Emerald City Confidential

Emerald City Confidential is a 2009 computer adventure game. Dave Gilbert came up with the concept, Wadjet Eye Games handled development, and PlayFirst managed publishing. The gameplay is third-person and mouse-driven, requiring the player to solve puzzles and follow specific steps to advance a linear story. It follows the LucasArts adventure game model: the player cannot die or become stuck, which encourages full immersion without needing to save constantly. There is no manual save function; the game automatically bookmarks progress and restores it when reopened.

The story takes place in L. Frank Baum's Oz, but filtered through the gritty style of 1940s film noir—think rain-slicked streets, fedoras, trenchcoats, and femme fatales. The protagonist, Petra, is the only private eye in Emerald City. She is hired by a woman named Dee Gale, who wants to find her missing fiancé and offers above-average pay. Petra takes the job, and what begins as a routine missing person case pulls her into the city's criminal underworld. Along the way, she meets familiar Oz characters and some new ones, learns magic spells, and confronts a dark secret from her own past.

Characters appear in this order: Petra, a former Palace Guard who quit during wartime to search for her lost brother, eventually becoming a detective. The Lion is a corrupt lawyer who often evades her. Gumps serve as taxi services; one named Fluffy talks and rescues Petra. Dee is Dorothy Gale, now forty years older, who hires Petra. Tik-Tok is a Royal Guard who helps only when it doesn't conflict with orders. Hank the Mule guards Betsy Bobbins' mansion, loyal to his mistress but aware she values gifts over boyfriends. Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, runs a shop and deals in black market goods. Betsy Bobbins, Anzel's former mistress, tells Petra he worked for the Royal Oz University. General Jinjur commands the Royal Guard and resents Petra for abandoning her post during war. Captain Bill, an honest sailor whose ship was destroyed by unstable magic, works for Jack Pumpkinhead to pay off a debt. Trot, who works for Bill, asks Petra to clear his name. Jack Pumpkinhead leads a smuggling ring, using Captain Bill to transport pumpkins filled with magical artifacts. Professor Wogglebug invented a "Knowledge Pharmacy" that compresses knowledge into pills.