Independent game developer Masala Games, founded by Electronic Arts and Pixar alumni Shalin Shodhan is planning to launch its new mystery adventure game, Detective Dotson. The game, which features a version of contemporary India, will be presented at the Future Games Show Summer Showcase 2024.
In the game, players take on the role of Dotson, a detective navigating various mysteries. The game allows players to explore, use disguises, and solve mysteries using an in-game clue board, similar to Minecraft style.
A new gameplay trailer has been released, and the game is available for wishlist on its Steam store page, with a demo currently accessible. In the demo, players investigate the mystery surrounding Detective Dotson’s father’s death, pursuing criminals, gathering clues, crafting disguises, surveilling enemies, and recruiting team members. The full game, featuring additional episodes, is expected later this year reported ABP Live.
Developed in Unity, Detective Dotson includes controller support and an original soundtrack created in collaboration with Nikhil Rao of Indian Ocean, a band known for Indian fusion rock.
At the Future Games Show, hosts Roger Clark (Arthur Morgan in Red Dead Redemption 2) and Britt Baron (Tifa in FFVII Rebirth and Justine in Netflix’s GLOW) appeared as pixel art versions of themselves to introduce the trailer.
Shalin Shodhan, Founder and CEO of Masala Games, said, “We always like to make pixel art versions of the creators that work with us — it’s our way of saying ‘thank you’. Future Games Show gave us the opportunity to take this a step further by letting us drop the show presenters into our Indian street-side set. When we found out it was Red Dead Redemption 2’s Roger Clark and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s Britt Baron, we were ecstatic to have them decked up in Dotson-ified avatars. We produced the whole segment in 4 days in Unreal Engine.”
During the launch, a story was played out using Roger and Britt. It begins with Britt’s sudden disappearance, and Roger leaving the stage to find her. They reappear Dotson-style pixel art cartoon versions of themselves in the Indian mohalla setting of Detective Dotson. Britt is seen following a wedding procession dressed in a fuchsia ghagra and wedding jewellery, while Roger is portrayed as a roadside Romeo at a tea stall. Together, they introduce the game, with Roger wondering how they will return to their human forms.