"In Game" Hint Systems

[Greg Squire]

As we all know, the Adventure Game genre suffers a lot from the "getting stuck" or "brick wall" problem, and that's why there are tons of walkthroughs that have been written for nearly every game out there.  It seems to be that an "in game hint system" might be a better way to combat this problem, as it's hard to gauge the difficulty level for both bright (hard-core) and not as bright (casual) players.  So my questions are: Have any of you implemented an "in game" hint system?  And if so, what do you think the best way to do that would be?

I particularly liked the hint system in TaleTale's Sam and Max series.  Basically, if you were stuck, you could talk to Max and he would give you a contextually related hint.  You could talk to him again and he'd give you different hint.  Since Max always followed you (Sam) around, a hint was always right at hand.  This seems like a more natural way implement one into the game world if you can.  Not sure if this would be possible in AGS or not (though it seems like it could be done).  I imagine the hints could also come from an object that is initially picked up (and can't be dropped), such as from a book like "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".  In that case the book could give out hints as well.   Perhaps it's a magic oracle that gives hints.  Again, I'm not sure if this could be done in AGS completely or not (especially to make the hints context sensitive), but it would be great if it could.

Anyway, what are everyone’s thoughts on this?

[Rahakasvi]

Maybe a system that tracks time that player uses for solving a puzzle. Like if player has make no real progress for X minutes, suddenly looking some object the character says: "Maybe I could use this as an some kind of wrench?"

[Babar]

I did a cheaty way of doing this....
In my game, I had a 'hintbook' inventory item, and I had displaymessage number 13 free in every room. So for every room, message 13 would be a hint that would explain something about that room.

[Ghost]

I did a cheaty way of doing this....

I'm using custom properties- critical items have a boolean flag "is_puzzle_part" set to true, and after x interactions that yield no result (simple counter here) I lock the character to a thinking animation, passing the item's "hint text". Works pretty well.

[kaputtnik]

I'm using custom properties- critical items have a boolean flag "is_puzzle_part" set to true, and after x interactions that yield no result (simple counter here) I lock the character to a thinking animation, passing the item's "hint text". Works pretty well.

This has to be one of the best ideas in puzzle design I have ever heard about. Did you apply this feat in Once Upon A Crime? I must have been a pretty neat puzzle solver then, because it never occured to me...

[Ghost]

Did you apply this feat in Once Upon A Crime? I must have been a pretty neat puzzle solver then, because it never occured to me...

Nope, that's part of the eternal WIP that is Daemons In The Attic.

It's simple to set up, but by no means a flexible system though, and I advise against using it too much. Keeping track of all the "empty clicks" is tiresome, and even coming up with sensible hints is no small feat without sounding like breaking the fourth wall.

[Play_Pretend]

I try to put them in every game I make...in Chicken VS Road, it was a zen egg floating on the screen and revealing enlightenment to you gradually.  In Damsel it was a book of rhyming clues.  Both of them worked on the vague/less vague/spell it out stairstep multiple-hint system.

[magintz]

Maybe an option to enable an easy mode which could highlight or direct the user to certain clues should they idle long enough.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Well, what I did with Limey Lizard was have the easy mode adjust certain parts of the game that I figured people might have trouble with, like the sewer maze and the whack-a-rat game, without being explicit about it.  I hate hint systems and walkthroughs and think you might as well just not play a game if you're not actually going to play the damn thing.  Granted, some puzzles can just be so difficult you get frustrated, and for those situations I think it's fine to get some help.  Unfortunately, hint systems and walkthroughs are very, very easily abused, and for that reason I think that if you want to offer help to the player you should do it in a less obvious way (have an item exist in the game world that wouldn't otherwise be there to help with a puzzle, for instance).  Difficulty levels make this sort of thing much easier to do, since you're catering to people who have already admitted wanting an easy game as well as to people who want a challenge, and it doesn't require a lot of needless clicking on something (ghost's method) just to get a hint, which people will end up doing once they discover how it works.

[TheJBurger]

I really liked the hint system in the freeware game "Enclosure."

Basically, if you wandered around X number of rooms (there were a lot in that bunker) without making any progress or advancing the plot, a random, cryptic message would pop up, such as "The trees do not sing at first light." (bad example, don't kill me) At first, I didn't get it, but these were subtle hints to the puzzle I couldn't solve.

I liked it because the game tracked my progress so it didn't give a hint to me until it was necessary. Also, it prevented me from consulting a walkthrough when I was stuck, which I probably would've went back to needlessly. And the hints were vague, yet helpful enough for me to proceed and keep enjoying the game without wandering around for another 30 minutes.

[EnterTheStory (aka tolworthy)]

In my games, just hit F1 and the main character will talk to their mentor about the quest (context sensitive). Keep hitting F1 and the hints become easier and easier. Hit F1 enough and the conversation gets to the level of "yes, I really should right click on X, walk over to Y and then right click on Z"

[Greg Squire]

Great suggestions thus far!    I hadn't even considered the possibility of an automatic hint system that spouts out hints if progress isn't made in a suitable time frame (either X number of actions or actual time).  I like that idea.  I've noticed that a lot of Casual Games (such as found on Big Fish Games) employ a similar technique as well.  In some Hidden Object games (and match 3 games), if you haven't found an item in X amount of time, there will be a small sparkle appear briefly on an object that you need to find.  I suppose something similar could be done in in an adventure game too.  Also, I suppose it may be possible to combine use both automatic and user initiated hints, though I'm not sure if that we be good or bad to do.

[Jakerpot]

i will add to my game a button in the lower GUI with a ? button, in the options menu you can change the Hint levels, as little, medium or full hint, so when you put at little, it will say like; "This door seems not to open from this side...", in medium (default); "This door have to be open in the other side, there isn`t another way." in Full; "Try to find another way to get into the room, the door is useless in this side."

[Iris]

Maybe a system that tracks time that player uses for solving a puzzle. Like if player has make no real progress for X minutes, suddenly looking some object the character says: "Maybe I could use this as an some kind of wrench?"

The problem with this is that the user may leave the game on and not play it. I sometimes leave the game on for hours or even a whole day and then come back home and play it. I consider myself an above average adventurer and I'd be annoyed if when I continued playing I was swarmed with hints and not given a chance to figure it out for myself. Its still a good idea, I don't know how many people play like I do.

[Jakerpot]

so you can change the hint type like i said.

[Trent R]

Maybe a system that tracks time that player uses for solving a puzzle. Like if player has make no real progress for X minutes, suddenly looking some object the character says: "Maybe I could use this as an some kind of wrench?"

The problem with this is that the user may leave the game on and not play it. I sometimes leave the game on for hours or even a whole day and then come back home and play it. I consider myself an above average adventurer and I'd be annoyed if when I continued playing I was swarmed with hints and not given a chance to figure it out for myself. Its still a good idea, I don't know how many people play like I do.

You could use an increasing variable in rep_exec(which also means it won't increase while the game is paused, ie. Guis shown) or try using the DateTime functions.

Either way, if the player doesn't progress in X amount of time--give a hint, but he if doesn't do anything at all for X amount of time (such as just letting the computer sit there) then don't do anything.

Check out DateTime.RawTime and on_event(eEventRestoreGame) in the manual.


~Trent

[Jakerpot]

wow, that's much advanced for my mind 

[Trent R]

What I'll sometimes do is type commands like that in a //comment inside my global header. That way I can remember them when I come back later with new perspective and/or experience.

I also keep a .txt with a to-do list for things I need to script, accompanied by commands and pseudo code to remind me.


~Trent