A vintage postcard of Azenhas do Mar, Portugal — one of the traces left for the players to find
One of the traces left for the players to find.

I built it like I'd build anything else: 17 separate specs, one per feature, the same process I'd use for a client, for a weekend with 12 people in it.

The harder half of the production wasn't code. AI translated every clue so the game read the same in French, English, and Portuguese. It helped me find a cook and plan a menu for 12 people over a long weekend. It helped me write 12 distinct characters, each biased to read the same evidence differently, so the arguments at the table were never an accident.

Nobody outside that villa will ever use any of this. I don't think that's a reason to build it carelessly.