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One of Chinatown Detective Agency's biggest draws is that you'll have to use research outside of the game to inform Amira Darma's choices. Therefore, unless you own an encyclopedia or play in a library, you'll need to do a lot of web searching. So, it's best to make sure you're internet-enabled device is on hand and fully charged.

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However, an internet connection may not be enough to solve a case. After all, CDA often asks obscure questions while expecting you to find answers in short periods. Therefore, efficient internet browsing is vital if you wish to solve your cases. Here are some tips to tighten up your online searches.

What Is SEO (Search Engine Optimization) And How Does It Work?

The game tutorial instructs the player that they need to do their own research to solve clues in Chinatown Detective Agency.

Now that we got the game's premise out of the way let's talk about using it to your advantage. Since CDA is a game centered on internet research, you need to know how to search the internet efficiently. This skill is where knowledge of SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, comes into play.

SEO may seem unfamiliar unless you work in tech, marketing, or journalism. Luckily, the concept is straightforward. SEO is a technique that websites use to rank their publications higher in web searches. By emphasizing specific keywords or phrases in their publications, writers can encourage a search engine's algorithm to bump them higher in search results since they will more likely have the answer to a web surfer's query.

Take this article, "Chinatown Detective Agency: Improving Your Online Search Techniques," for instance. For SEO purposes, I may give this guide a second title for Google, like "How To Solve Cases In Chinatown Detective Agency," since more people would enter in "How do I solve the [blank] case in Chinatown Detective Agency?" Keeping the searcher's intentions in mind helps them find the answers they're looking for and gives more hits to our website. So, it's a win-win situation.

Shortcuts That Will Improve Your Online Searches

A map featuring the various subway lines of Singapore, with stops at Chinatown and the Civic District, among others, in Chinatown Detective Agency.

So, where do you, the Googler, come into play? First, it's vital to consider what keywords and phrasing you use when searching. Too little information or too much information in the search bar can muddle your search. But if you understand the question you're asking and ask it concisely, you'll gain better results.

Furthermore, it's also helpful to understand various web searching symbols and shortcuts to refine your results. Here is a breakdown of symbols to know.

Symbol or Shortcut

What It Does

Example

Dash or Minus Sign (-)

This shortcut excludes unwanted words or sources from your search.

"Acer -Laptops," "Gettysburg Address -site:History.com"

Dollar Symbol ($)

This shortcut gets search results with prices in dollars.

"4K TV $200"

Plus Sign (+)

This shortcut groups search terms together.

"Baby + Napkins"

@ Symbols

This shortcut looks for tags related to social media.

"@csanflip"

HashTag (#)

This shortcut looks for groups of social media topics.

"#thegamer"

Underscore (_)

This shortcut connects two words and returns results with the connected phrase with or without the underscore.

"bank_note"

Double Quotes (" ")

This shortcut searches for the exact words or phrases within the quote. Synonyms for the words in the quote also get included in the search results.

"Sega Puzzle Multiverse"

Asterisk Symbol (*)

This shortcut enables a wildcard search. In other words, it works well when you can't find the right word for a specific search inquiry.

"Boy * World"

Double Dots (..)

This shortcut helps search for ranges.

"4K TV $200..$250"

Tilde Symbol (~)

This shortcut searches for similar words and synonyms of the search term.

"Chinatown Detective Agency ~tutorial"

time <city>

This shortened syntax searches for the local time of a specified city.

"time new york city

OR

This tool instructs the search engine to search for results with either or both terms.

"Playstation OR Xbox"

define: <keyword>

This syntax instructs the search engine to return the definition of the given keyword.

"define: volume"

Mathematical expression (number)

This syntax performs mathematical calculations through the search engine or provides websites with the solution.

"cbrt(9)"

unit1 in unit2

This shortcut is for unit conversions.

"lbs in kg"

keyword filetype:document extension

This shortcut searches for keywords in a specific file type.

"tiger filetype: jpg"

weather <city>

This shortcut searches for the local weather of a city.

"weather Quebec"

translate <word> into <language>

This shortcut searches for translations. In the case of Google, it will translate a word for you through Google Translate.

"translate tire into Italian"

Currency1 to Currency2

This shortcut is for converting currencies.

"dollars to pounds"

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Practice Media Literacy To Avoid Phoney Results

A corrupt government employee, Gilbert Ma, gets bribed with expensive wine by Amira Darma in Chinatown Detective Agency.

You may be wondering, "how do I know if I can trust this search result?" After all, there is a lot of misinformation on the internet that could guide you in the wrong direction. While none of the cases we played so far in CDA asked about controversial topics, it's still imperative to avoid bias or generalities in the sources you skim through.

To avoid pitfalls in your searches, practice critical thinking with media literacy. In short, media literacy is the ability to critically analyze media messages to determine the validity of the messages conveyed. In short, it's tools to cut through the bullshit. If you ever feel iffy about a source when researching for a case, it's helpful to ask these questions:

  • What is the depth of information covered? While CDA won't ask you essay questions, it's good to know how much information a source has about your inquired subject.
  • Is the information objective, or does it contain bias? If the source of information has something to gain from pushing a particular point of view, it may be less reliable.
  • How current is the information? While CDA takes place in a future dystopia, many of its questions exist in present-day or modern interpretations of history. Therefore, it's vital to ensure the research you gather is up to date.
  • Who authored this source? Authority matters plenty when searching for clues. For instance, if you're looking for the region of a canceled stamp, and the source you find is a professional photo editor who likes to make stamps for Middle Earth, you should think twice about the information presented to you. However, evidence from an experienced stamp collector or government postal authority would yield accurate results.
  • What is the purpose of the article? The intention is everything when it comes to evaluating a source. For instance, have you ever seen a Facebook friend share an Onion headline believing it's real? Yeah, so have we. A source could be satirical, protecting a moneyed interest, trying to engage a social media following, etc. If you're looking for sources dedicated to conveying facts and information, peer-reviewed academic journals are one of your best bets.

Stick To The First Page Of Results For Increased Relevancy

A clue from the first case in Chinatown Detective Agency, pixelated to avoid spoilers.

If you followed our advice above and considered how your search inquiry affects the engine's results, your first page should give you more than enough information. After all, CDA's developers likely had to perform these web searches to ensure their players could find the correct answers and progress through cases. Otherwise, CDA would feel much more broken.

We're also advising you to stick to the first page of your search results to improve the quality of your experience. In other words, we don't want the game spoiled for you. For example, after playing through the game's tutorial chapters, we noticed that specific keywords from cases brought up results for Chinatown Detective Agency guides. While you could use these sources if you're really in a pinch, it takes away the value of your experience if you do.

Next: Things We Wish We Knew Before Playing Chinatown Detective Agency