Parser/Original hybrid game

[Ethan D]

I love games with parsers in them mainly because it gives an extra dimension to puzzles. 

Whereas original style games. (Games with look, walk, interact, and talk) simplify what puzzles can be done while at the same time making it easier for people to use the game.

So I was thinking of using a parser at some parts of a game where the solution would be to obvious with the normal interface while using a regular interface at most other places.

So what are your thoughts?

[arj0n]

As long as there's no old gnome with the name "IFNKOVHGROGHPRM"
[classic KQ1 puzzle] it can be a nice add on for the puzzles in the game I think...

[Helme]

I don't like parsers. For me it's quite frustrating typing commandos over and over again and always getting the feedback 'I don't understand'.
For example I played 'Trilby Notes'. The feedback from the community tells me, it must be awesome, but I couldn't achieve anything without a walktrough. Mabye I'm just incompatible for parsers.

[Ali]

I don't think that's an effective solution, I'm afraid.

Admittedly, a text parser allows you to carry out specific actions you could never cater for with another interface, such as "Slacken Knot". That's great for games which are built around a good parser.

I can understand you wanting the player not to stumble upon a Knot Slackening solution simply by interacting with a knot. However, I think reworking the way in which you challenge the player is preferable to demanding that they guess the verb you want to hear. Perhaps the player could learn how to tie slip-knots from a book or another character or maybe tying the knot could be a kind of interactive mini-game.

For me a game's interface should rarely if ever be part of the challenge. The puzzle should be "how do I solve this problem" not "how do I tell the game what I want to do, to solve this problem". Vince Twelve's "Why your game is broken" articles touch on this point.

[mkennedy]

Didn't one of the Leisure Suit Larry games do something where when you clicked on something you had an optional box to type verbs in or something like that?