Methods: The Detective Competition News

Small plot inconsistencies fix. Updated Chinese version to reflect these changes.
Details below (spoilers).

Chapter 14: Roel now says that she is able to tell Honor apart from Red July. This is more consistent with her own method and how Honor's method works. It's also less confusing considering the conceit of the chapter (The detectives are pretending not to know Honor was acting as Red July — if Roel can't actually tell Honor from Red July, then it unnecessarily complicates the situation even more). This change also helps foreshadow the events of the Sixth Stage.
Chapter 23: 772's alternate theory about the method of death had a big flaw that some reviews of the game have touched on. Namely, you can't choke yourself to death, much less cut off your own head, for the simple reason that you would lose consciousness before you died. I've changed it so that now he suggests a simpler and more reasonable "hanging" explanation, where gravity does the work of slicing off the victim's head rather than the victim themselves.

Fixed inconsistency in ranking screen — Mellie mentions Nell was at the Third Floor after the first round of Stage One, but Nell appeared higher in the ranks, which meant she would be on the Fourth Floor. She has since been moved down to Rank 26 in Stage One.

Updated to latest Ren'Py version which should fix errors caused by rollback.

New Methods extra content The Illusion Murders is now available, free for everyone who owns the full game!

- 5 new chapters
- 20 minutes of new music
- One new interview
- Two news articles

Unlocking the new chapters requires playing through Chapter 100 (or replaying it. You can use the skip button to get through it quickly). Once you see the credits roll, the first Illusion Murders chapter should unlock.

Alternatively, you can unlock all of them at once by using the "unlock chapters" button in the options menu.

Anyone who owns the soundtrack will also be getting the new tracks as a free update as well!

Stay tuned for news about even more Methods extra content in the future!

— LockedOn.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Motives is finally announced! It's been super awkward to dance around whether I was making a sequel to Methods after very obviously teasing a sequel at the end of Methods.

Motives was planned even before I started working on adapting the novel into a visual novel, but it was only a vague idea at that time. I was happy with just leaving Methods where it ended, if I felt it wasn't worth my time to make the sequel. But since there is so much interest in Methods, I think it's definitely worth it.

What I have planned for Motives is actually pretty difficult on every level imaginable, and I wonder if I can pull it off... but the challenge of it makes it all the more exciting!

I probably won't be able to work on it for some time, so extra content here and there — like The Illusion Murders — will have to do. The extra content is important because, although some characters from Methods will return, quite a lot of them won't. Without these extra stories, some of those characters would not have a chance to be explored further.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

An extra story featuring Detective Red July — "The Illusion Murders" has been announced! Five new chapters tell an exciting mystery story set in Red July's past that explores the nature of an impossible crime.

Why is this a free update to the game and not paid DLC?

I have nothing against paid DLC or DLC in general. Personally I think the price of the game is totally justified with the amount of content already in it.

The reason it's a free update is... laziness on my part. It's simply easier for me to update the base game instead of setting up a whole separate DLC page and coding the game so that the DLC shows up in the base game when you buy it. Can you tell I don't like coding that much??

Thanks to my laziness, you get to enjoy free extra content!

Why is Red July getting a featured story and not everyone's favorite character, Detective Eastman?

I keep a pretty close eye on which characters are popular in the Methods fanbase. The decision to make the story about about Red July was partially based on that, but mostly because I had a story I wanted to tell with her, about this optical illusion serial killer case that I'd very briefly mentioned in a Twitter DM many months ago.

I thought it would be hilarious to actually deliver a full story based on an offhand remark I made while answering a random question on Twitter. But I also found it an interesting enough concept for a killer, and Red July has character flaws that are fun to explore.

So, three factors: Meaningful story to tell, significant character, and a fan favorite. Sorry, but Detective Eastman strikes out on all three counts there! But I would say having a meaningful story is the most important factor for me, and being a fan favorite is the least important. Because you never know what character could turn into a fan favorite provided I gave them more attention!

How will I access the extra story in the game?

The Illusion Murders chapters will be accessible from the chapters menu, just like all the other chapters, after completing Chapter 100 and the credits roll. You will need to go through Chapter 100 again (you can skip through it) to unlock them. Alternatively, you can use the "unlock all chapters" option.

When will The Illusion Murders be released?

I don't like to give out specific release dates, but I will say that it's currently a high priority and a lot of it is already finished, so hopefully soon.

I hope you're looking forward to it!