Your job is to find out what happened.
Something has happened in a town, and the people there cannot agree on the truth. So they call an Offline. That is you.
You arrive, talk to the people who were there, and name the person responsible. You have one hour.
Cases come to you.
Your desk is a map of the country. Each town that needs an Offline is marked on the map, and letters from the Offlines arrive on your desk.
Open a case to read what happened. When you are ready, take the case. The clock does not start until you begin.
- Letters
- The map
- Taking a case
Read what is known.
Every case starts with the incident file: what happened, who it happened to, where, and when. This is everything the town agrees on.
The truth of what happened was set before you arrived. Nothing you say can change it. Your job is to find it.
- The incident
- A fixed truth
Meet the people who were there.
The board shows everyone involved. As people tell you how they know each other, lines appear between them: who is family, who works together, and who has history.
In Santa Cruz, Graham Whitlock is in the middle of the board. He is the man who died. There are seven people you can talk to: two families, a best man, a caterer, and a surfer who found the body.
- The board
- Relationships
- Availability
Ask in your own words.
Click a face to start talking. You type your own questions, the way you would ask a real person. There are no menus and no lists of choices.
An AI speaks for each person, and it knows only what that person knows: their day, their secrets, their opinion of everyone else. They answer in their own voice.
Graham was the kind of man who could make a room colder without raising his voice, honey.
- Free conversation
- Every voice is different
YouGood morning, Bev. The families asked me to look into what happened to Graham. Can I ask you a few things while you cook?
BevOf course, honey, pull up a chair, but keep your elbows out of the crab cakes, because I’ve got three hundred and sixty of them going into the oven and nobody investigates well on an empty stomach. …
You… You fed everyone at the rehearsal dinner. What did you notice about the people at that table?
BevHoney, a rehearsal dinner tells you more than a deposition, especially when people are drinking wine that costs more than my first van. I was working the food, not sitting at their table, but everybody in the dining room heard Tess and Graham shouting in the kitchen, and Tess told him, “You’re stealing it, and you can’t even do that honestly.” …
When stories don't match, you are close.
People leave things out. Some of them lie. When two people tell you different versions of the same moment, one of them is protecting something.
Finding out what they are protecting, and who, is most of the job.
- Contradictions
- Lies
YouHello Theo. I am the Offline the families called, and I am sorry about Graham. Can you tell me about last night, after the fire pit?
Theo… After the fire pit broke up, I stayed on the deck for a while … when I went up to bed at about one, I looked out and saw Kai shouting at Graham at the railing. You’re starting with the right question, which already puts you ahead of most people in this house …
YouKai told me something different. He says when he left by the side gate at one, you were walking across the grass toward Graham. How does that fit with going up to bed?
TheoIt doesn’t fit, because Kai is lying. I went up to bed at about one, looked out the window, and saw Kai shouting at Graham at the railing … You’re being thorough, I’ll give you that …
YouTheo told me he went up to bed at one and saw you shouting at Graham at the railing. I am not sure that is right. When you left the lawn, who else was out there?
KaiI was gone by one. I wasn’t shouting at Graham, and I’m not going to sort out Theo’s story for you.
YouI am not asking you to sort it out. Just one fact. When you went out the side gate at one, where was Theo?
KaiTheo was walking across the dark grass toward Graham, who was standing alone at the railing. That’s all I saw.
Push too hard and people stop talking.
People react to how you treat them. Press someone hard and they get nervous. You can see it on their face and in how they answer.
Push further and they shut down. They will not talk to you for a while. Come back later, or ask someone else.
- Getting nervous
- Shutting down
YouBev heard you tell Graham he was stealing it. A few hours later he was dead below the lawn. I need to know where you were after the party.
TessThat’s an accusation wearing a question mark. Bev hears plenty, but I’m not giving you my night in pieces because you waved her name at me.
YouI am not trying to trap you. But you found the price cut, and you shouted at the man who died. I still need to know where you were after the party.
TessI said I’m not giving you my night. You’ve asked twice and heard the answer twice, so take your questions to someone who enjoys being bullied. I’m done.
Everyone has their own day.
People go to work, run errands, and go home. Each person's chat shows their day: when you can reach them and when they are away.
If someone is away, come back later. Plan who to talk to first, because some people will not be around for long.
- Schedules
- Away
- Planning
Sometimes they come to you.
What you do in town gets noticed. Sometimes a person reaches out to you first, because of something you asked or someone you talked to.
You can answer them or ignore them. What they want to tell you is not always what they say first.
- People reach out
What they tell you becomes evidence.
When someone tells you something that matters to the case, it is recorded as evidence. You see it happen in the conversation.
You can also save any line from any conversation to your notes.
- Evidence
- Notes
Your board, your theory.
Pin evidence to the people it points at. Write sticky notes. Move things around until it makes sense to you.
Nobody tells you whether you are right. The board is only for you.
- Pinned evidence
- Sticky notes
The clock does not stop for you.
One real hour is one day in town, from eight in the morning to ten at night. The light changes as the day goes on.
People leave. Before someone goes for the day, you get a warning that it is your last chance to talk to them. If you need a break, pause, and the town waits.
- One hour
- Last chance
- Pause
Name one person.
When you are ready, or when the day ends, you make your accusation. Choose who did it. Choose the evidence that proves it. Write your statement to the town council.
You get one accusation per case.
- The accusation
- Your statement
The town decides.
The council reads your case and gives its verdict. A case can end four ways.
- Culprit convicted: you named the culprit and proved it.
- Right name, no proof: the council could not convict on your evidence.
- Wrong suspect: the council rejected your case.
- Innocent convicted: your case condemned an innocent. The real culprit walks free.
Then you can break the seal on the case file and read the whole truth: who did it, why, and what you missed.
- The verdict
- The truth
Every town is different.
Every case is a new town with new people, a new incident, and its own look. A karaoke bar in Koreatown. A taverna in Astoria. A wedding in Santa Cruz.
- New towns
- New people
Take your first case.
The Offlines runs in a web browser on a computer, in a window at least 1280 pixels wide. There is nothing to download. Typing is enough, and you can use your voice if you prefer.
Create an account to join the Offlines.