Red Herrings: an interactive murder mystery game

In this highly competitive world, critical thinking and problem-solving skills provide fundamental skills to be successful. Though traditional learning methods such as reading offer a great tool to enhance these skills further, implementing gamification in education, especially in the 21st century, has proven to not only develop these soft skills but also enhance an individual's creativity simultaneously. Hence, this project was created to explore how mystery-solving games contribute to critical thinking and problem-solving development. This project aims to design a mystery-solving game that challenges the players’ analytical and theoretical skills while also encouraging reading in a more engaging way. The game was developed with puzzles requiring logical deduction and pattern recognition. A feedback survey was conducted to assess players’ engagement and cognitive improvements. The findings proved that players demonstrated improved problem-solving skills after finishing the gameplay. Feedback suggests that interactive storytelling and created scenarios enhance learning outcomes. This study supports the use of gamified learning for critical thinking and problem-solving enhancement and suggests further exploration into educational game design.