Suspect (video game)
Suspect is an interactive fiction video game designed by Dave Lebling and published by Infocom in 1984. It is the third and last murder mystery Infocom released. It was written in highly portable ZIL and released for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Apple II, Atari 8-bit family, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Kaypro II, Macintosh, and MS-DOS. It is Infocom's fifteenth game. Plot. The player's character is a reporter for the fictitious newspaper "The Washington Representative". Veronica Ashcroft-Wellman, a longtime friend and wealthy socialite, has sent an invitation to the annual Ashcroft Halloween  Ball, where Maryland's high society bluebloods rub elbows, network, and congratulate each other on their fortunes. The paper's editor suggests covering the party as a story, smelling an easy article that could either praise or mock the wealthy. Since it is a costume party, the player's character suits up in a rented cowboy outfit and moseys over to the bash. Many attendees wear masks, making it difficult to initially identify them. Not long into the party, however, Veronica is found dead—strangled with a very familiar-looking lariat, with a bullet from the costume's gunbelt lying  near the body for good measure. But the player stashed the rope in the closet earlier, and the bullet is missing from the back of the belt; anyone could have taken them! Nevertheless, the player is the prime suspect in Veronica's murder. A lot of snooping has to be done to identify the real killer. Release. "Suspect" included the following physical items in the package: Reception. Based on sales and market-share data, "Video" magazine listed the game seventh on its list of best selling video games in March 1985. "ANALOG Computing" praised "Suspect"s technical sophistication, packaging, and premise , but criticized the game's intrusive "dry humor" and cynical tone. The magazine concluded, "It is certainly complex, detailed and imaginative. I just wish it took itself a little more seriously, both as a game and an example of truly interactive fiction".