Bill of Adventure Gamers' Rights: Difference between revisions
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Bill of Adventure Gamers' Rights (view source)
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Players have the right to be able to ''see'' inventory items on the screen clearly and easily. Seldom is a pixel hunt justified. Nearly every single instance is downright insulting and unfair. There really is no reason for an adventure game to test the player's eyesight, unless that is the intention of the designer (say, at an optometrist's office in the game). | Players have the right to be able to ''see'' inventory items on the screen clearly and easily. Seldom is a pixel hunt justified. Nearly every single instance is downright insulting and unfair. There really is no reason for an adventure game to test the player's eyesight, unless that is the intention of the designer (say, at an optometrist's office in the game). | ||
Most designers consider it a valid and excusable method of extended the length of game play; however, without any visible clues, most players either solve pixel-hunts with a walkthrough (being forced to resort to cheating) or by sheer dumb luck. Finding out that the solution to a puzzle was an item barely visible on some obscure screen is not a rewarding experience at all. It quite frustrating and will surely drive away many players. | Most designers consider it a valid and excusable method of extended the length of game play; however, without any visible clues, most players either solve pixel-hunts with a walkthrough (being forced to resort to cheating) or by sheer dumb luck. Finding out that the solution to a puzzle was an item barely visible on some obscure screen is not a rewarding experience at all. It quite frustrating and will surely drive away many players. Indicate that there's a hotspot under the mouse. A verb bar is great, but a cursor that lights up is enough. | ||
==III. The Right to Freedom from Monotonous Responses== | ==III. The Right to Freedom from Monotonous Responses== | ||
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Players have the right to exit a room instantly, for example, via double-clicking the room exit. Many third-person adventure games nowadays are adding in this little gem of a feature. It is convenient, and saves the player from having to watch the main character walk across the ''entire'' room just to leave it. Unless it is crucial to the game that everything play out in real-time, this is usually an important feature to include. | Players have the right to exit a room instantly, for example, via double-clicking the room exit. Many third-person adventure games nowadays are adding in this little gem of a feature. It is convenient, and saves the player from having to watch the main character walk across the ''entire'' room just to leave it. Unless it is crucial to the game that everything play out in real-time, this is usually an important feature to include. | ||
If this is not something you want to include in your game, consider giving your players the ability to run. | If this is not something you want to include in your game, consider giving your players the ability to run. Or simply make the player character walk reasonably fast. There's still the occasional game where the main character walks annoyingly slow; add scrolling rooms and some impatient players will mash Alt-X to abort the game, regardless of the game doing a great job everywhere else. | ||
==V. The Right to Know Where Exits Are== | ==V. The Right to Know Where Exits Are== | ||
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Players have the right to know what their goal or goals are. There are some exceptions to this, but for the most part players don't want to be dropped in a game and left wandering about aimlessly for an hour, trying to figure out what to do now. The objective must be clear; there must be a reasoning behind solving these puzzles and what the player should be trying to achieve. Progress should be related to the ultimate goal. If the game has no goal, then make that clear to the player. You don't have to tell the player exactly what to do, but at least point them in the right direction. | Players have the right to know what their goal or goals are. There are some exceptions to this, but for the most part players don't want to be dropped in a game and left wandering about aimlessly for an hour, trying to figure out what to do now. The objective must be clear; there must be a reasoning behind solving these puzzles and what the player should be trying to achieve. Progress should be related to the ultimate goal. If the game has no goal, then make that clear to the player. You don't have to tell the player exactly what to do, but at least point them in the right direction. | ||
Always have a clue to help players onto the next step; never leave them thinking, "Well, I've done that, now what? Nothing is happening!" Subtly lead the player on to the next puzzle. | |||
==XII. The Right to a Streamlined Interface== | ==XII. The Right to a Streamlined Interface== | ||
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Players have the right to not be forced into one-time-only puzzles. Avoid making puzzles where you can obtain Item X ''only'' the first time you enter Room Y — or where you have only ten seconds to open Door Z before it locks ''forever''. King's Quest V is guilty of this at several points. This is completely unfair; if the player misses some detail he or she should be able to go back to it. If you insist on keeping a timed puzzle, make it occur every time you enter the room, or at the very least, every Nth time you enter it (or you can even randomize it). | Players have the right to not be forced into one-time-only puzzles. Avoid making puzzles where you can obtain Item X ''only'' the first time you enter Room Y — or where you have only ten seconds to open Door Z before it locks ''forever''. King's Quest V is guilty of this at several points. This is completely unfair; if the player misses some detail he or she should be able to go back to it. If you insist on keeping a timed puzzle, make it occur every time you enter the room, or at the very least, every Nth time you enter it (or you can even randomize it). | ||
==XV. The Right to Get Hooked Into the Game== | |||
Players have the right to experience something interesting or exciting during the first 5 to 10 minutes of a game that will make them want to continue playing. This can be an exciting plot, great comedy, flashy graphics, or a different type of game play, for example. Whatever makes a game cool — makes it stand out — a player should get to see it in the first 5 to 10 minutes. ''The Longest Journey'' has a slow opening, but makes sure that you start off with a playable dream with a dragon and stuff. Otherwise, the first hour of the game would just be April doing her laundry and handing in her homework or other mundane day-to-day events. | |||
==XVI. The Right to Experience the Back Story Gradually== | |||
Players have the right to learn more about the game's back story as they are playing. When they are just starting to play, they are still trying to decide whether they're going to stick with it for more than five minutes. They are not yet committed to the world that has been created for them. Don't bog players down with background information and exposition if it can be done at various points throughout the initial stages of the game, and in small doses. | |||
Players don't care yet. Can you imagine if, when you started Monkey Island, you had a ten-minute conversation with the blind lookout, where he explained the entire history of Governor Marley, LeChuck, and the search for Monkey Island? It would put most players to sleep. Instead, it's Guybrush saying he wants to be a pirate, and being told to visit the Scumm bar. That's your first goal, and also sets the stage for learning gradually about the world around you. You learn about all that other stuff once you're into the game and actually care. | |||
==XVII. The Right to Know Where the Cursor Should Go== | |||
Players have the right to know what point on the cursor will trigger interactions. In several games, even professional ones, I will constantly click on the wrong area with a cursor simply because it wasn't clearly marked where the cursor hotspot was. Several games use custom cursors with clear hotspots, with a tiny crosshair or an arrow. This indicates to the player that pointing the crosshair/arrow over an item or hotspot will trigger the interaction; they won't accidentally click the background (or object) behind their intended target. | |||
==XVIII. The Right to Freedom from Useless Mazes== | |||
Players have the right to not be forced into one (or more!) mazes that are there for the sake of challenging the player. There are two kind of mazes: | |||
# Those that have a game play application outside of being a maze. The forest in ''Quest For Glory I'' is a good example (the player can be attacked in between locations) as is the castle in ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' (where the complex castle layout makes it possible to find alternate paths to avoid guard patrols). | |||
# Those that are only there to be explored, kill the player, and add game length. | |||
Examples of the latter include the cave in ''Legend of Kyrandia'' and the various mazes of ''Zak Mckracken''. ''King's Quest V'' had the enormous desert where you could die of thirst and encounter infinitely looping rooms off the "edges". These don't have their place in adventure games. Find an alternate way to challenge the player without being unfair and ridiculously complicated. | |||
==XIX. The Right to Fair (or Skippable) Arcade Sequences== | |||
Players have the right to encounter arcade sequences that require intelligence, or can be skipped. Arcade sequences are okay, but a lot of people just don't like them. In a good adventure game, they should reward those who use their brain rather than their reflexes. A puzzle or two could be added, which — once solved — allow the players to bypass a sequence, or give them an edge or a bonus during the sequence that isn't given to players who simply headed straight to the arcade sequence. | |||
Arcade sequences can also be puzzles in disguise, like the bike fighting sequence of ''Full Throttle'', which featured a subtle rock/paper/scissors mechanic. If none of this is done, then the option to skip the arcade sequences should be included. Alternatively, losing in an arcade sequence could also result with a different outcome other than death; for example losing a fight might result in the player being thrown into a prison cell rather than dying. One last note: Never put an arcade sequence in the final chapter of a game — '''never'''. | |||
==XX. The Right to Freedom from Reading Enormous Amounts of Text== | |||
Players have the right to not be forced into reading long and large amounts of entries in old diaries, journals, and letters to help tell the story. If they are necessary, be sure to keep them short and sweet. Players often find themselves skipping the text if it is more than about two pages long. Beyond that most players get bored, even if the story is good. The days of text adventures are pretty much over; they are called "graphic adventures" for a reason. If players want to read they'll turn off the computer and find a good novel. | |||
If you insist on having such text, at least make it relevant to the game play, as well as to the story. It could contain important clues, instructions, or a riddle to help you solve the current puzzle. | |||
==XXI. The Right to Freedom from Convoluted and Cumbersome Interfaces== | |||
Players have the right to interfaces that, while innovative, aren't clumsy and confusing as a result. If you're making a unique interface, make sure it doesn't take an entire minute to animate before it is available for interaction. If you're adding in a unique feature, make sure it has a purpose and is useful. | |||
Say you have a nice little Ouija board interface for the control panel. Make sure only the important letters are highlighted, larger, or stand out in some way. Make sure that if you animate it, it doesn't take forever to do so. | |||
==XXII. The Right to Be Treated Like an Intelligent Human Being== | |||
Players have the right to ''not'' be treated like an idiot. There are games where you pick up an item and the character says something like, "Oh, there's a key here. Maybe I can use it on that locked door in the engine room!" | |||
Players are usually intelligent; otherwise they would be playing other games that don't require as much thought and deduction as adventure games. Surely, if the player has already come across a locked door previously, he or she can deduce that the key will probably work on that door. The first thing they will do is test it. Players don't need to be told outright what an item is for; that's the point of playing adventure games — figuring out what is used where and how. | |||
==XXIII. The Right to Solve Puzzles Using In-Game or Common Knowledge== | |||
Players have the right to puzzles that can be solved using common knowledge that isn't specialized to a particular area of study. Otherwise, such information should be provided by the game. At no point should a player be forced to look up some obscure piece of information on the Internet. It's okay to rely on common sense or everyday knowledge (mixing colors, for example). | |||
==XXIV. The Right to Undo Death== | |||
Players have the right to go back to the exact moment before the event that caused their death. Back in the old days of adventure gaming, the player could die at any moment if he or she weren't careful. Some games even punished the player for not saving frequently with random events. | |||
Death is rare in today's adventure games but can still be fun (think all the 'Quest games). If you allow it, include an '''undo''' or '''restart''' feature that brings the player to the point before death. Players are spoiled by modern day adventure games that don't even allow death, and do not save for hours. | |||
'''''(UNDER CONSTRUCTION)''''' | '''''(UNDER CONSTRUCTION)''''' | ||
[[Category:Adventure Game Design]] | [[Category:Adventure Game Design]] | ||