Sherlock Holmes (TV/GAME)
The experienced while watching Sherlock Holmes TV series and playing the game were totally different. The roles we played were different. In the TV series we were more like an audience just watching and observing how the story unfolds while in the game we became part of Sherlock Holmes team. Just before the start of the game Holmes was looking right at us breaking the wall between us as though we were really communicating with one another. Along the way we will receive a voice message from Holmes and Watson and it makes you feel like you are part of their team.
The pacing in the TV series was just nice like it went smoothly as compared to the game which was at times fast and slow. In the game we had to solve puzzles and it took me some time to solve it. It took me multiple times when I had to solve the train line map. Also, when the other characters popped up and we had to read the text it was a bit frustrating because the texts were too long. On the other hand, we can hear the timer ticking thus pressuring me even more. It feels like it was taking me a very long time to solve puzzles and reading the character statements. Knowing that this is a game and that you will rewarded more if you finished the game fast. It then depends on how good you are at solving the case. I felt the need to complete the case as soon as possible so at times I felt really impatient like I had no idea what I was reading and doing. Relating it back to the TV series Holmes is intelligent and a fast thinker unlike me. Thus, the timer gave me a sense of urgency to think fast and solve the crime as soon as possible like how Holmes is.
The characters in the game were very much alike in the TV series. In the TV series we know who Holmes and Watson are. Holmes is very much an eccentric person while Watson is Holmes sidekick. Since we already know how Holmes is like and when he appeared at the start of the game he started telling us how smelly we are. We knew that he won’t have anything nice to say to us.
The background music in the game was intense. The beat of the music was fast and eerie such that it makes your heartbeat race. It also makes you think something bad is about to happen. Since I had my earphones on the music pulls me into their “world” making me immersed deeply into the game. In the TV series the music was more subtle such that it just play with your emotions on the surface unlike the game.
Overall, the engagement between the TV series and game were different even though the structure/plot is the same. I felt that watching the show had my engagement better because I felt that telling me the story was easier to understand. Unlike, the game which could easily make me give up playing it although it was cool to be part of the investigation team.
