The Stargazer - Social Deduction Game

Overview: "The Stargazer’s Last Prophecy" is a live-action murder mystery game designed for 19 players. Set during a high-stakes book release party for a world-famous psychic, the project focuses on managing complex social dynamics, information asymmetry, and non-linear storytelling. By blending scripted event triggers with player-driven improvisation, the game explores themes of greed and deception behind a facade of the supernatural.

Narrative Design Goals:

Creating an Interconnected Social Web:

Developed 19 unique playable roles with interlocking backstories to ensure every player had a personal stake in the narrative.

Designed "Duo Roles" (e.g., Detective + Consultant) to foster immediate collaboration and "Chaos Roles" to provide necessary red herrings and mechanical friction.

Balancing Information Asymmetry:

Strategically distributed clues (e.g., the Doctor’s patient list vs. the Librarian’s discovery of the contract) so that the mystery could only be solved through active player communication and "trading" of secrets.

Utilized "sneaky activities" for specific roles to create visual suspiciousness, even for characters who were technically innocent of the murder.

Pacing through Event Triggers:

Engineered a rigid event timeline to transition the party from a social gathering to a high-tension investigation.

Integrated a "Seance" mechanic as a narrative pivot point to re-introduce the victim’s presence and refocus the group's objective.

Narrative Design Implementation:

The "Motivator" Mechanic (The Copyright Clause):

Rather than a simple crime of passion, the core conflict was built around a hidden legal document. This "material motive" provided a logical anchor for the investigation amidst the more "distracting" supernatural elements.

Environmental Narrative & Props:

Physical items, such as the "Sacred Stargazer" necklace and a specific poison bottle, served as mobile quest items.

The theft of the necklace by the "DJ Midnight" role served a dual purpose: providing a distraction and creating a secondary "sub-mystery" to keep players engaged.

Live Event Orchestration:

Managed a 3.5-hour live timeline, beginning with a scripted premonition and culminating in a democratic voting process.

The transition from the "Doctor's Pronouncement" to the "Protégée's Seance" allowed for a shift in game state, moving from discovery to active interrogation.

Emergent Chaos Management:

Designed roles like "The Baron" and "The Chef" to act as social catalysts, creating "funny distractions" and fights that prevented the "Detective" roles from solving the mystery too quickly, effectively acting as "human difficulty scaling."

Narrative Themes:

The Facade of the Occult: Using supernatural themes as a cover for corporate/financial greed.

Information Siloing: How social groups process truth when everyone holds a different piece of the puzzle.

Class & Reputation: The tension between the elite "Book Team" and the underpaid staff (DJ, Bartender, Butler).

Key Takeaways: This project showcases my ability to design and host large-scale, interactive narratives that rely on player agency. It demonstrates proficiency in systems design, live-event pacing, and character writing, proving that I can create engaging, coherent stories even when the "players" have total freedom to deviate from the script.