An AI detective mystery played through a real rotary telephone.
Welcome back, detective.
A voice on the other end is desperate, frightened, someone they loved is dead, and you're the only one they trust to find out why. From that moment, you're the detective.
Call the husband. The barkeeper. The alibi that doesn't quite hold up.
Every character has a story, and not all of it is true. We generate a completely unique case each time - new victim, new suspects, new lies, so no two investigations ever unfold the same way.
The truth is out there.
You just have to ask the right questions.
A look at the installation from the Angewandte Festival 2025.
The setup including the telephone, a clock and radio.
A group of players watching.
2 detectives discussing their strategy.
The notepad is provided and useful for remembering details.
The telephone as a haptic interface. Disclaimer: Some photographs are AI modified.
Telephone Detective is self-contained, requires minimal setup, has been tested with live audiences and was recently showcased at the
Angewandte Festival 2025.
We're working on making the experience available for public demos and private events.
Stay tuned for upcoming dates where you can step into a case yourself, or reach out via
the contact form below to inquire about early access opportunities.
Georg Luif, a Vienna-based creator working at the intersection of game design, art, and technology. His practice explores how physical and digital environments intertwine, creating experiences that challenge our perception of both.
Projects like Telephone Detective embody this approach – transforming a 1940s rotary phone into the controller for an AI-driven detective mystery with real-time generated dialogue.