The Tales of Detective Toasty

Home Screen
Load a game
CG 1
Talking to characters
Point and Click
AI Assistant (Powered by GPT)
CG 2
Location Switch
Dead Body (SPOILER)

Inspiration

The Tales of Detective Toasty draws deep inspiration from visual novels like Persona and Ghost Trick and we wanted to play homage to our childhood games through the fusion of art, music, narrative, and technology. Our goal was to explore the possibilities of AI within game development. We used AI to create detailed character sprites, immersive backgrounds, and engaging slide art. This approach allows players to engage deeply with the game's characters, navigating through dialogues and piecing together clues in a captivating murder mystery that feels personal and expansive. By enriching the narrative in this way, we invite players into Detective Toasty’s charming yet suspense-filled world.

What It Does

In The Tales of Detective Toasty, players step into the shoes of the famous detective Toasty, trapped on a boat with four suspects in a gripping AI-powered murder mystery. The game challenges you to investigate suspects, explore various rooms, and piece together the story through your interactions. Your AI-powered assistant enhances these interactions by providing dynamic dialogue, ensuring that each playthrough is unique. We aim to expand the game with more chapters and further develop inventory systems and crime scene investigations.

How We Built It

Our project was crafted using Ren'py, a Python-based visual novel engine, and Python. We wrote our scripts from scratch, given Ren'py’s niche adoption. Integration of the ChatGPT API allowed us to develop a custom AI assistant that adapts dialogues based on player's question, enhancing the storytelling as it is trained on the world of Detective Toasty. Visual elements were created using Dall-E and refined with Procreate, while Superimpose helped in adding transparent backgrounds to sprites. The auditory landscape was enriched with music and effects sourced from YouTube, and the UI was designed with Canva.

Challenges We Ran Into

Our main challenge was adjusting the ChatGPT prompts to ensure the AI-generated dialogues fit seamlessly within our narrative, maintaining consistency and advancing the plot effectively. Being our first hackathon, we also faced a steep learning curve with tools like ChatGPT and other OpenAI utilities and learning about the functionalities of Ren'Py and debugging. We struggled with learning character design transitions and refining our artwork, teaching us valuable lessons through trial and error. Furthermore, we had difficulties with character placement, sizing, and overall UI so we had to learn all the components on how to solve this issue and learn an entirely new framework from scratch.

Accomplishments That We’re Proud Of

Participating in our first hackathon and pushing the boundaries of interactive storytelling has been rewarding. We are proud of our teamwork and the gameplay experience we've managed to create, and we're excited about the future of our game development journey.

What We Learned

This project sharpened our skills in game development under tight deadlines and understanding of the balance required between storytelling and coding in game design. It also improved our collaborative abilities within a team setting.

What’s Next for The Tales of Detective Toasty

Looking ahead, we plan to make the gameplay experience better by introducing more complex story arcs, deeper AI interactions, and advanced game mechanics to enhance the unpredictability and engagement of the mystery. Planned features include:

Dynamic Inventory System: An inventory that updates with both scripted and AI-generated evidence.
Interactive GPT for Character Dialogues: Enhancing character interactions with AI support to foster a unique and dynamic player experience.
Expanded Storyline: Introducing additional layers and mysteries to the game to deepen the narrative and player involvement.
and more... :D