kill A Black Swan at The Visual Novel Database