Want Opinions on Context Menu GUI

[Charity]

This is sort of specific question that might have more general applications, but it pertains to a game I'm working on.  Wasn't sure if it would be better to post here or Adventure Talk and Chat.  Feel free to move.

Basically, I am making a game that features Context Menu GUI.  Clicking will perform a default action, while clicking and dragging will bring up a list of all the actions that can be performed on an object/character/hotspot (some things can be taken, pushes, talked to, some things can't, etc.).  Separate submenus for conversations and actions involving inventory items (haven't decided yet how to handle using inventory items on eachother.  Perhaps I will have huge a list of all possible options come up under the inventory submenu you can access by clicking on the main character, or maybe I'll make a separate inventory screen like in other games--input on this appreciated).  Right click walks.

For people who don't like novel interfaces or whose mouses don't click and drag well, I intend to include a Windows Mode that will perform the same actions but behave more like windows, with right clicks bringing up a menu whose options can be selected with an additional left click, double clicks for default actions, and single left-click to walk.

There may also be abbreviated versions of the system that come up when having the player walk around or perform certain actions would break the story.  And I was thinking I would allow use of the mousewheel to cycle through the default options, though I'm not sure if that would be worth it.  Mostly, I just want to minimize as many of the inefficiencies in the verb-coin/pop-up menu style of interface as I can, without sacrificing the flexibility of the context menu.

I made a test game a while back with a sort of proof of concept version of this GUI.  I found myself sort of naturally designing a lot of puzzles that involved selecting the same options multiple times, for different responses, and something also the discovery of new interaction options.  It seemed to flow naturally, but the problem was it was obvious to me that players who could not read my mind would probably not be able to guess when selecting the same option more than once would yield new results and when it would not.

My best idea so far to get around this, aside from simply avoiding that type of puzzle, is to highlight options that haven't been tried yet, including ones that have been tried but haven't been exhausted.  Options that will not yield new results would then be some other, less eye-catching color, though still selectable for players who want recaps, where such makes sense.  If actions elsewhere in the world make it so a previously exhausted action will yield new results, it will light up again.  I might even do something to the mouse-over graphic to indicate when a hotspot has actions that haven't been tried yet, to save players time.

The one problem I see with this system is it seems to undermine a certain type of puzzle.  Namely, timing puzzles and other puzzles that rely heavily on the circumstances under which an action is performed but not the action itself.  Take the classic puzzle where a character looks away briefly allowing you to pocket some small item that they don't want you to take.  If the option to take that item instantly lights up when they look away, that gives away the solution to the (in this case really obvious anyway) puzzle.  It makes the puzzle easy for the wrong sort of reason, and the whole point of that type of puzzle is that it creates an alternative to the "Just click all the options" puzzle solving that I think this GUI system may already lends itself to.

One thing I thought might be a good workaround is to make a distinction between new variations or continuations of an action vs. new results from the exact same action performed under different circumstances.  If you've already tried to take the item, the TAKE ITEM option won't light up again just because its owner looks away, since both times you are attempting the exact same thing, but you will still get a new result.  By contrast, if you are supposed to push the same statue three times to knock it over, it will stay lit up after the first push, because the player and player character would reasonably see themselves as continuing the first push, or trying again, but harder. Since there is a logic to the distinction, and the player should be paying attention anyway, it doesn't seem unfair.  But I worry that the distinction won't be obvious enough, and players will think I'm just using the highlighting system to trick them into  thinking the real solution won't work.

My thinking is perhaps if I could communicate this distinction between, say, action and context early on in the game, then it might not be as much of a problem.  But I'm not sure how best to do that without relying on outside texts or egregious fourth-wall breaking.  But would this be enough?

The third option I suppose would be to have a third color for actions for which new attempts may or may not yield new results, so that players would know to keep trying them, but not when.  This has the advantage of not relying on the player picking up abstract conceptual distinctions but I worry it would still give away too much.

I'd love to hear thoughts on this specific quandary and the one about handling inventories.  I'd also love to hear feedback on the interface as a whole.  Any drawbacks or advantages I might have overlooked.  I know this is in the critics lounge, but I wouldn't at all be upset if it developed into a general discussion of Context GUIS.  As I said, I wasn't sure if I should put it in Adventure General.

If anyone wants to see it, I could also post the proof of concept.  Though it has some kinks and I haven't worked on it in a while.

[Anian]

Isn't that highlight/removing options etc. style the same as when you have conversation options which are coloured if they're not used, removed if you already did them and stay if you might get a different result if something is done? I'm just asking if I got the concept right.

[Charity]

That's more or less right.  I probably wouldn't take the actions away unless it would be immersion/world/story breaking to have the player do them again, but they'd be greyed out or something.  The effect would be pretty much the same.