Since you’re reading this tutorial, why not go read some other helpful game design topics in my good game design series?
- Want to make your game less frustrating, and make it more forgiving to players? Then check out Checkpoints!
- Want to make your game to scale in difficulty perfectly, to give the player a smooth and fresh experience? Then check out Difficulty Scale!
Testing your game with the mind of a typical player is quite tough. Why? Because you’re a developer, you made your game. Therefore, you know all the in’s and out’s everywhere in your little world, but that doesn’t mean that players will. All players will need some sort of direction of what to do, and it’s your job to give them that direction. As a developer, you will know some things about your game that a normal player won’t.
Directing the Player
Players normally expect what they need to progress to be in front of them. If you hide a platform or something behind a wall, the player will get a little confused at first. They don’t expect to have to do a little exploring to find a platform.
See how that blue platform is behind something? How was I supposed to know I needed to go behind the wall to get to it?
Now, you could just put everything in front of them, but what if you didn’t want to? What if you wanted the player to take a look around and find the platform? To do that, and not have the player so confused, show the player that there’s something they need to look for. Add a path that goes behind the wall, that’ll make the player want to follow it, or maybe put up a sign saying something like “Teehee, there’s nothing behind that wall over there ;)”. Just give something that tells the player that they need to roam around for a bit.
Should it always be clear?
If you want to add secrets to your game, you probably don’t want to make it too obvious to find. The goal of secrets is to get players to search around and find it, but if you make it too hidden, they might not know it’s there, and if you make it too obvious, can you really call it a secret?
So you want to make it in the middle. You want to have players be aware of it, but you don’t want to give it to them that easily. So what do you do? The solution is simple. Hint at the secret’s existence. You can make a sign saying that there’s a hidden coin nearby, or maybe you can be creative.
That’s a shiny lookin’ coin right there, but I wonder how I can get it…
If the secret was in a house, have the secret be visible from a window or something. By letting players becoming aware of the secret’s existence, they’ll be pretty curious as to how to get it, and gets them engaged, and accomplished when they get the secret.
Conclusion (Tl;Dr)
You’re a developer of your game, not a player. You’ll know a lot more than what the player will, so you have to guide them. Make sure they know to look behind something to progress, or have them know that they need to climb up something to activate a switch. However, it shouldn’t always be clear for what they need to do. If you’re hiding a secret, don’t show the player how to get it, but just let them know it exists. By directing the player properly, they will be less confused all the time, and more engaged.