5. Giving hints without giving it away

Giving hints without giving it away

A fair hint shows the direction, not the destination. Good hints sit where the player is looking anyway.

Where hints live

• Descriptions: "The screws look loose" is a hint that reads like a description.
• The main character's comments: If the hero says "Brute force won't do it, I need a tool" after a wrong attempt, it points in the right direction.
• Other characters: A side character mentions in passing where something is.
• The surroundings: Light, a small animation or a sound draws the eye to the important spot.

Hints that grow

If the player tries the same wrong thing several times, the hint may become clearer. In Visionaire you do this with a value that counts failed attempts:

Action "screwdriver on door":
  increase value failed_door_attempts by 1   ("Set value" action part)
  If failed_door_attempts is less than 3:    "I can't unscrew the lock."
  Else:                                      "Maybe I should take another look
                                              at that ventilation grate."

You build the check with the "If value" action part. That way the player never stays stuck for long, and anyone who manages on their own never notices the help.

Showing clickable spots

Many current adventures highlight all clickable objects at the press of a key. That removes the pixel hunt without giving a puzzle away. The community has ready made scripts for this; in the wiki you will find them in the index of Lua scripts.

Rule to remember
Hints hide in texts, characters and the surroundings. Players who are stuck get more help.

Your task
Give every puzzle at least two hints in different places, and an escalating hint for the most common wrong attempt.