Meet Your Maker: Emilie, Detective Box // Interview

My latest Meet Your Maker features Emilie Bernier O’Donnell, the founder and CEO of Detective Box. She is an entrepreneur who loves games so much that she has created several of her own. French and Irish, she grew up in the French Alps, where her mission to get people off their smartphones began. In the interview, Emilie discusses her inspiration behind Woodlock University, appearing on the French version of Dragon’s Den and plans for the future.

(Meet Your Maker is an interview series featuring creators of puzzle and mystery games and experiences from across the globe. We aim to shine a spotlight on both established creators and those who are just setting out on their journey. Stay tuned for more interviews coming soon.)

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What is Detective Box, and how did it come about?

I decided to launch Detective Box after a trip to the United States, where I discovered Hunt A Killer. It was already huge there, and I loved the concept of receiving a murder mystery case file at home to solve. But I wanted to take it further—to write my own stories, add more gameplay, include multimedia elements, and bring greater depth to the experience. At the time, nothing like this existed in France or even in Europe, so that’s how Detective Box was born.

Did discovering Hunt A Killer send you down a rabbit hole of playing lots of similar games?

I actually avoided it. I didn’t want to be overly influenced by what was already out there—I really wanted to create something new and fresh. Of course, since then, quite a few other murder mystery games have been released, and I’ve tried some just to get a sense of their gameplay. But I tend not to dive too deeply into other storylines. Our goal is to keep things original, so we focus our energy on developing new concepts and ideas instead of spending too much time with existing ones.

How do you go from no experience in the market to anticipating exactly what the audience wants or needs?

For me, it came down to creating the game I personally wished existed. I asked myself: What would the perfect murder mystery game look like? What would the ideal experience feel like? And then I set out to build exactly that—the kind of game I would have loved someone else to create.

Do you have a big team?

We are currently a team of five, supported by excellent partners in areas like marketing and product development. We intentionally keep the team small and tight-knit because it allows us to be more agile, to move quickly, and to stay effective.

What sets Detective Box apart from the other detective games on the market?

I believe we go above and beyond what others offer. We put a lot of care into getting the level of difficulty just right and ensuring that every puzzle fits coherently within the storyline. On top of that, our app elevates the immersion to another level—it delivers videos and audio, allows players to explore crime scenes, and brings the whole experience to life, all from the comfort of their living room.

Your first game is Woodlock University, in which players investigate a murder on campus. Where did the idea come from?

I was really inspired by stories about Yale’s secret societies—how George Bush was a member, and I believe Nixon as well. The whole power dynamic of elite schools, the influence within those circles, and the secrecy surrounding them fascinated me. I also drew inspiration from films like National Treasure, which I found really fun. I wanted to explore the world of elites and build something that felt like a treasure hunt.

Is there a reason you chose a US university setting, rather than, say, a French one?

My intention was always to make the game easily translatable. From the start, I knew I wanted to launch in the UK and the US. And honestly, I think many of us are naturally more intrigued by US stories—Hollywood has influenced us, and these world-renowned universities have produced so many of the world’s elites. At one point, I considered setting the game at Oxford, but I realized it would be too complicated to make it feel authentic. I had spent time at Cornell, Berkeley, and Princeton, so I felt more confident drawing from my knowledge of Ivy League schools.

Can you talk a little about the development process?

Developing a game takes a lot of time—around a year and a half per title. We start by writing the storyline, then ensure the puzzles integrate logically. This is followed by extensive testing. For Woodlock University, I tested the game with around 120 people to make sure everything worked and the difficulty was right. Playtesting is extremely time-consuming. Each test takes about 15 hours—longer when it’s a prototype because explanations slow things down. And every time something doesn’t work, we have to revise and test again with a new group to ensure the changes make sense. It’s a lot of repetition, but that’s the craft—and part of what makes it beautiful.

Then there’s the production side: finding filming locations, developing the app, and creating all the physical elements. At that time, the company was just me. It took about two years from founding the business to writing the storylines and selling the first Woodlock University boxes.

Woodlock University is highly interactive, allowing you to interview suspects, search locations, and use a police database. How much work goes into developing these elements, and what unique challenges do they pose?

We wanted everything to look and feel as realistic as possible. That meant a lot of research into real-life documents—what they look like, how they’re formatted. Of course, we can’t use real brands or actual official documents, so we had to find the right balance between legal restrictions and realism. Details like the type of paper, its size, texture, color, whether it’s folded, and how each document fits into the storyline all matter. The goal is that when players open the box, every element feels like it has a history, not like it just came off a factory line. That’s one of the biggest challenges—and also one of the most fun parts of the work.

How difficult is it to translate a pre-existing game into another language?

It’s actually more complicated than we expected. Some puzzles are language-dependent. For example, Woodlock University has a crossword puzzle that ties into the investigation. Translating it meant rethinking the entire structure, since the clues referenced other parts of the case. And then there’s casting—we originally filmed in French, so we had to find UK actors to re-shoot the roles. So yes, it’s quite a bit of work.

Did you make any significant changes to the story and/or gameplay based on feedback from your French players?

Not with Woodlock University, because it was designed with English-speaking audiences in mind from the start. But with some of our upcoming investigations, which are more French- and Europe-centric, we’ll definitely need to adapt elements so they make sense for international players. That’s one of this year’s challenges.

So far, Woodlock University is the only title released in English. Do you have plans to translate more of your existing catalogue?

Definitely. Our goal is to translate all of them, though some are easier than others, so we’re still deciding the order. Right now, we’re working on three new investigations that are being designed from the outset in both French and English. We’ll be filming them in both languages simultaneously, so we can release them at the same time in France and the UK. That’s planned for 2026.

You pitched Detective Box on Who Wants to Be My Partner, the French version of Dragon’s Den, and successfully won funding. How did your time on the show impact the business?

It was a lot of fun and gave us great exposure. In the end, I chose not to take the funding because the term sheet didn’t fit our stage of growth. It was structured more like a Series A deal, while we were really at a pre-seed stage. There were too many strings attached. Luckily, we had other excellent investors in France who helped us develop our storylines and release new investigations. Still, the show was watched by about 2 million people, which brought huge visibility to Detective Box and allowed people to connect with the story of how I worked alone for two years before releasing Woodlock University.

How do you relax when you aren’t working?

I’m a big hiker—I grew up in the Alps, so it’s in my blood. I also recently bought a van, so my girlfriend and I travel around Europe living the van life. I play squash, and I love backpacking and spending time outdoors in general. And of course, I love a good mystery, so you can often find me in a cinema theatre!

Any final words?

I really hope Detective Box becomes as successful in the UK as it has in France. People here love what we do, and we aim to keep delivering the very best games possible. Just as I once wished someone would create the perfect investigation game, I hope we’ll continue to meet that ambition again and again.

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Thank you!

I’m so grateful to Emilie for taking the time to talk to me. As I am sure you can tell from the interview, she is extremely busy running Detective Box and has a slate of new games currently in development. I enjoyed Woodlock University a lot, so I will be keeping an eye out for future cases to solve. If you haven’t played Woodlock University and you are a fan of detective games, I would highly recommend checking it out.

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