Int. Undercity Laundromat - 2:15 AM
The body was discovered just past midnight. Hadn’t been there long, but of course the cops took their sweet time getting to the Undercity - had to stop for coffee and doughnuts. Self-styled ace detective Paige Morgan, on the other hand, was on the scene as soon as she heard. The incident appeared to be suicide, but she knew better. The victim, a man in his 40s, is hanging from a ceiling fan by still damp bed sheets. The body was swinging back and forth between a washer and dryer; someone had turned the fan on, presumably whoever discovered the corpse. Suicide isn’t uncommon in this city, even in the districts that could see the sun, but this is the fourth death in as many days. There was a pattern here and Paige was going to find it.
The laundromat is mostly a stark white thanks to the tiling and washers and dryers lining the walls, with two rows also on opposite sides of the center of the room. There is a door in the back, but it is closed. If you look closely, you can barely see some dark blue wallpaper adorning the walls, visible just above the stacks of appliances. The body hangs by the neck on the right center. The white ceiling fan and sheets are a contrast to the man’s dark suit, now covered in blood.
After shots of the interior, the camera zooms out through the glass exterior to show our protagonist walking toward the laundromat in a player controlled scene. There is a small crowd outside the entrance that begins to dissipate as the player gets closer. Upon nearing the building, the player automatically enters dialogue with the officer standing outside.
Ext. Undercity streets. There are puddles strewn about on the walkways, but it is not raining. Instead, the dark, gloomy atmosphere should communicate that the sun doesn’t reach this far down thanks to the cyberpunk metropolis’ vertical expansion. There are closed stores and apartment buildings around the laundromat, some dilapidated with nature taking over. This clearly used to be a decent place to live, but that was a very long time ago.
Officer: “Nothing to see here! Please go about your- oh, Christ, not you again. Will you please just let us do our jobs for once?”
Scene 1, Section 1
● Option A: “Micky! How's the wife and kids?”
○ (Officer #1) - Micky: “Oh they’re great! The little tyke’s growing up so fast- you know he’s gonna start walking soon then we’ll never be able to keep track of him! Why just yesterday- Hey! Don’t go changing the subject, you can’t butter me up, little miss.” Micky straightens up, more firmly blocking the entrance.
Dialogue continues in Section 2.
● Option B: “C’mon, we’ve done this song and dance so many times. We both know I always get my way.”
○ Micky: “Not this time, pal! Not. This. Time. You’ve been a pain in my ass for too long, and it stops right here, right now. What do you even think you’re gonna find in there that we can’t?” Micky goes from presenting authority to genuinely curious. Police training has drilled their twisted comradery into him, but at his core he still wants to do good.
Dialogue continues in Section 2.
● Option C: [Walk past him.]
○ Paige looks at the officer, tilting her head looking slightly annoyed. She sighs, looks down at her watch, smiles, and before she looks back up she turns invisible using a cloaking implant.
○ Micky: “Wha- Oh, not again! You can’t go in there! I’ll lose my job.” Under his breath. “Why do I even fucking bother.”
Continue to Scene 2, Section 1.
● Option D: “...”
○ Paige puts her hands in her jacket pockets. She stares at Micky, expressionless. The two look at each other in silence for a while, as the camera occasionally cuts to show the standoff from different angles. Eventually, Micky opens the door for Paige silently, never breaking eye contact.
Continue to Scene 2, Section 2.
Scene 1, Section 2
After choosing either option A or B, Paige leans to get a better look at the scene and we see two other police officers through the clear glass front of the laundromat. One is taking notes and examining the body, while the other is speaking to someone on their radio. We hear some chatter, but it’s barely audible and impossible to make out. Micky suddenly moves quickly into frame.
Micky: “Get a good look, ‘cus you’re not getting in there.”
The player is presented with two more dialogue options.
● Option A: [Convince him.]
○ Paige: “Look, we both know there’s something weird about these murders. And yes, they ARE murders. Why the hell else would the vic over there be covered in blood? Last I checked, hangings don’t create external wounds. Just let me figure out why, and I’ll be on my way. It’s a win-win.”
○ After a beat, Micky sighs and opens the door, saying: “I better not regret this.”
Continue to Scene 2, Section 2.
● Option B: [Bribe him.]
○ Paige: “Well, maybe this will… open some doors.” She starts out cocky, but as she puts her hands in her pockets she realizes she doesn’t have any cash on her, and pulls out some lint.
○ Micky laughs. “Oh yeah, real persuasive.” The player must then choose option A.
Scene 2, Section 1
As Paige is still invisible after choosing Option C, this section is skipped if any other dialogue was chosen.
Paige enters the laundromat, still invisible, with Micky searching around in a panic in the background. Without looking up from her notes, the officer examining the body sarcastically says: “Nice of you to join us, Miss Morgan.” Paige uncloaks, and without a beat responds: “Morning, Lieutenant Columbia. What are we looking at?” The cop on the radio glares at Paige, but says nothing.
If Dialogue other than C is chosen:
Paige enters the laundromat. In the background, another citizen approaches Micky. They are carrying a laundry basket and look shocked after noticing the body. We can see Micky attempt to calm them down, when the officer taking notes says: “Nice of you to join us, Miss Morgan. Micky give you any trouble?”
Paige responds: “Eh, the usual. He means well, but… you know. Anyway, what are we looking at?” The cop on the radio glares at Paige,but says nothing.
Scene 2, Section 2
The player is given control of Paige to walk around the laundromat as Lieutenant Columbia explains the situation with the body. The estimated time of death is around midnight, with the hanging occuring post-mortem. The real cause of death, just like the previous incidents, is due to the removal of an indeterminate implant. This time, an incision was made in the lower abdomen, no organs are missing but it’s clear something was attached internally that the victim needed to continue living. Without a proper autopsy and examination, however, we can’t tell what it was.
Walking around the scene, the player can examine various objects like washers and dryers as well as the back door. The player can find an open washer with water inside and still spilling out into a puddle below. This is where the murderer got the bed sheets to hang the body. If it’s examined, it can be brought up later in dialogue.
Once Columbia is finished explaining, the player can talk to her or examine the body. Speaking to the Lieutenant, the player is presented with two dialogue options, a third if the wet washer is examined.
● Option A: Paige: “Who discovered the body?”
○ Columbia: “The owner. They stepped out around 11:50 to grab some food at the convenience store nearby. When they came back at 12:05, well, they weren’t hungry anymore.
○ Paige: “That gives our culprit less than 15 minutes to knock the victim unconscious, perform a minor surgery, hang the body, and flee the scene. I don’t know about you, but I feel like that would take a lot longer.”
○ Columbia: “Agreed. But, it does line up with the other cases. Someone’s out here speedrunning serial killings.” The player can choose Option B or C after this.
● Option B: Paige: “I’m sure the answer is no, but any idea who the killer is?”
○ Columbia: “Negative. There were no witnesses - that we could find at least - and any security footage is conveniently missing the time of the murder. Pisses me off. Brass’ll probably write this off as a suicide. Again.”
○ Officer #3: “Because it is. You always see patterns where there are none, Lieutenant, and this civilian isn’t helping. She shouldn’t even be here, and there’s no grand conspiracy to unravel. Get over yourself.”
○ Paige, quietly to Columbia: “Oooh, we got a bad cop over here. Can I play good cop or is that more your purview?”
○ Columbia to Officer #3: “Ignore her." Back to Paige: "Any other questions?”
● Option C, only available if the player examined the washer: Paige: “Are those sheets still wet? Think I found where they came from.” Paige points towards the washer.
○ Columbia reaches up to touch the makeshift noose. Columbia: “Yup. Place was empty before the murder, so either the victim or the murderer was doing some laundry. We’ll check the machine’s transaction history, see if we can find who it leads back to. Nice work.”
Scene 2, Section 3
Upon examining the body, the player will be given various parts of the corpse to click on. However, after a short time passes or clicking on an interactable, the wound begins to bleed again. Paige and Columbia both look on in shock. Slowly, Paige reaches her hand toward the man’s limp wrist, and the controller faintly rumbles.
Paige: “Holy shit. Holy shit, he’s still alive!”
Columbia: “What the fu- Ryuki, get an ambulance down here now! Micky, get in here and help me perform first aid! Stand back, Morgan, this ain’t gonna be pretty.”
The camera zooms out again in front of the laundromat as the police rush to keep the man alive. Then, the camera fades to black.
Screenplay Format Writing Sample
This is a scene I wrote for a sci-fi narrative adventure game, similar to Telltell Game's style. In it, I wanted to give the player a few impactful choices, while always moving the overall plot forward. Since it's the opening of a game, I also wanted to make it something of a tutorial while also providing a hook to keep players invested. It includes descriptions of the plot and environments in which the scene takes place.