Murder by Pixels

***Murder by Pixels*** is a detective series created by Ryan Nurse and Animatron Studios. Originally conceived sometime around 2009, it has been in development hell ever since, and went through numerous revisions before finally debuting in February 2015 as part of Project 20:15.

The series is set in the fictional city of Jacksonville, Missouri, and follows geeky teenagers Sapphire Keating and Harry Payne as they help police lieutenant Matthew Hawke solve various murders. The series contains multiple references to geek culture and Internet culture. It is also considered one of Nurse's most progressive projects: notably, it was the first to feature an LGBT character, and is still the only project to feature an LGBT protagonist.

## Synopsis

Like most detective series, each instalment of *Murder by Pixels* centres around a single murder or series of murders that Harry, Sapphire, and Lt. Hawke must solve. The series also follows Sapphire's personal life as she recovers from anorexia and depression.

## Characters

* Sapphire Keating: The nominal main character of the series. Having been struggling with depression, she is now on the road to recovery, but is still fairly introverted. She has very good observational skills, and often comes up with the key to solving each murder.
* Harry Payne: Sapphire's best friend, who generally takes the lead in their investigations. He is highly intelligent. He watches a lot of anime.
* Lt. Matthew Hawke: An officer of the Jacksonville Police Department who supervises Harry and Sapphire's detective work. Though he is often confused by their cultural references and in-jokes, he admires their crime-solving abilities and is generally supportive of them.
* Tara Evans-Keating: Sapphire's mother, an Irish immigrant. Having raised Sapphire by herself for much of the girl's life, she is extremely caring and supportive of her daughter.
* Michael Evans: Tara's husband, and Sapphire's stepfather. He and Sapphire get along well.
* Tiffany Evans: Michael's daughter, and Sapphire's stepsister. She is also good friends with Sapphire.
* Leilani: A Hawaiian woman who works at the JVPD and performs forensic analysis for Lt. Hawke's team.
* Carrie-Ann Williams: The middle-aged owner of a diner that Harry and Sapphire frequent.
* Amber Black: The lead singer of a local rock band that Sapphire is a fan of.
* Jesse: Sapphire's genderfluid love interest.

## Trivia

* Michael was initially going to have another, younger daughter called Rebecca, who antagonized Sapphire. Rebecca was written out in 2014 as she "contributed nothing to the storyline and didn't need to be there".
* *Murder by Pixels* was or is:
	+ the first of Nurse's projects to feature an LGBT character
	+ the first, and so far only project to feature an LGBT character as a central protagonist
	+ the first of Nurse's projects to include a non-heterosexual relationship
	+ the first, and so far only project to include a non-binary character (Jesse, who is genderfluid)
	+ the first project to have music written specifically for it ("Shattered" and "This Is The Life", both written by Nurse himself)
* Amber's band was originally named "Crystal Empire", after a heavy metal band Nurse had been part of on the music-based MMO "Popmundo". The name was changed after an episode of *My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic* featured a kingdom called the "Crystal Empire"; the band is currently unnamed.