Agatha Christie: and Then There Were None - Development

Development

And Then There Were None was announced on February 3, 2005, as the first in a series of games based on novels by Agatha Christie. For the release, The Adventure Company collaborated with developer AWE Productions. Lee Sheldon was named Lead Designer and writer for the game, while Scott Nixon, from AWE Productions, was appointed Managing Director.

Several reasons led The Adventure Company to choose the novel And Then There Were None as the basis for the first game in its Agatha Christie series of games, in contrast to some of Christie's other novels involving famous detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. One reason was the immense popularity of the novel, and the added bonus a popular title would have in marketing the game. Also, the restricted setting of the island was appealing to the designers, as it allows the player more freedom of movement. Instead of artificial barriers impeding the player, the island is naturally barriered, so the setting is less linear than a larger setting would be.

One major obstacle in the development of And Then There Were None was gaining the approval of aspects of the game from Chorion, the company which owns the rights to Agatha Christie's works. The development team met with Mathew Prichard, Christie's grandson, and other members of Chorion. While protective of Christie's license, Chorion was quite open about changes to the plot, as long as they were within the "style" of Christie's novels. These included a change to the identity of the killer and the addition of a player character. Chorion also allowed a change to be made to the figurines at the table, one of which was removed for each person murdered. After being changed from 'niggers' to 'Indians' to 'soldiers boys' with subsequent publications of the novel And Then There Were None, Sheldon wanted to change them again for the game. He successfully renamed them 'sailor boys', to fit in with the boat moored on the island. Chorion did not accept all the changes proposed by the developers, rejecting the idea of a one-man submarine the player can operate as not being in the style and vein of Christie's work.

The survival of Vera and Lombard, and the change of the General's name from MacArthur to MacKenzie, were both used by Christie herself in a 1943 stage adaption of the novel.

The introduction of Patrick Narracott as the eleventh character on the island was a major plot change to And Then There Were None. One reason for Narracott's introduction was the developer's desire to explore a semi-romance between him and Vera Claythorne, an attractive young woman on the island. Another reason for Narracott's addition was that the developers wanted the player to connect to a more human character, rather than a nameless one.

The main concern designer Lee Sheldon had with the game was the emphasis placed on story and dialogue. Early on in the game's development, Sheldon had played around with the idea that the killer could change every time a player played the game. The idea of open-ended, modular gameplay was quickly discarded, as Sheldon thought it didn't pay homage to Christie's work, and it wouldn't have made sense. The orders of the murders then forced Sheldon down a linear path, and the numerous cut scenes, cinematics and long dialogues in the game were needed because the novel is composed largely of dialogue. Sheldon strived to make the puzzles a seamless part of the game's environment and plot, and hoped that they wouldn't seem tacked on simply for the sake of a puzzle.

The designers of And Then There Were None decided to leave the game in its original time period, in the lead up to World War II in the 1930s. Sheldon was firmly against updating the game to a modern time period, calling this "a futile attempt to attract an audience that really doesn't care anyway." One of the main attractions to the past for Sheldon was the ability to explore its culture and mores. The mansion in the game was researched using architecture books as references, and 30s Art Deco in general. Christie described the mansion in the novel as stark and modern, and this made Sheldon turn to the work of famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and in particular his house "Fallingwater".

And Then There Were None was shipped to North American stores on October 27, 2005. The game received an ESRB rating of Teen (13+). The Adventure Company announced on March 19, 2007, that And Then There Were None would be ported to the Wii console. This version of the game features an ability to spin the Wii Remote to turn safe handles, and the ability to unearth clues by imitating a digging action.