2. Gilbert's rules in a nutshell

Gilbert's rules in a nutshell

In 1989, while designing Monkey Island, Ron Gilbert wrote the essay "Why Adventure Games Suck And What We Can Do About It". It contains twelve rules of thumb. In 2004 he published the text on his blog Grumpy Gamer. Here they are summed up in our own words and sorted into four groups. Read the original, it is worth it.

Orientation

The end goal has to be clear. The player should know from the start what they are working towards. The goal may change later.
Sub-goals have to be obvious. Give the first step early. Players who know what to do next keep going.

Fairness

Learn from mistakes without dying. An attentive player should be able to finish the game without reloading.
Don't let players forget things. If an item is only needed much later, the player must be able to go back, or be clearly nudged to take it along.
No arbitrary puzzles. The solution has to be found by thinking, not by luck.
No unconnected events. If an action opens a new area, the connection has to be recognisable.

Story

Problem first, solution second. If the player finds the solution before knowing the problem, it doesn't feel earned. Gilbert calls these "backwards puzzles".
Puzzles move the story forward. Every solved puzzle should push the plot or the goal a little further.
Reward progress. New places, new characters and new twists keep the player motivated.

Player friendliness

Real time is bad drama. Time pressure should follow the player's pace, not a stopwatch.
Reward intent. Recognise what the player is trying to do and accept sensible ways instead of insisting on the one exact input.
Give choices. Avoid long chains with exactly one open puzzle. Several paths at once keep the player from getting completely stuck.

What is different today

Many of these rules still apply unchanged. Some things have become common in modern adventures since then: many games highlight all clickable spots at the press of a key so nobody has to hunt for pixels. Many offer a hint system. You can build both in Visionaire, more on that in chapter 5.

Rule to remember
Clear goal, logical steps, no death through ignorance, several paths open.

Your task
Go through the twelve rules with your project. Mark the two you break most clearly.