For a game you’ve written, is it better to include the walkthrough along with the game file (so that anyone who downloads the game automatically gets the walkthrough) or to upload the walkthrough somewhere else, like IF Archive’s directory for solutions?
I think it’s nice when an author does both.
For a competition game, I have mixed feelings about providing a walkthrough. I always have, as a courtesy to players who don’t like or who struggle with puzzles. But I’ve also looked on enviously at the discussion threads that blossom around games that don’t! It must be fun (and quite instructive) to see how a group people tackle your puzzles in (almost) real time. So that’s something to consider!
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I have noticed that too, though I don’t think you could rely on a lack of a walkthrough to create more buzz for a game.
For my next game, I’m planning having an in-game hint system instead of a walkthrough, and see how that goes…
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I normally provide one of those as well. They’re a lot of work, but well worth the effort.
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If you want players to be able to find the walkthrough when they play then please include it with the game.
I’m a big fan of walkthroughs provided with games, including competition ones. Because while many people have other views, if I get really really stuck - and especially if there aren’t built in hints, or they’re not adequate enough - then a walkthrough can be a really good option to keep playing.
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Funny, I was about to say the opposite. I don’t generally expect games to include walkthroughs, so I’d be likely to search the Internet before trying to find it in the game.
Ah, the age old question. I write maps and walkthroughs for all my games, but I don’t provide them with the games, Instead, I upload them to CASA and my GitHub page for the game.
As an adventure player, I don’t want a walkthrough. I want to experience the challenge of solving the game for myself. After all, that’s what it’s all about. However, if I get stuck (and I mean really stuck, not just lazy), then I’ll resort to the in-game hints (if available), then a walkthrough (if available).
I find that modern games are far too easy and you rarely need a walkthrough.
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For my entry in last year’s iIF-Comp, I did both, but that was primarily to help those judges who really struggle with puzzles get through the whole thing in the allotted timeframe.
In the final version of the game, I always intended to remove the walkthrough steps and just keep the hint system.
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I think there’s actually several different options here.
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Including a PDF/HTML walkthrough in the game’s download ZIP, so when you extract it, you’ll find a gblorb and a walkthrough. That’s pretty standard, and I think lots of people would look there, especially since they presumably saw the walkthrough file while finding the gblorb file.
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Including an in-game hint system. You decide how to make that visible to the user. Typically it will work if the player types
HELPorHINT. The game might start with a “TypeHELP” message. Sometimes the game itself will just provide an extra little hint unprompted, or try to detect when the player might want a hint and say “TypeHINTfor a hint.”Hint systems are better than walkthroughs, IMO, but I agree that it makes sense to provide both, in case the hint system has bugs, or doesn’t provide enough hints.
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Including a step-by-step walkthrough in the game itself. That’s unusual, so it would be difficult for players to discover it in a parser-based game. (Presumably they’d type
HELPorHINTand the game would explain that a full step-by-step walkthrough is available if you typeWALKTHROUGHor something…?)
Hints also sometimes eventually lead to explicit commands, like a walkthrough.
I use Wade Clarke’s menu system to put hints (and other info) in every game. It’s pretty easy; just add text and table names to a table.
So far as separate files go, I think it would be good to offer it wherever someone might look for it. If that’s multiple locations, that’s ok. I would try to make things convenient and intuitive for the player.
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one option with walkthroughs is to put only the direct path to the end and not describe the additional content that can be explored for fun/more points/story/etc. just a straight x this, pick up that, combine these two things, without any frills or full explanation. Violet’s walkthrough is a good example. it makes a boring walkthrough, but doesnt really “spoil” the game.
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Yes this is the version I was thinking of. Fine if people don’t want to use the walkthrough - you folks can ignore it. But for those of us who do, and end up really stuck playing the game, it’s there as an option.
The drawback to me of only putting the walkthrough elsewhere online is how is the player meant to know to find it there?
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My vote is for doing both, but if you’re pressed for time, then I prefer including the walkthrough with the game. Especially for situations like IFComp, where there can be a separate button for the walkthrough. I know it’s not the purest way to play, but it can keep me from just giving up. Just adding my point of view.
I would include it wherever people are going to be playing the game. If they’re downloading it, put it in the zip file; if they’re playing on the IFComp website, put it in the walkthrough link there; if they’re playing it via a “play online” link on IFDB, have it listed on the IFDB page.
(And if people are doing multiple of these, put it in multiple places! Same goes for Itch, etc.)
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Yes, this is what I was wondering about–if there’s a separate PDF (or whatever file type) walkthrough file, where the best place to put it would be.
(In this case, it would be in addition to the in-game hint system. I think the hint system would be enough for most people, but people might like to look at a walkthrough after playing to see what they missed.)
Maybe I should also mention that this is not a new competition game, so the place people would be finding the game (either downloading it or playing it online) would be IFDB.
Wherever the walkthrough ended up, I would plan to link it on IFDB.
Is there a way to link directly to a walkthrough that’s bundled with a gblorb on IF Archive? In that case, would players who didn’t want to download the game (maybe they’re playing the game online) be able to download just the walkthrough without also downloading the gblorb?
Do the people running IF Archive have any preferences about where to put solutions on IF Archive? I kind of assumed they wouldn’t want to host two copies of the same file (a copy bundled with the game file, and another copy by itself in the solutions directory), but maybe I’m wrong. (@zarf?)
You could use the IF Archive’s “Unboxing Service” to link to a view of the contents of a hosted ZIP file and/or to the walkthrough file within the ZIP file. Here’s an example for “According to Cain”: AccordingToCain.zip - IF Archive Unboxing Service, and here’s more information on the service: ifarchive-unbox/doc/spec.md at main · iftechfoundation/ifarchive-unbox · GitHub.
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Of course, implementing a “walkthrough” or “story” mode is one way of providing the walkthrough inside the game.
(I’m a bit surprised we haven’t had more works embodying this idea since it had its moment in 2023.)
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When consulting hints or walkthroughs there’s always the risk of getting more help than you wanted. As a player I’m fairly comfortable with getting a HINT (especially since you often get the option to start with only vague hints), and with skimming a walkthrough (especially since there’s a good chance of getting a clue from the part describing the stuff you’ve already solved). In either case, you’re able to stop the hinting process as soon as you get some food for thought.
It seems like a walkthrough mode would be more difficult to “ease into” without getting a lot of spoiler. I was similarly uneasy with THINK ABOUT in Bronze, which I played for the first time recently—it seemed like it might take few tries firing this hint cannon at various objects before getting unstuck, with a good chance of getting spoiled on more than I wanted to be in the process.