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NECESSITY OF A WALKTHROUGH?
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Housekeeping
3571
Housekeeping
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CloseA while back I had a request to include a walkthrough on one of my game pages. I tend to not like walkthroughs since the mere act of having one available tempts me to use it instead of figuring things out for myself, but I'm also not everyone, and I'll admit that I've relied on Gamefaqs quite a bit in the past. Anyway, I thought this would be a good discussion topic:
Should we feel obligated to include a walkthrough for our games?
Should we feel obligated to include a walkthrough for our games?
It's not necessarily IMPORTANT to have a guide/walkthrough/whatever for a game (it's really up to you whether or not you want to make one), but I myself do it for most of my games since I enjoy making them out of a sense of being helpful/making creative tips for the player.
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
If you can't beat my game without a walkthrough, you don't deserve to win. No mercy. Game over, player loses.
I have played games that are poorly designed enough that I kinda wanted one though.
Edit: actually my vote goes to writing a walkthrough and then charging $2 for it
I have played games that are poorly designed enough that I kinda wanted one though.
Edit: actually my vote goes to writing a walkthrough and then charging $2 for it
Walkthroughs are primarily geared towards the fans and/or completionist who want to find all the hidden aspects/strategies to you game. It should never be treated as a remedy for bad game design or poor direction within the game.
In that regard, walkthroughs themselves are fine. Just don't force everyone to rely on them to play your game.
In that regard, walkthroughs themselves are fine. Just don't force everyone to rely on them to play your game.
Milennin
2060
I included one in my first game, because it's an exploration based game, and I know not everyone is into that kind of thing. Some people just want to get from point to point without wandering around looking for stuff, and I think that's okay. I think it's nice if there's a walkthrough included with a game in case I get stuck somewhere and don't know where to go.
If your game is a mystery, horror or puzzle game then yes. Definitely. I've noticed via my LPs that they're the ones most likely to be designed in such a way that the player has no idea what, exactly, they have to do to go forward. And if your game has more than one ending? Yes please. (Or at least make the changing shit easy to spot.)
Aegix_Drakan
6037
I included an FAQ for my game, but only for the required bosses.
Basically, I was kinda worried that it was TOO hard for some people. Given that Liberty ragequit my game, I think it was kinda needed. :P
Basically, I was kinda worried that it was TOO hard for some people. Given that Liberty ragequit my game, I think it was kinda needed. :P
UPRC
5516
author=Dyhalto
Walkthroughs should be written by fans for fans.
Yeah, exactly. I've been asked in the past if I'd ever write a walkthrough for Blackmoon Prophecy, but I don't know if I'd feel like doing that. It would just be so much work, so much writing. I'm much more content with just personally advising players who get stuck when need be.
I don't mind giving people hints or stuff about my game, but I'll leave full walkthroughs for the fans to do. I can imagine they're a lot of work. Still, I hope nobody ever needs a walkthrough for my games.
I agree to let the fans deal with making a walkthrough, but in puzzle heavy games I think it'd be cool for creators to at least have a hint guide. Playing an RPG Maker game where no one's written anything on it and finding yourself stuck on a puzzle can really suck.
To steal from a lecture I heard on puzzle design, even if you've made a puzzle that 90% of your players can solve, that means that the other 10% are stuck and will either have to look for a walkthrough or hint guide, or quit out of frustration (or, in the case of RPG Maker games, they have the added option of contacting the author).
To steal from a lecture I heard on puzzle design, even if you've made a puzzle that 90% of your players can solve, that means that the other 10% are stuck and will either have to look for a walkthrough or hint guide, or quit out of frustration (or, in the case of RPG Maker games, they have the added option of contacting the author).
Housekeeping
3571
I tend to agree with the people who say that walkthroughs should be made by fans. But, here's the deal:
While I think my game is intuitive, it does have puzzles, and some of the hidden things require obtuse thinking to find. For example, in the first level, early on you come into a room with two switches, and the switches are connected to locking mechanisms by a series of pipes. One character jumps on a switch that opens a door and triggers a fight. The door clearly has a sign next to it, and that character then cautions the player to read the signs. The next puzzle plays on this idea by having four doors with one missing the sign, so the player is primed to open the door that's not next to a sign, which is the correct solution. However, in the next room, there are several doors, and one of the doors with a sign next to it has a sign that reads something like "Please don't tell my wife I left my stuff here," and there's a chest behind that door. So, this uses the idea that the game directly tells the player earlier (read the signs!) but this is something that the player will probably not do since they think they can just look for a door without a sign.
All this is to say, I don't want to write a walkthrough to cover up bad game design, but I want to help completionists. The game also has a character later that will tell you how many chests are left in each dungeon, so this might cause players to rethink the puzzle, but, still, I could see people pulling their hair out trying to find this one, especially if they don't know that beating the game rewards them with an item that nullifies random encounters. These are the kinds of things that walkthroughs will point out to allow maximizing your time.
Anyway, while I still think that fans should write their own walkthroughs, I'm not sure if that opinion is coming from the right perspective or if I'm just lazy (it IS a lot of writing). If a player gets stuck on a puzzle I made that's difficult but fair, I might lose them without a walkthrough. It's really easy to throw away a free game since you don't have any money invested in it.
That's what's been milling around in my skull, anyway.
While I think my game is intuitive, it does have puzzles, and some of the hidden things require obtuse thinking to find. For example, in the first level, early on you come into a room with two switches, and the switches are connected to locking mechanisms by a series of pipes. One character jumps on a switch that opens a door and triggers a fight. The door clearly has a sign next to it, and that character then cautions the player to read the signs. The next puzzle plays on this idea by having four doors with one missing the sign, so the player is primed to open the door that's not next to a sign, which is the correct solution. However, in the next room, there are several doors, and one of the doors with a sign next to it has a sign that reads something like "Please don't tell my wife I left my stuff here," and there's a chest behind that door. So, this uses the idea that the game directly tells the player earlier (read the signs!) but this is something that the player will probably not do since they think they can just look for a door without a sign.
All this is to say, I don't want to write a walkthrough to cover up bad game design, but I want to help completionists. The game also has a character later that will tell you how many chests are left in each dungeon, so this might cause players to rethink the puzzle, but, still, I could see people pulling their hair out trying to find this one, especially if they don't know that beating the game rewards them with an item that nullifies random encounters. These are the kinds of things that walkthroughs will point out to allow maximizing your time.
Anyway, while I still think that fans should write their own walkthroughs, I'm not sure if that opinion is coming from the right perspective or if I'm just lazy (it IS a lot of writing). If a player gets stuck on a puzzle I made that's difficult but fair, I might lose them without a walkthrough. It's really easy to throw away a free game since you don't have any money invested in it.
That's what's been milling around in my skull, anyway.
author=Isrieri
What's this talk of walkthroughs?
Make an Instruction Manual. Its a lost art.
I can get behind this. I have fond memories of looking at all of the cool game content related stuff that were included in old games. Equipment lists, monster compendiums, and maps of the world with locations and names, I loved that stuff. The promise of future content: That huge continent sized volcano thing? Yeah it's called Pureland and it's one of the last places you'll visit, who knows what it is like! That fellow called the Dragonlord? Just a silhouette and his HP is listed as ???, better watch out for him
Housekeeping
3571
I only ever read an instruction manual in the car ride home from the store or on the toilet.
author=Housekeeping
I only ever read an instruction manual in the car ride home from the store or on the toilet.
I always end up reading them first before I even play the game. Reading them on the toilet isn’t a bad idea, either. :P
I guess it just depends on the type of game you’re making. If it’s a relativity simple short game, like a puzzle game or a board game, then it’s really not necessary especially if you include a “How To Play” option. But an incredibly lengthy RPG that has a ton of difficult puzzles or tough boss fights, then you may want to consider one, especially if you’re getting a ton of comments about how to get past certain things and the fans have not provided a walkthrough already. It just depends on the type of game and how difficult you like to make your own games.
Orias_Obderhode
1387
author=Housekeeping
All this is to say, I don't want to write a walkthrough to cover up bad game design, but I want to help completionists. The game also has a character later that will tell you how many chests are left in each dungeon, so this might cause players to rethink the puzzle, but, still, I could see people pulling their hair out trying to find this one, especially if they don't know that beating the game rewards them with an item that nullifies random encounters. These are the kinds of things that walkthroughs will point out to allow maximizing your time.
Anyway, while I still think that fans should write their own walkthroughs, I'm not sure if that opinion is coming from the right perspective or if I'm just lazy (it IS a lot of writing). If a player gets stuck on a puzzle I made that's difficult but fair, I might lose them without a walkthrough. It's really easy to throw away a free game since you don't have any money invested in it.
That's what's been milling around in my skull, anyway.
This sums up exactly what I would have said. :)
Only a developer knows the 100% ins and outs of the game, and posting the walkthrough gives the completionists out there a chance get everything. It's even kind of fun to make the walkthrough at times.
Because the walkthrough for my game isn't complete, I too feel that sometimes some players get to the point where the walkthrough stops, and then if they get stuck they just are more likely to quit.
When I was something like ten years old, I played the original Final Fantasy with that Nintendo Power Final Fantasy strategy guide. I have very fond memories of doing that. I never made it past Tiamat, because I don't think I understood how armor affected defense ("absorb" and "evade" didn't make sense to me) and I didn't understand the concept of walking around and fighting monsters for any other reason than to acquire more Gold. But I had a lot of fun with that beautiful strategy guide by my side. That was before computer graphics took over everything and Nintendo Power routinely illustrated game features with pieces that used traditional mediums of art, even oil paintings.
A walkthrough would guide a frustrated player in the right direction. But a strategy guide like that adds to the experience. Perhaps that kind of emotion is no longer possible due to the vastly improved graphics of today.
I might also advocate a "spoiler free" walkthrough, which tells the player what to do in a bare-bones manner.
It would be good to include with your game in some form, because years from now, you might not be around to help people who discover your game again.
A walkthrough would guide a frustrated player in the right direction. But a strategy guide like that adds to the experience. Perhaps that kind of emotion is no longer possible due to the vastly improved graphics of today.
I might also advocate a "spoiler free" walkthrough, which tells the player what to do in a bare-bones manner.
It would be good to include with your game in some form, because years from now, you might not be around to help people who discover your game again.
Desertopa
775
On the one hand, I agree with Housekeeping from his original comment, that just having access to a walkthrough tempts me to use it, even though I'll probably find it more satisfying to find or figure things out on my own.
But honestly, I practically never use game guides to figure out how to win games, going back at least for the last decade or so. Games which offer challenges which are sufficiently tricky that I can't figure them out on my own are extremely rare. I use game guides, for the most part, to avoid missing things. I'm pretty completionist by inclination, and it bugs me to just not know if there are sidequests or events or valuable items I've just passed by.
For me, the ideal game would be one where I wouldn't be tempted to use a guide because the optional content can all be accessed without recourse to trial and error or sheer dumb luck. It should be challenging, but the challenge shouldn't lie in finding it in the first place.
But honestly, I practically never use game guides to figure out how to win games, going back at least for the last decade or so. Games which offer challenges which are sufficiently tricky that I can't figure them out on my own are extremely rare. I use game guides, for the most part, to avoid missing things. I'm pretty completionist by inclination, and it bugs me to just not know if there are sidequests or events or valuable items I've just passed by.
For me, the ideal game would be one where I wouldn't be tempted to use a guide because the optional content can all be accessed without recourse to trial and error or sheer dumb luck. It should be challenging, but the challenge shouldn't lie in finding it in the first place.
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