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Why do developers use Hint systems?
I was very disappointing and actually stopped playing the new Broken Sword because of that.
With 3 clicks, it can tell you word for word what to do to solve, not just a puzzle, but what to do to advance to the next step.
Personally, I am a person who just don’t find a thrill in cheating. When I was young I entered cheat codes to get unlimited ammo and god mode, but found out 10 minutes later I just ruined the whole game for myself and it becomes un-enjoyable.
I get that same feeling when an adventure game has a hint system built in.
Even though I wont use it, it will keep on bothering me to know the fact that it is there and maybe one day I will use it when i’m seriously stuck, and then ruin the game for me again.
[Extended]
In Broken Sword there is a puzzle to spell out “Aladdin”. I was stuck on it for quite a while. If the game had a very low level hint system, such as a clue bases system that might give you “Arabian” “genie” as a clue word, that would be fine. But the hint system just directly give you the answer as Aladdin.
I was very disappointing and actually stopped playing the new Broken Sword because of that.
I agree it’s easier to reach out for the hints once they’re in-game, but as long as the developers gave us the choice you’ll need to work on your strong will.
(but you would be right about Broken Sword 1/2 remakes where you’re forced to see hot-spot highlighter, without an option to turn it off)
Recently finished: Four Last Things 4/5, Edna & Harvey: The Breakout 5/5, Chains of Satinav 3,95/5, A Vampyre Story 88, Sam Peters 3/5, Broken Sword 1 4,5/5, Broken Sword 2 4,3/5, Broken Sword 3 85, Broken Sword 5 81, Gray Matter 4/5\nCurrently playing: Broken Sword 4, Keepsake (Let\‘s Play), Callahan\‘s Crosstime Saloon (post-Community Playthrough)\nLooking forward to: A Playwright’s Tale
First of all, the hint system can be turned off in options, meaning it’s entirely optional for you to even include them in the game. Second, even if you don’t turn them off, you still can’t access them without clicking the hint buttons yourself, it’s not like the hints jump out of their bag and attack you unprovoked. If you truly are, like you said, a person who doesn’t find a thrill in cheating, why is it even an issue? Just don’t use the hints? 
(Also, please use spoiler tags when spelling out the solution to a puzzle).
Duckman: Can you believe it? Five hundred bucks for a parking ticket?
Cornfed Pig: You parked in a handicapped zone.
Duckman: Who cares? Nobody parks there anyway, except for the people who are supposed to park there and, hell, I can outrun them anytime.
I think the Internet should be entirely shut down whenever I’m playing a game so that I’m not tempted to look for hints.
I think the Internet should be entirely shut down whenever I’m playing a game so that I’m not tempted to look for hints.
uhh like the good old days
First of all, the hint system can be turned off in options, meaning it’s entirely optional for you to even include them in the game. Second, even if you don’t turn them off, you still can’t access them without clicking the hint buttons yourself, it’s not like the hints jump out of their bag and attack you unprovoked. If you truly are, like you said, a person who doesn’t find a thrill in cheating, why is it even an issue? Just don’t use the hints?
(Also, please use spoiler tags when spelling out the solution to a puzzle).
I agree with you, Dag. Although the BS5 does not need any hints ‘cause the puzzles are on the easy side, I like to have the option to use or not hints in games. And if you can’t deal with the temptation then… sorry, you have to work this out.
Who is forcing you to use the hint system? Did someone hold a gun to your head?
~ Flight Of The Amazon Queen ~ Best Adventure ever!
I think the Internet should be entirely shut down whenever I’m playing a game so that I’m not tempted to look for hints.
uhh like the good old days
Yeah, I rememeber back in 1996 when I went to the library to read a gaming magazine and check out the hints from there. (We didn’t have internet back then..) After that, i’ve learned to appreciate faster help.
~ Flight Of The Amazon Queen ~ Best Adventure ever!
I think the Internet should be entirely shut down whenever I’m playing a game so that I’m not tempted to look for hints.
uhh like the good old days
Yeah, I rememeber back in 1996 when I went to the library to read a gaming magazine and check out the hints from there. (We didn’t have internet back then..) After that, i’ve learned to appreciate faster help.
speaking of which anyone ever dialed CA-93614 
..
i only had my hands once on an ICEMAN hintbook, that my was greatest experience hintline/books
I think they just address the reality that everybody could get these anybody by reading a walkthrough or watching a video on youtube.
IMO the most sense is to have them but:
- Have an option to turn them off
- Possibly have “rewards” for not using them or turning them off (like a point system)
Yes, why do they, don’t they know how clever you are?
The answer to the original question is because there is a big demand for it. People are stupid and nobody wants to think anymore. The way we consume entertainment has changed dramatically in the last 30 years. We no longer want to work at all, even in the slightest mental capacity, for gratification. We simply want to absorb information. People are terrible.
+Like to Lambonius’ statement. Though I do believe hints are just there to help casual players get into the game easier. I think hints are the closest thing to difficulty levels that you can normally pick in other game genres. I know for Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward there was easy and hard mode for the puzzles. We “could” pick the easy mode that had a ton of hints, but as true AGamers we should stay in hard mode. And you got the bonus of more background story by going through the harder mode.
Games Played: Ace Attorney (PW 1-3, Apollo Justice, Miles Investigation), Hotel Dusk and Last Window, Professor Layton (Curious Village, Diabolical Box, Unwound Future, Lost Specter), 999 and Zero Escape, Walking Dead S1-2, Trace Memory, Area-X, Time Hollow, Ghost Trick, Indian Jones FoA Currently Playing: Portal 2, PL - Miracle Mask, Dangan Ronpa
Let me quote one of the reviews of BS5 that I have read:
The Serpent’s Curse is deliberately old-school in feel but fortunately Revolution (unlike Daedalic) are aware the internet exists and so aren’t so old-school that they forget to implement a hint system.
I think that answers the question pretty well!
You have to play the game, to find out why you are playing the game! - eXistenZ
Let me quote one of the reviews of BS5 that I have read:
The Serpent’s Curse is deliberately old-school in feel but fortunately Revolution (unlike Daedalic) are aware the internet exists and so aren’t so old-school that they forget to implement a hint system.
I think that answers the question pretty well!
It’s a pretty stupid statement though. It’s essentially admitting that a hint system is unnecessary (because “the internet exists”) and then congratulating them for including it.
“Congratulations on including this redundant hint system, Revolution. Here’s a reward in the form of a commemorative plaque made out of macaroni glued to a paper plate. From all of us modern gamers to you!” 
He He I see your point.
The reason I quoted it was because it does seem to reflect the opinion of many people, especially the opinion of people who are not hardcore adventure gamers, and that in itself as a reason for developers to to implement a hint system. After all they want to sell the game to as many as possible.
But you could also turn the question around:
Why not implement a hint-system?
If people get stuck on a puzzle, then they are not willing to spend hours or days figuring it out for themselves, they are just going to look up a walkthrough on the internet, and the minority that does want to spend hours or days on a puzzle, they can just refrain from using the hint system. So why not implement it directly in the game?
At least I think this was the point of the reviewer (plus he obviously thinks no hint system is old fashioned), and to some degree I agree with it. No one is forcing you to use it just because it is there, and a well designed hint system is imo better than having to use a walkthrough.
You have to play the game, to find out why you are playing the game! - eXistenZ
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