Saskatoon game developer Foolish Mortals releases Murder Most Misfortunate mystery

It starts with a gruesome murder but what happens nextis a matter of choice.

A new video game developed by Saskatoon company Foolish Mortals is a murder mystery that puts the detective work in the hands of the player.

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Lead developer Michael Long said Murder Most Misfortunate (MMM) isa "visual novel" with similarities to the game Clue but with more personality.

Solving the murder

"Throughout the game you make these choices about what you are going to do," said Long.

"You can explore around a bit, and then at the end you have to figure out, well, who committed the murder."

He said the company is made up of a small number of computer science graduates and students.

Long's passion for gaming came from watching his older brothers play when he was growing up.

"I, of course, wanted to be just like them and I saw these fantastic games and cool stories going on so I decided that's fun, I want to do that," said Long.

Company working on next project

The game was released on May 1 and costs about $5.

Long said it was hard to predict how well MMM would sell, making it difficult to know how much the company will have to invest in its next project.

"Most of us are doing this part time so it'll partially depend on how well it does, but I think we'll continue making games regardless of how well it sells, at least part-time," he said.