Rory Scherer said he was stuck in a work environment much like the movie "Office Space," having a case of the "Mondays" when the idea came to him for the interactive online movie "Mystery at Mansfield Manor."
Following his intuition, Rory went back to college to get an MBA and learn how to put together a product. After graduation, he put his business plan for the project in motion and went to work creating the interactive movie.
Scherer describes "Mystery at Mansfield Manor" as a combination of the board game Clue and the "Choose Your Own Adventure" book series.
He said he has had trouble explaining the concept to people because some people will see it only as a movie. Others, he said, will picture only a video game. Really, he said, it can only be described as both.
"It is a movie, and it is a game - it's a combination of the two. It's a 'choose your own adventure' movie," Scherer said.
To play the movie, users go to MysteryAtMansfieldManor.com. There, users can see an introduction to the interactive movie, along with a trailer and dossiers of suspects before deciding to purchase the experience for $7.99 Canadian, which amounts to $7.22 USD.
With that purchase, players get 96 hours, or four days, of access to the full Web site, where they will be able to watch the full movie, making decisions to turn the plot and attempt to solve the mystery.
Scherer said the mystery itself is fairly easy to solve, from what he has heard from customers. He said he put in two false leads, for a total of three suspects that players follow up on to solve the case.
Although the interactive adventure has had success since launching last month, Scherer said not every step of his journey from business plan to site launch was easy.
"Every stage of the game for me was another mountain to climb," he said, "I don't have any connections to Hollywood, any production studios or anyone in the entertainment industry - I was doing this all on my own."
Scherer said he had pitched the idea to several companies, but after the companies' continued requests for a prototype, he figured if he could make a prototype on his own, he might as well try to do the whole project on his own.
"You can't rely on anyone else; just do it yourself and you'll accomplish what you set out to," Scherer said.
One major obstacle that came up after deciding to take it on himself was the budget. Scherer said if he could change one thing about the movie, he would have raised more money.
"We had a really small budget, and you'll notice that when you watch my movie compared to other movies; none of the actors are recognized actors, they're all struggling artists," Scherer said.
One such artist is Christian Gallant, who signed on to play the rookie detective helping out the main detective in the movie. Gallant said when he first met Scherer, he was a little skeptical.
"[I thought] this is a guy who needs a big meal and a solid night's rest," Gallant said. "When we first met, he told me 'this project couldn't fail, because it's never been done.'-á Rory has dedication and a vision. I believe these are two components necessary for success."
Impressed by Scherer's vision and following his curiosity, Gallant decided to work on the project.
"There was a door for opportunity, and I wanted to see what was inside," Gallant said. "The idea of interactive media is such a foreign concept compared to watching television in a dark room that most want to experience it."
Gallant said he hopes the site has continued success. He also said he believes Scherer's vision has been the start of a media that could easily expand.
"Rory's vision deserves to be rewarded with a high hit number online. I also see this as the start of a growing trend in film business. Interactive movies hold possibilities for anyone interested in venturing in it."
Scherer said he also has high hopes for the project.
"I would love to franchise the detective and make him as popular as Columbo," Scherer said.
Beyond that, he said he can see two possibilities for the future of interactive films.
"One, I'd like to make a DVD version with a lot more interactive features," Scherer said. "Two, I don't think you could make interactive films theatrically because of such a large audience, but you could sort of make these smaller private theaters, where you could have small groups of maybe 10 people and they'd go through it like a team, and work their way through the adventure."
Gallant said technology is continually giving new opportunities to artists who want to share their ideas with an easily accessible audience, and this interactive movie is just the beginning.
"Technology has provided limitless possibilities for the future of interactive media," Gallant said, "Technology has made it easier for artists to access the media. Artists should be using every weapon they have to battle for the survival of their vision.-á Technology is nothing short of a positive influence."
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