A narrative platform for mobile mysteries and dramas
background
unrd (now known as suspects: Mobile Detective) is a narrative platform featuring crime, horror and romance mysteries and dramas. as creative director, i oversaw the creation of 20 original ips across narrative and production, product strategy & feature and our bespoke storytelling software unwritten.
The concept
each story gives you access to a fictional character’s phone. you can read their messages, emails, and watch their stories & video calls. Once you start, messages arrive in real time as a story plays out over a series of days.
game play
players can predict what they think will happen next in order to win coins. Whether that’s who the killer is, whether they think a character is telling the truth, or if they’ll have an affair…
production
players could watch video calls between characters, each one was filmed on mobile and directed so it felt as realistic as possible.
production
During the story, characters post ‘insta-style’ stories which were loosely scripted for authenticity. these were shot entirely on mobile to bring each story to life visually.
production
Each story contained a cinematic ending, shot vertically and often revealed a big twist TO PUSH PEOPLE INTO THE NEXT EPISODE OR mystery.
emails
players could also explore character’s emails given even more insight into their lives. We created over 30 fictional brands so that emails felt and looked realistic inside each character’s phone.
app design
I also oversaw all design, animations and visual effects for the game across 5 years, working closely with designers, developers and product managers.
SYNOPSIS
I also wrote all the synopsis for the app. Each one was rewritten and tested numerous times to see which one performed best. I worked closely with DATA ANd product teams to a/b test these.
