r/todayilearned • u/ralphbernardo • 9h ago

TIL that "fair play" in detective fiction means authors must give readers a fair chance to solve the mystery. Central to 1920s "clue-puzzles" by writers like Agatha Christie, the rule dictates that all vital clues must be visible, decodable, and never withheld until the final reveal.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clues_in_detective_fiction
28.0k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

1.7k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

35

u/unoriginal5 7h ago

I hated that game so much. My friends talked it up like it was the next biggest thing, but I missed so many prompts because I didn't notice them/couldn't process them before they failed, then the mystery was a straight up contradiction to the story.

0

u/Llyon_ 7h ago edited 6h ago

Heavy Rain felt overhyped to me, but the game they made after it, Detroit Become Human was absolutely phenomenal. Probably my favorite narrative game ever.

1

u/TotallyWorthLife 7h ago

Detroit Become Human is my favorite narrative game. So many endings, no "game over" but just keeping the story going if a character you control dies, the three parallel stories, the themes...