This reminds me of the "Conspiracy in Ferdok", a TDE-based game, the first chapter was also free : http://www.tde-games.com/

I don't quite remember, or the "Conspiracy in Ferdok" was the free first chapter of a two-chapter game … It is so long ago …

So … the idea isn't so new, then …

(These TDE-based games also exist in English language, as I linked to them above.)