<s>
The	B-Application
Trace	I-Application
(	O
officially	O
The	B-Application
Trace	I-Application
:	O
Murder	O
Mystery	O
Game	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
2015	O
dark	O
immersive	O
murder	O
mystery	O
adventure	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
British	O
developer	O
Relentless	O
Software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
this	O
game	O
,	O
the	O
developers	O
worked	O
on	O
the	O
Blue	B-Application
Toad	I-Application
Murder	I-Application
Files	I-Application
series	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
thematically	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
subject	O
matter	O
of	O
this	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Relentless	O
Software	O
CEO	O
Andrew	O
Eades	O
explained	O
that	O
while	O
Blue	B-Application
Toad	I-Application
Murder	I-Application
Files	I-Application
was	O
originally	O
conceived	O
as	O
a	O
PlayStation	O
3	O
DualShock	O
game	O
,	O
it	O
translated	O
well	O
to	O
a	O
touch	O
pad	O
interface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Becoming	O
the	O
No.1	O
app	O
on	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
demonstrated	O
to	O
the	O
company	O
a	O
market	O
for	O
puzzle	O
adventure	O
murder	O
mystery	O
games	O
on	O
these	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
developers	O
wanted	O
to	O
swap	O
that	O
game	O
's	O
cartoony	O
family-targeted	O
style	O
for	O
something	O
more	O
gritty	O
,	O
dramatic	O
,	O
and	O
adult	O
;	O
therefore	O
the	O
franchise	O
was	O
split	O
in	O
two	O
,	O
becoming	O
Murder	O
Files	O
:	O
The	O
Enigma	O
Express	O
and	O
The	B-Application
Trace	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Eades	O
explained	O
"	O
The	B-Application
Trace	I-Application
's	O
origins	O
can	O
be	O
found	O
in	O
a	O
prototype	O
from	O
2010	O
called	O
Blue	O
Toad	O
Crime	O
Scenes	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
not	O
the	O
basis	O
of	O
The	B-Application
Trace	I-Application
,	O
but	O
it	O
provided	O
the	O
team	O
with	O
an	O
opportunity	O
to	O
"	O
create	O
a	O
really	O
tactile	O
investigation-based	O
game	O
"	O
and	O
see	O
future	O
potential	O
in	O
the	O
genre	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Trace	I-Application
described	O
the	O
formulation	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
narrative	O
:	O
"	O
Initially	O
we	O
worked	O
out	O
a	O
story	O
per	O
scene	O
but	O
found	O
it	O
was	O
challenging	O
to	O
connect	O
them	O
as	O
a	O
whole	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
end	O
our	O
writer	O
David	B-Application
Varela	I-Application
wrote	O
the	O
whole	O
story	O
independently	O
of	O
scenes	O
and	O
gameplay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Trace	I-Application
uses	O
Apple	O
's	O
Metal	B-Library
,	O
and	O
Gina	O
Nelson	O
designed	O
much	O
of	O
the	O
character	O
concept	O
art	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
David	B-Application
Varela	I-Application
,	O
who	O
"	O
wrote	O
the	O
story	O
and	O
script	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
in-character	O
blog	O
posts	O
published	O
in	O
the	O
run-up	O
to	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
launch	O
"	O
said	O
that	O
Pocketgamer	O
described	O
the	O
game	O
as	O
"	O
The	O
Room	O
meets	O
Phoenix	B-Application
Wright	I-Application
meets	O
CSI	O
"	O
,	O
commenting	O
that	O
this	O
is	O
"	O
pretty	O
much	O
what	O
we	O
were	O
aiming	O
for	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
can	O
use	O
a	O
forensic	O
flashlight	O
to	O
discover	O
traces	O
of	O
blood	O
on	O
some	O
and	O
rotate	O
them	O
360	O
degrees	O
,	O
similar	O
to	O
later	O
games	O
in	O
the	O
Ace	B-Application
Attorney	I-Application
franchise	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
dependent	O
on	O
one	O
's	O
"	O
style	O
of	O
play	O
and	O
deductive	O
ability	O
"	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Trace	I-Application
states	O
a	O
ballpark	O
figure	O
of	O
3	O
hours	O
of	O
gameplay	O
on	O
its	O
FAQ	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
also	O
does	O
not	O
have	O
any	O
fail-states	O
,	O
and	O
features	O
iCloud	B-Application
saving	O
to	O
allow	O
players	O
to	O
continue	O
on	O
different	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Pocket	O
Gamer	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
should	O
be	O
played	O
in	O
the	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Trace	I-Application
recommends	O
that	O
players	O
should	O
use	O
an	O
"	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
2	I-Operating_System
and	O
above	O
&	O
iPhone	B-Operating_System
4S	I-Operating_System
and	O
above	O
,	O
running	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
7	I-Operating_System
and	O
above	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
said	O
that	O
while	O
an	O
iPhone	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
is	O
acceptable	O
it	O
may	O
result	O
in	O
performance	O
issues	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
26	O
March	O
and	O
will	O
be	O
released	O
on	O
Android	B-Application
's	O
Google	B-Application
Play	I-Application
Store	I-Application
in	O
the	O
near	O
future	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
help	O
publicise	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Trace	I-Application
offered	O
two	O
tickets	O
to	O
an	O
Evening	O
of	O
Mystery	O
and	O
Murder	O
event	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Trace	I-Application
tweeted	O
on	O
2	O
April	O
"	O
To	O
everyone	O
asking	O
for	O
more	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
We	O
’ve	O
certainly	O
built	O
The	B-Application
Trace	I-Application
engine	O
with	O
that	O
in	O
mind.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
liked	O
the	O
well-written	O
logical	O
murder-mystery	O
plot	O
,	O
and	O
have	O
deemed	O
it	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
few	O
satisfying	O
iOS	B-Application
games	O
of	O
the	O
genre	O
along	O
with	O
Detective	O
Grimoire	O
and	O
the	O
Sherlock	B-Application
Holmes	I-Application
PC	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Guardian	O
listed	O
the	O
game	O
in	O
both	O
their	O
articles	O
20	O
best	O
iPhone	B-Operating_System
and	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
apps	O
and	O
games	O
this	O
week	O
(	O
on	O
30	O
March	O
2015	O
)	O
and	O
20	O
best	O
apps	O
and	O
games	O
for	O
April	O
,	O
describing	O
it	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
proper	O
murder-mystery	O
detective	O
game	O
 [ that ] 	O
sucks	O
you	O
in	O
"	O
despite	O
being	O
"	O
quite	O
short	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
an	O
engrossing	O
"	O
hard-boiled	O
detective	O
yarn	O
...	O
in	O
interactive	O
form	O
"	O
Mark	O
Brown	O
of	O
Pocket	O
Gamer	O
declared	O
it	O
"	O
The	O
best	O
iOS	B-Application
game	O
this	O
week	O
"	O
on	O
27	O
March	O
2015	O
,	O
commenting	O
that	O
while	O
it	O
was	O
not	O
"	O
massively	O
complicated	O
or	O
particularly	O
difficult	O
"	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
is	O
very	O
good	O
at	O
sucking	O
the	O
player	O
into	O
the	O
action	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
different	O
Pocket	O
Gamer	O
article	O
praised	O
its	O
ability	O
to	O
unpatronisingly	O
"	O
allow	O
the	O
player	O
to	O
untangl[e]	O
the	O
leads	O
and	O
establish	O
...	O
the	O
connections	O
"	O
all	O
on	O
their	O
own	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
making	O
them	O
"	O
the	O
Watson	O
to	O
the	O
protagonist	O
's	O
Sherlock	B-Application
"	O
,	O
deeming	O
the	O
game	O
"	O
pleasant	O
if	O
not	O
pulse-pounding	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Daily	O
Express	O
listed	O
the	O
game	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
five	O
best	O
new	O
iOS	B-Application
games	O
in	O
time	O
for	O
Easter	O
,	O
while	O
Apple	O
highlighted	O
the	O
game	O
in	O
its	O
Editors	O
Choice	O
section	O
in	O
March	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Arts	O
Desk	O
described	O
the	O
game	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
one-man	O
mashup	O
of	O
CSI	O
and	O
Columbo	O
"	O
with	O
"	O
simple	O
,	O
slightly	O
silly	O
"	O
cases	O
when	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
"	O
emotionally	O
wrung-through	O
gut	O
punches	O
"	O
of	O
True	O
Detective	O
and	O
Heavy	B-Application
Rain	I-Application
,	O
concluding	O
"	O
this	O
is	O
the	O
emotionally	O
light	O
and	O
intellectually	O
undemanding	O
videogame	O
equivalent	O
of	O
a	O
Murder	O
She	O
Wrote	O
or	O
Quincy	O
case	O
–	O
and	O
has	O
a	O
similarly	O
clichéd	O
and	O
homely	O
charm	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
concluded	O
"	O
the	O
truly	O
rewarding	O
moments	O
in	O
The	B-Application
Trace	I-Application
are	O
exploring	O
its	O
gorgeous	O
,	O
accessible	O
world	O
and	O
feeling	O
like	O
you	O
are	O
a	O
physical	O
part	O
of	O
it	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
