History VideoGame / BenJordanParanormalInvestigator

** Also in Case 4, one of the books on the bookshelf in the lobby is ''HouseOfLeaves'' by Mark Z. Danielewski. Later, a [[{{Foreshadowing}} door appears]] upstairs where there was no door before...

* ShoutOut: When they confront the ghost in Case 4 Ben says he was half-expecting a [[ChzoMythos skeleton with an apron and machete]].

** Yes Ben, by Case 8 you've been through a lot. Drink something to drown your sorrows for a little while. And something more. And something more...

''Ben Jordan: Paranormal Investigator'' is a series of eight indie [[AdventureGame point'n'click adventures]] by [[http://www.grundislavgames.com/ Francisco "Grundislav" Gonzalez]]. It details the adventures of the eponymous hero, a young man from Philadelphia, as he travels around the world solving supernatural crimes, each part being a separate case.

''Ben Jordan: Paranormal Investigator'' is a series of eight amateur [[AdventureGame point’n’click adventures]] by [[http://www.grundislavgames.com/ Francisco “Grundislav” Gonzalez]]. It details the adventures of the eponymous hero, a young man from Philadelphia, as he travels around the world solving supernatural crimes, each part being a separate case.

** [[spoiler: Zortherus]] is voiced by [[EdwynTiong Dan]] [[TheTrappedTrilogy McNeely]] in Case 8.

There is also a short film based on the series called ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPGSrfa0oD8 Ben Jordan: Le Château Macabre]]'' (revealed to have taken place after one of Case 8's possible endings), starring Francisco Gonzalez himself as Ben Jordan.

* DeadGuyJunior: In the [[spoiler:BabiesEverAfter ending]].

* TheMovie: The FanFilm ''Chateau Macabre''.

* TheRemake: Case 1 was later remade into the Deluxe Edition, which has better graphics, more puzzles, an extended storyline and voice acting. Done again with Case 2.

* ScheduleSlip: There was a four-year gap between the release dates of Case 7 and Case 8, the reason the Case 2 remake was done: while development of Case 8 stalled, Grundislav decided to remake another earlier episode rather than doing nothing. He also worked and some smaller adventure games.

* MultipleEndings: Case 3, Case 5 and Case 8.

* GenreSavvy: [[spoiler:Yamamoto]] is well aware that forensics aren't magic.

** The humorous secret ending of Case 8 is lifted straight from [[spoiler:SilentHill2: Ben finds a control room overseen by a dog and shouts "You! So all of this was your work!"]]

** Despite that the details about the siren are a bit wrong, the mermaid-figure is actually qutie a common interpretation.

* TownWithADarkSecret: Smailholm. [[spoiler:All of its inhabitants are witches]].

** Yes Ben, by Case 8 you've been through a lot. Drink something to drown your sorrows for a while. And something more. And something more...

** [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] and [[JustifiedTrope justified]] in Case 8-- apparently, [[spoiler: Percy]] has the ability to sway people's wills and has been doing so to help Ben on his adventures.

* BigBad: Kind of split between [[spoiler: Cardinal Genovese]], who is directly responsible for every paranormal danger Ben has had to confront, and Zortherus, a powerful strigoi with a close vendetta against Ben's family (though Ben only faces him once, and he mostly figures into the backstory).

* DoingInTheWizard: [[DoubleSubversion Double subverted.]] It appears that [[spoiler:Case 5]] is the only case without a supernatural element, but in Case 8, [[spoiler: Percy tells Ben that there ''was'' some supernatural activity he just wasn't aware of-- namely, the appearance of an [[{{Youkai}} Oni]] which helped Yamamoto put his evil plan together.]]

* GenreSavvy: [[spoiler: Yamamoto]] is well aware that forensics aren't magic.

* ScheduleSlip: There was a four-year gap between the release dates of Case 7 and Case 8, the reason the Case 2 remake was done: while development of Case 8 stalled, Grundislav decided to remake another earlier episode rather than doing nothing.
* ShaggyDogStory: [[spoiler: Turns out Ben shouldn’t have bothered with his last two cases.]]

** When Ben Jordan meets someone standing outside an apartment building in case 7, he asks if there's been a [[TheBlackwellSeries doorman strike.]]

** Try touching people for no reason in Case 8, and in one out of three possible messages the game will chastise you for acting like Hercrabbiness, who [[RunningGag whenever she plays these games, uses the "touch" icon on everything.]]

* SinisterMinister: [[spoiler: Cardinal Genovese]] and many of the [[spoiler:Knights of St. Anthony]] are members of the clergy.

** Use the "Touch" icon on a priest in case 8, and you'll get a message saying [[DeadBabyComedy "Shouldn't that be the other way around?"]]

** Try touching people for no reason in Case 8, and in one out of three possible messages the game will chastise you for acting like Hercrabbiness.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To SierraEntertainment adventure games; but one might also think that it bears a lot from the first ''GabrielKnight'' game.

* TheUnFavourite: Even though it's not really that bad, Ben's relationship with his parents still has strong vibes of this.

* MultipleEndings: Case 3 and Case 8.

* ScheduleSlip: The final episode is taking a really long time to be made - and it's the reason the Case 2 remake was done: while development of Case 8 stalled, Grundislav decided to remake another earlier episode rather than doing nothing.

* MultipleEndings: Case 3. Also, the creator announced that the yet unfinished, final Case 8 will have multiple endings.

There is also a short film based on the series called ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPGSrfa0oD8 Ben Jordan: Le Château Macabre]]'', starring Francisco Gonzalez himself as Ben Jordan.

----

In this series of {{Adventure Game}}s by indie developer [[http://www.grundislavgames.com/ Francisco Gonzalez aka Grundislav]], we follow Ben Jordan, a young man from Philadelphia who, after being a long time fan of TV shows about the paranormal such as ''Series/{{The X-Files}}'' and encouraged by his grandfather, Arthur, and his stories about his travels around the world, decides to become a paranormal investigator.

Even though his line of work is rather obscure, Ben is getting work on his hands pretty fast. Later, even he starts to find this fact suspicious.

As his cases take him to many different parts of the world, Ben encounters many life-threatening situations and creatures of legend, but he also finds two friends: Simon Booth, an English ghost hunter, and Alice Wilkins, a young woman from California with a strange connection to one of Ben's early cases.

At the time of writing, the series is complete, with eight episodes. The finished episodes can be found [[http://www.grundislavgames.com/benjordan/ here]].

A fan film was made about the series as well, ''Chateau Macabre.''

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Zig-zagged. The Japanese Game Show seems to be set up as this, but it turns out that even if Ben is dropped into the "Pot of Boiling Water" and loses, he is given a Camera as a consolation prize. [[spoiler: Guess what he needs to fend off the "Zombie"]]

* {{Confessional}}: One appears in case seven. Ben can confess to [[IdleAnimation many]] [[KleptomaniacHero silly]] [[TryEverything "sins"]] he has committed over the course of the series.

* ImprovisedWeapon: Ben's quite fond of these. Objects he has used to defeat his enemies include: [[spoiler:a table with some cocaine on it, a crowbar, a sharp hook on a rope, part of a drain pipe, a camera, a customized vacuum cleaner, a rusty old trident, and a 2000-year old amulet with a demon trapped in it. Oh, and [[AndZoidberg a stolen gun.]]]]

* SadlyMythtaken: Simon describes Sirens as taking the form of a beautiful maiden and causing sailors to go mad with desire, jumping off their ships to get to them. When they got close, the Sirens would reveal their true form and eat them. In Simon's version, Odysseus tied himself to the mast and plugged his ears with wax, but he's wee bit off: in ''Literature/TheOdyssey'', it was the rest of the crew who plugged their ear with wax, while Odysseus tripped out on the Siren's songs, after they'd tied him to said mast.

* ShownTheirWork: [[spoiler:Yamamoto]] in Case 5 is actually aware that fingerprints at a crime scene are worthless to the police database if they don't match anyone ''in'' said database. Forensics aren't magic.

** Try touching the young man outside the catacomb entrance in Case 8. The game will chastise you for acting like Hercrabbiness.