D ialogue a n d P u z z l e D e s i g n
within the Adventure Genre
M ONIC A D U N N E
S UBM
IT T E D I N PA R T IA L F U L F IL M E N T O F T H E
R EQU I R E M E N T S F O R T H E
BACH E L O R
O F M ED I A A N D CO M M U N I CA T I O N
( HO N O U R S )
D R. A D R I A N
M I L E S B A ( M E D I A ) R M I T , M A M O N S, PH D
R MI T
S UP E R V I S E D B Y D R . A D A M N A S H
2015
This research analyses the foundations of puzzle and dialogue design within the
"LucasArts" style of poin t an d cl ick games. This is achieved by div i d i n g th e research
i nto th ree segments: the academic research, the produ ct ion of th e pr oj ect, and t h e
r eflection upon t h i s p r o cess. This paper wil l o u t l i n e th e academic research that h a s
l ed to the pr o du ct ion of t h i s p r o j ect .
The first segment, th e academic research, is found in th e f i r s t t h r e e chapters of
the exegesis. Each chapter exam i nes an area of the point an d cl ick genre. The
f irst chapter is br ief ov er v iew of th e advent ur e genre and a descript ion of t h e
" LucasArts" style. The second chapter out l i n es dialogue, its use in di f f e r en t
mediums, and the role of di al ogue in th e Adv en t ur e genre. The th ir d ch apt er
f ocuses on puzzle design, detai l in g a nu m ber of descrip t i on s of th e d i f f e r ent p u z z l e
types that are found in t h e A d v en t ur e genre.
The second segment, the pr o d u ct ion of th e pr oj ect, is the Adven t ur e game produced
from t hi s research. This is the creative por t io n of t h e r esearch. This game is a
p ractical application of th e t h e o r et i cal kn o w l edge obtained t h r o ugh th e f i r s t
segment (the academic research ).
The thir d secti on, th e ref l ect ion section, exam i nes the choices that were made
withi n t h e game. It i n v e st igates how the research is incorp or ated int o th e pr oject
that was produced. By analysing and t hu s pr o du cing a point and cl ick game, th e
fundamental elements of puzzle and dialogue design was explored. It is hoped that
this reflection w i l l e n able readers to und er st and how developers produce games in
t his Advent ur e genre and im p r ove upon it .
Declaration
I certify t h a t ex cept wh ere due acknowledgement has been made, the work is t h a t
of the author al one; the work has not been subm i t t e d pr ev i ou sly, in wh ole or in
part, to qu al if y fo r any o t her academic award; the content of th e exegesis is the
r esult of th e w ork w h i c h has been carried out since the of f i c ial research progr am ;
and any edit o r ial w o rk , paid or u n p aid car r ied out by a t h i r d p a rt y i s ackn ow l edged.
M onica Dun n e
h cknawl e d g e seent s
Dr. Ada<a Has h
T hank you to my sup er v i sor for t h i s year. Thank you for th e long chats of what an d
what not t o i n c l ude in my exegesis, for reassuring me of my w or k w hen I began to
doubt myself, and for laughing at my jokes (even the bad ones that made it into the
game).
P rit i k a S a c hd e v
T hank you to th e only p erson who k n ow s exactly what I' ve gone thr o u gh. It w a s
great to spend a year wor k in g side by side, pursuing our passions, but also to
discuss those passions with you. Without you I probably would not of been able to
g et thr o ugh th e year. Thank you for th e n ever ending suppo r t .
D anie l
Dunne
Thank you so much to my w o n d e r fu l b r o t h er. I always th ou ght of you as my second
s upervisor. Thank s for being always wi l l i n g t o d i s cuss ideas with m e and an swer i n g
a ll my questions on st r u c t u r e even th o ugh you have your ow n PH D t o w o r r y ab o u t .
B il l
a n d P i n a Du n n e
T hank you to my w o n d e r fu l p a r e nts who n ever falter to sh ower me w it h a f f e c t i o n .
B oth helped me come up wit h t h e p e r f ect ph r ases, editing my w or k w hen I si m p l y
d on't know w h ere to put a comm a and play test ing my game even th o ugh i t's th e
last thing they want to do after a long day.
Famil y
a n d Fr i e n d s
Thank you for all th e l ove and support . T h a nk s for l i s t e n in g to me r ant and r ave
about Advent ur e games for the past year or so. I'm sorry t o r e p or t t h o u g h I d on' t
t hink i t 's going to end any t i m e soon .
T he class af Media and Co m m u n i c a t io n
( Hono u r s ) 2 0 i 5
T hanks for all th e fu n t i m e s we' ve had together t hi s year. What I w i l l p r o b ably m i s s
most from t h i s year is the great company and th e endless supply of cake!
C onte n t s
Introd u c t ion
i3.
C hapte r i- Adven t u r e G a m e s
Adven t ur e Garne Definition
i7.
V er b
i8.
Tabl e
G ilber t's and S c h a f e r 's D e s ig n R u l e s
C hapt e r
i9 .
2 - Dial ogue
B ase D e 5 n i t i o n o f D i a l o g u e
23.
D ia l o g u e s
24.
u s e i n V a r i o u s Me d i u ms
H ow Dialogue Interact s
25.
D ialogue bet w e e n the PC and the NP C
26 .
D ialogu e b e t w e e n
E nv i r o n m e n t
th e PC and th e
27.
Chapt e r
3 - P u z z l e D es i g n
D iff erences in P u z z l e s
3i.
O bject B a s e d
32.
Puzzles
I nf or<sat i o n B a s e d P u z z l e s
33.
C onve r s i n g
34.
Based Puzz l e s
Chapter 4- Mg Prospect
P roject Sum m a r y
37.
D es i g n
37.
Tut o r i a l
Choice s
P u zz l e
39.
M ain Ob j e c t i v e
4O.
C onve r s i n g
4i.
Puzzl e
O bject P u z z l e
42.
I nf or<sat i o n
43.
Conclusion
Puzzl e
47.
h ppen d i x e a
Garne Design Docum e n t s — Puzz les
5i.
Garne Design Docum e n t s — ObJects 5
E nv i r o n m e n t
55.
P uzzl e
Dependency Char t
57.
Cit e d
59.
Ref er e n c e s
Bibliagraham
63.
IN T R O D U C T IO N
Introduction
The elements of di a l ogue and puzzle design are analysed in t h i s exegesis by using
t he "LucasArts" st yle of Adv en t ur e game as its foun d a t i on . The research is div i d ed
i nto th ree sections; the academic research, the produ ct ion of th e pr oj ect and t h e
reflection upon t h i s p r o cess.
T he first t h r e e chapters of t hi s paper support t h e p r o d u c t ion of th e advent u r e
g ame. These chapters exam in e t h r ee areas of the point an d cl ick genre. The fi r s t
c hapter is a brief over v iew of th e advent ur e genre and a descript ion of w hat t h e
"LucasArts" style ent a i ls. The second chapter out l i n es the role of di al ogue, its use
i n dif f e r ent m e d i u m s, and how d i a l o gue is used in th e Adv en t ur e genre. The th i r d
c hapter focuses on puzzle design as found w i t h i n t h e genre. It describes in det ai l
different pu z zle ty pes that are found in t h e genr e.
The first chapter w il l d e f i n e th e genre of advent ur e games and its progression
i nto the "LucasAr ts" st y le. From t h i s i n i t i a l i n t r o d u c t i on , key elements that w e r e
d eveloped alongside the "LucasArts" st yle wil l be di scussed. One of them b ei n g
t he int r o d u c t io n t o th e verb t able and how t h i s i n t e r f ace has adapted over th e
years. The chapter w il l ex p l ore what th e comp on ents of a "LucasArts" game, are as
defined by Ron Gilb ert an d Ti m Schafer in accordance to th eir design r u l e s.
This second chapter details the way di alogue is used in Adv en t ur e games. Thi s
d escription an a lyses what th e pu r p ose of di al ogue is, and how it v a r ies from t h e
medium of l i t e r a t ur e and th e m e d iu m of f i l m . A f t e r establi sh ing how d i a l o gue is
approached in t h ese mediu ms, it ex am i nes how it adapts to th e Adven t ur e genre. In
this section th e research is based on some of the work of Cl ara Fernandez Vara as
s he discusses the vari ous t y pes of relat i o n sh ips di alogue has wit h i n t h e A d v e n t u r e
genre.
T he thir d ch apter is based on the var i ous puzzle ty pes found in t h e A d v en t u r e
g enre as ident i f ied by Bob Bates. To aim in u n d e r st an d in g in hi s w ork t h i s
r esearch has sorted his puzzle ty pes into t h r e e sections: objects, inf o r m a t i o n an d
c onversation. For each section, a summ ar y of each puzzle is provi d ed .
D IA L O G U E A N D PU Z Z L E D ES I GN W I T H I N T H E A D V EN T U R E GE N R E
T he reader at t hi s p o in t sh o ul d be aware that th e A dv en t ur e game produced by th e
author cannot be shown in a w r i t t e n f o r m a t . N ev er t h e less, it is necessary to be
a ware of thi s creation to f u l l y u n d e r st and th e f i n a l ch apt er .
The final chapter exam i nes the design choices in developing th e game. It expl or es
what research is incorp o r ated int o th e pr oject. This chapter is wr i t t e n as a
reflection on th e pr oj ect's development. Th r o ugh p r o d u cing an Adv en t ur e game
in accordance with t h e r esearch uncovered in th e f i r s t t h r e e chapters, the exegesis
reflects the design st r u c t u r es t h r o ugh th e pr act i calit y of th e game.
The reason that th e " L u casAr ts" st yle is chosen and researched is the auth o r's belief
that the changes int r o d u ced im p r o ved the overall gameplay of th e genre. By using
the "LucasArts" st y le, many elements t hat d et er red people from th e genre were
r emoved. Dialogue and puzzle design were im p r o v ed. The development of t h e s e
two components are often d i s m i s sed. However, these are areas which were greatly
i mproved when th e " L ucasAr ts" games rose in popul a r i t y .
M ONIC A D U N N E
D IA L O G U E A N D PU Z Z L E D ES I GN W I T H I N T H E A D V EN T U R E GE N R E
M ONIC A D U N N E
C HA P T E R 1
A dvent u r e
Games
Adve n t u r
e B a see D e 6 n i t i a n
I n the early 199 0's the video game genre of Adven t ur e game peaked in pop u l a r i t y
(Black 210; Salter 38). This genre consisted of three components; puzzle solving,
e xploration and st o r y t e l l i n g (A d am s 6 R o l l i n g s 447; Bates 49). With t h ese th r e e
components creating a general defi n i t i o n of an advent ur e game, a large range of
video games can be categorised into th e genre wi t h ou t h a v in g th e same type of
gameplay nor i n t e r f a ce.
D ue to the var i ous gameplay and in t e r f ace styles a number of sub-genres wit h i n
these games emerged (Adams 6 R o l l i n g s 446; Fernan dez Vara, " The Tribul a t i o n s
of Advent ur e Games: Integrat in g Story i nt o Si m u l a t io n T h r o ugh Perf o r m a n ce"
25-33). These included text based adventures, graphical adventures, visual novels,
environm e n ta l si m u l a t or s and point an d cl ick advent u r es. For the pu r p ose of
t his research, the focus will be placed on the poin t an d cl ick sub-genre in t h e
"LucasArts" style that Ron Gi l b er t and Ti m Schafer helped develop.
G ilbert's "M a n iac M a n si on", developed in 19 87, was the fi rst t o i n t r o d uce th e
point and click system as well as the verb table via the SCUM M (Script Creation
Utilit y fo r M a n i a c M a n s i on) engine (Salter 39). The point and cl ick system was an
interface that al l o wed players to di r e ctly i n t e r act w it h t h e v i s ual graphic displayed
o n screen wit h t h e use of the m o use cursor and the verb table that was featur ed
on the lower section of th e screen (see Fig. 1; Lessard, " Casual Revolution of . .
.
1 987" 145; Salter 39). Af ter th e development of t h i s game, Gilbert began wor k i n g
with Schafer on a new t i t l e " Th e Secret of M o n k ey I sl an d " ( M I 1 ) w h ere they began
u sing a set of design r u les that w o ul d l ater be referred to as the "LucasArts" st y l e
of adventure game. The "LucasArts" style, in compa r i son to o t her advent ur e games
D IA L O G U E A N D PU Z Z L E D ES I GN W I T H I N T H E A D V EN T U R E GE N R E
of the time, differentiated itself by having no death mechanic. Instead a focus was
placed on dialogue driven puzzles and engaging linear narratives, (R. Gilbert, "Why
Adventure Games Suck" 4;Lessard, "Casual Revolution of...1987" 149; Schafer).
r
r
•
•
g
•
Figure 1. Maniac Mansion. [Gilbert, Ron, and Gary Winnick]. Lucasfilm Games. 1987. Video Game.
These design choices came about when Gilbert and Schafer decided that adventure
g ames should be based on the creativ it y of a player, not th e pl ayer's abilit y t o
predict developers design decisions (Lessard, "Casual Revolution of... 1987" 148).
V erb U s e
The verb table is an interface system that allowed players to interact with the
environ m e nt . In t h i s system th e pl ayer selects an object and t hen selects a verb
displayed on the bottom of the screen. The player character then performs an
action on th e object, in accordance to the verb t hat was selected. In th e past, verbs
were located on the lower section of the screen, but as the genre developed this
interface faded, and verbs were assigned to buttons instead (Adams % Rollings
447; Fernandez Vara"Shaping Player Experience in Adventure Games" 214). In
adventure games, verbs are seen as impor t an t f a c t ors to expl ain w hat st yl e of gam e
the designer has created.
M ONIC A D U N N E
W ithi n m o d er n p o in t an d cl ick advent ur e games, such as "Deponia" or " T h e
Blackwell Legacy", the nu m ber of verbs used has been reduced to two; exam in e and
interact (Adams % Rollings 465-6). The examine function allows the player to look
a t the int er actable item w i t h i n t h e en v i r o n m e nt . Th e in t e r act f u n c t i o n is what t h e
player uses to engage with i n t e r a ctable items. This in t e r act ion f u n c t i o n ch anges
based on the t yp e of item t h a t ha s been selected. For example, in "D ep on i a", the
player uses the int eract ion f u n c t i o n on th e do or. This all ows the door to be open
a nd closed. However, when th e i n t e r act ion f u n c t i o n is used on a sock that i s
placed on the floor, the player character picks the object up and places it in their
i nventor y .
Gilbert's and Schafer's
D esig n R u l e s
The design rules developed by Gilbert and Schafer are the foundation of the classic
" LucasArts" style of advent ur e games. These rules are still used to t h i s day wi t h i n
modern advent ur e games (R. Gilbert, "Why Advent ur e Games Suck" 4; Lessard,
"Casual Revolut ion o f ... 1987" 149; Schafer, "Broken Age: Rethi n k i n g a Classic
Genre for th e M o d er n Er a" ). These design ru les are as follows:
End objective needs to be clear.
T he overall goal that th e pl ayer character wants to achieve is know n f r o m t h e
b eginnin g of th e game. This end goal can change as the game progresses but it i s
s till seen as the end objective to th e pl ayer at any poin t d u r i n g th e pl o t .
Sub-goals need to be obviou s.
The sub-goals relate are the cur r ent t a sks that th e pl ayer needs to perf o rm . T h e se
s ub-goals are easy to und er t a ke, only requ i r i n g th e pl ayer to compl ete a few action s
t o ful f i l . T h ese sub-goals can have fu r t h e r sub-goals of th eir o w n .
Players should not n eed to m ake m i s t a k es.
A ll the i n f o r m a t i o n n e eded to solve a puzzle should be presented from t h e
beginni ng. The puzzle should not r e qu ire th e player to m ake a mi st ake to un cover
t he needed inf o r m a t i o n .
D IA L O G U E A N D PU Z Z L E D ES I GN W I T H I N T H E A D V EN T U R E GE N R E
20
Players should not f i n d so lu t i on s before puzzles are presented.
Players cannot per f or m a c t i on s or use objects before the pu r p ose is made clear.
P layers should not be blocked off t o ar eas they may need to ret ur n t o l a t e r .
P layers are able to ret ur n t o an y ar ea. If a player is ever to go to an area that t h e y
c ould not r e t ur n t o l a t er, then th e area must be im p ossible to leave wit h out t a k i n g
a ll the key it em s .
P uzzles should advance the story .
A ll puzzles in some way must be able to progress the game narr a t i v ely and all t h e
p uzzles must have a reason for being th e r e.
Real time events should not be placed in th e game.
Players should not be un der any t i m e const r a i nt s w hen t r y i n g t o com p l ete puzzles.
T his includes complet ing a task w i t h i n a t i m e l i m i t as well as fast reaction t i m e s .
Players should be in f o r m e d when t hey are mak in g pr o g ress.
The designer should ensure that th e pl ayer is given posit ive rein f o r cement
w henever a task is completed. As well as an awareness that th e player is on t h e
right path.
T he puzzles should m ake sense wit hi n t h e w o r l d .
The puzzles need to match th e t one and env i r o n m en t of t h e game. They must al so
h ave a reason for exi st in g in t h e w o r l d .
P layers should be rewarded for exper i m e n t a t i o n .
T he players' actions should be rewarded, even if t hey are incorr ect, by havi n g
unique reactions to cert ai n act i on s t hat are perf o r m ed . The action does not
progress the game but it p r ev ents players from f eeling l ik e no pr o gression is being
made.
The game should have a linear plot but no n l i n ear pu z zles.
The narrat ive plot should be li n ear. This means the plot is completely plan ned and
cannot be altered. However, the puzzles wit hi n t h e p lot can and should be non
l inear. This means that t h er e can be mul t i pl e puzzles wit hi n on e section of gam e
that can be solved in any or d er .
M ONIC A D U N N E
D IA L O G U E A N D PU Z Z L E D ES I GN W I T H I N T H E A D V EN T U R E GE N R E
22
M ONIC A D U N N E
23
C HA P T E R 2
D ial a g U e
Base Definition af Dialogue
Before exami n i n g th e t y p es of di al ogue that are featured w i t h i n a d v en t ur e games,
d ialogue will be def i n ed. Di al ogue is the comm u n i c at ion t h a t o ccurs between tw o
or more people (Air e n ti , Bara, and Colomb et t i , 19 7). This comm u n i c a t ion can be
verbal (talking to someone); physical (a hug or a punch); or nonverbal (a wink or a
smile).
For this research, verbal di al ogue has been chosen to be the focus. Verbal dialogue
i s prim a r il y how t h e pl ayer and the player character comm u n i c ate wi t h i n m o s t
adventure games. The purpose of dialogue can change depending on whether
it is used in realit y or i n f i c t i o n . According to Caldas-Coult h a rd , di al ogue
i n reality occurs between tw o p eople in or der "t o exchange inf o r m a t i o n , t o
persuade, to comm an d and also simply to m ak e contact " (83). Dialogue is used as
communi cat ion t o h elp h u m an s u n d er st and th e i n t e n t i on s of ot h e rs. Hu m an s have
b ecome adept at reading th e em o t i on s of ot h ers t h r o ugh n o n v erbal com m u n i c a t i o n
b ut still r e q u ir e to verbally d i scuss what caused those emoti o ns. It is only t h r o u g h
d ialogue that people can express their t h o u g h t s .
W hen dialogue is used in f i c t i on , it is i m p l ied t hat t h er e is a signi f i c ant m e a n i n g
behind every l i ne. It is "superm ean i n g fu l i n t h e sense that every t h i n g t h a t i s said
h as a specific sign i f i c ance" (Caldas-Coult h ar d 8 4). If a character states someth i n g
a long the li nes of 'I'm just going to use the bath r o om . I' ll be back in a ti ck,' im p l i e s
e ither somet h in g is going to occur in th e bat h r oo m or som et h i n g w i l l o c cur w h i l e
t he character is away. In a social context , it w o ul d be simply com m u n i c a t i n g
i nform a t io n concern in g th e person's location .
Dialogue in f i c t io n is w r i t t e n t o p r o d uce and convey in f o r m a t i o n t o t h e audi ence.
With t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n " t h e au t hor no t o nl y r e p r esents the in t e r act ion bet w een
p eople, but creates a conversation w h ich ex t e nds it self to th e reader who w i l l
D IA L O G U E A N D PU Z Z L E D ES I GN W I T H I N T H E A D V EN T U R E GE N R E
derive from it w h a t h e / she wants to i m p l i c ate development of a t h e m e," (CaldasCoulthard 84). By thi s def i n i t i o n , d i a l ogue, in th e cont ext of f i c t i on , is used to relay
i nform a t io n t o t h e audi ence. However, how di al ogue is used to convey in f o r m a t i o n
varies depending on w h ich m e d iu m i s being used.
Dial o g u e s
us e i n Va r i ou s
Mediuses
Dialogue is used in var i et y of m e d i u m s: lit er at u re, fil m an d v i deo games. Its
p urpose is to convey in f o r m a t i o n t o t h e audience but th e t yp e of i n f o r m a t i o n
p rovided varies from m e d iu m t o m e d i u m .
I n literat u re, dialogue is ut i l i sed to i n f or m t h e r eader of th e character's mi n d set .
It diff ers from t h e o t her m e d i um s as the di alogue used does not need to be as
d escriptive to convey the m ain p o i n t . T h i s is due to th e env i r o n m en t an d event s
b eing described th r o ugh th e n a r r a t or. It is part of th e n a r r a t o r's fun c t io n t o ex p l a i n
a nd respond to di a l o gue that is perf o r m ed . Th ere is no need for th e di al ogu e
e xchanged to convey all th e i n f o r m a t i o n t h e r eader may requi r e (Caldas-Coulthard
8 7). The conversations w i t h i n l i t e r a t ur e are more realistic as they ref l ect on t h e
scenes that occur rat her t h a n use the conversations as a way to in f or m t h e r eader.
I n film , d i a l o gue is used to ident if y w h a t i s occur r i n g t o th e ch aracter and how t h e y
r espond to it . In r e al i ty, people do not use thi s t yp e of d i a l o gue in conversation .
P eople do not have the need to expl ain v o cally th e events occurr in g in o r der t o
u nderstand t h e m . "Film di a l o gue is often f o r ced to smuggle in i n f o r m a t i o n m e r ely
f or the viewer's benefit . Because the words are in t r u t h d i r e c ted at th e f i l m g o er,
n ot at the on-screen conversation al i s t " (Kozloff 19). Dialogue is placed in film
t o benefit th e audience. The characters are required to express what is occurr i n g
i n the scene. Other w i se the audience could miss an im p o r t a n t p o in t t h a t w i l l b e
r elevant in l a ter segments of th e n a r r a t i v e .
Video games use a combin at io n of d i f f e r ent t y p es of di al ogue to pr o v ide a vast
amount of d i f f e r i n g i n f o r m a t i o n . Some of t h ese dialogue have already been
mention ed (Sheldon 125). Dialogue is used to convey in f o r m a t i o n t o t h e pl ayer and
the inf o r m a t i o n i n f l u e n ces the player's fut ur e acti ons. By having var i ous di alogue
sources where the player can gain i n f o r m a t i o n , th e player has more cont rol over
how much i n f o r m a t i o n t h e y can access (Fernandez Vara, "The Tribul a t i on s of
M ONIC A D U N N E
Adventure Games" 131, 152, 243). By giving cont rol t o th e pl ayer, they feel less
bombarded by the am o un t of i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t i s r evealed wi t h i n g a m es. The
characters in t h ese video games do not st ate the events that occur in a scene as the
player is able to expl ore the env i r o n m en t an d i n t e r p ret th e scene for th e m selves.
The way the player explores a scene to uncover in f o r m a t i o n i s si m i l a r t o t h e way a
writ ten pi ece has a narr ator t o describe a scene. The player is able to fil l t h e r ole of
t he narr ator by v i e w in g th e set t in g and const r u i n g t h ei r ow n m e a n i n g (Fernandez
Vara, "The Tribu l a t i on s of Adv en t ur e Games" 55
).
Another way vi deo games use dialogue to convey in f o r m a t i o n i s t h r o ugh th e use
of radio or ph one lik e devices. Through using devices such as these, players are
r estricted in th e i n f o r m a t i o n t h e y acquire and th e acti ons they may per f o rm . T h i s
leads to the player being informed by a Non-Playable Character (NPC) of their
current sit u a t io n r a t her t h a n t h e pl ayer deter m i n i n g it fo r t h e m s elves. (Fernandez
Vara, " The Tribu l a t i on s of Adv en t ur e Games" 133) Conversing t h r o ugh r a dio i s
similar to th e way di al ogue is used in f i l m . Th e characters or NPCs are needed to
outline th e events that occur to t h e m i n o r der for th e pl ayer or th e audience to
b ecome aware of what is t r a n s p i r i n g .
The dialogue wi t h i n v i d e o games inf o rm s th e pl ayer of th e game's lore and can help
d etermin e th e player's actions or the acti ons of ot h ers in th e game envi r o n m e n t .
H owever, wit hi n a d v en t ur e games, dialogue is no longer simply used to pr o v i d e
inform a t i on . It i s used as a gameplay mechanic in th e solving of pu z zles.
How Dialogue Interacts
D ialogue is used and displayed in var i ous ways wit h i n v i d eo games but its ro l e
is crucial wi t h i n p o i n t an d cl ick games. The role of di al ogue is dependent on
w hat int e r act i on s occur bet w een characters, objects, envir o n m e nt s and t h e
player. Wit hi n f o l l o w i n g section th e r el at i o n sh ips between th ese variables wil l
be examin ed: the di al ogue between the Player Character (PC) and Non Playable
Characters (NPCs), and the di al ogue occurs between the PC and the objects/
environm e nt . Each of t h ese have a diff er ent m e t h o d t o how th e d i a l o gue is used to
p erform an act i on , but each uses the same base of verbal di alogue where the t w o
entities (characters, objects or envi r o n m e n ts) in t e r act in some way.
D IA L O G U E A N D PU Z Z L E D ES I GN W I T H I N T H E A D V EN T U R E GE N R E
Dialogue between the PC and
the NPC
The dialogue that occurs between the PC and NPCs is most familiar relationship
that the player would expect to see in a point and click game. The dialogue that
occurs between the two characters is mostly verbal dialogue, and similar to the way
d ialogue is used in ot her m e d i u m s. It is used to reveal basic inf o r m a t i o n ab out t h e
s ituation at h an d t o th e pl ayer via th e PC and NPCs. "Most of th e i n t e r act i ons w i t h
NPCs take place through conversation, which can be the way to obtain information
from them, or get them to do something" (Fernandez Vara, "The Tribulations of
Adventure Games" 243).
The way PCs and NPCs exchange dialogue within point and click is through a
dialogue tree system. In this interface a NPC states a line of dialogue where the
player is able to respond by selecting from a number of dialogue choices. Through
s electing a dialogue choice, the conversation w il l be gu i ded down a cert ai n s t r e am .
There are some cases when this dialogue selection can be a part of a puzzle,
knowing how to talk to certain characters, or selecting the right choices to reveal
some information that will help later in the game. An example of this can be
seen in "MI1", during the insult sword fighting segment. In this segment the PC,
Guybrush, needs to defeat a number of NPCs, the pirates, in insult sword fighting.
T his is done by selecting th e corr ect di al ogue opt i on s (the correct in su l ts) t hat ar e
available during the battle (see fig. 2). This puzzle also had players battle other
pirates to unlock dialogue options to be used in future battles.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
$•
•
•
•
Figure 2: Zhe Secretof Monkey Island. [Gilbert, Ron, Dave Grossman and Tim Schafer] LucasArts. 1990.
Video Game.
M ONIC A D U N N E
27
A nother com mon r e l a t i o n s hip seen in po in t an d cl ick games occurs between th e
PC and the player's companion ch aracter. A companion ch aracter as summ a r i s ed
by Fernandez Vara is a character who "usually follow the player character through
c ertain st r e t ches of the gam e . ... Their r ole is to assist the player t h r o u g h out t h e
game. The assistance can range from gi v in g ex tr a i n f o r m a t i o n t o t h e pl ayer (e.g.
hints), to helping th e player solve a puzzle, being an in d ependent agent, or even
solving puzzles for th e player." (" The Tribul at i on s of Adv en t ur e Games" 253). The
d ialogue that occurs between th ese characters is a constant source of in f o r m a t i o n
f or the player's benefit. The player is given cont rol of th e am o un t of i n f o r m a t i o n
they receive when solving a puzzle.
These characters are also there to iden t if y t h e cu r r en t goals to the player and serve
a s a constant r e m i n der of w ha t t y p e of ch ar acter th e PC is in th e cont ext of t h e
game. "They usually spend relat iv ely long peri ods of t im e w it h
t h e p l ayer character,
and must react to th e pl ayer's actions in a believable, anim a ted way." (Fernandez
Vara, "The Tribu l a t i on s of Adv en t ur e Games" 253).
It is also imp o r t an t t o n o t e t h a t t h i s comp an ion ch aracter is not alw ays requir ed
to be an NPC. However it d oes require the abil it y t o co m m u n i c ate wit h t h e pl ayer.
An example can be seen in "Gem in i Ru e", where the player uses a computer console
t o gain access to a database. This database contains a vast amount of i n f o r m a t i o n ,
a nd depending on what th e pl ayer chooses to search, the console will r espond. Th e
c onsole serves the role of th e compan ion ch aracter by det ai l in g help fu l i n f o r m a t i o n
to the player based on the player's requests.
T he companion ch aracter's pur p ose is to help the player un d erst and th e solut i o n s
to puzzles while stil l a l l o w i n g th e pl ayer to come to th e solut i on s at t h ei r ow n p a ce.
D ialogue be t w e e n
the PC and
the E n v i r o n <cent
The dialogue that occurs between the PC and the in t e r actable objects is dif f e r ent
t o the way dialogue is used wit h N P Cs, as the verbal di al ogue is one sided. Wit h
i nteractable objects, there are no verbal feedback to the player's actions fr o m
the objects. The spoken di al ogue only occurs th r o ugh th e pl ayer's perspective
(Fernandez Vara, "The Tribul a t i on s of Adv en t ur e Games" 189
).
D IA L O G U E A N D PU Z Z L E D ES I GN W I T H I N T H E A D V EN T U R E GE N R E
28
E very action th e PC perfo rm s on an object, has the object react in some way. Aft er
the object's reaction, the PC reflects on th e reaction t h r o ugh v erbal di al ogue. An
example of t hi s i n t e r a ct ion can be seen in " M I 1 " w h ere Guybr ush receives a carrot
cake from a pr i s oner and com m e nt s t ha t th e cake is heavy. After u sing th e cake, it
i s revealed that t h er e is a file hi d den in th e cake where he then comm e n t s , "There' s
a file in it !", wh ich he can use to solve another pu z zle. The dialogue that occurs
here is often th e same type of descript io n a na r r a tor w o ul d be expected to stat e.
Comment in g on th e object's appearance and use but st il l f r o m t h e PC's perspective.
M ONIC A D U N N E
29
D IA L O G U E A N D PU Z Z L E D ES I GN W I T H I N T H E A D V EN T U R E GE N R E
30
M ONIC A D U N N E
C HA P T E R 3
P uzzl e D e s i g n
Differences in Puzzles
W ithi n p u z z les for poin t an d cl ick games, there are a number of pu z zle vari a t i o n s .
For this research these variat i ons have been div i ded int o t h r e e sections; objects,
inform a t io n an d conversing puzzles, each based on the descript i on s pr ov i ded by
Bob Bates (119-134). Before analysing the different types of puzzles within point
and click games, the di f f e r ence between point an d cl ick pu z zles and classic puzzle
will be discussed.
In simple ter ms, puzzles in poin t an d cl ick games are problem solving pu z zles. They
r equire the player to evaluate the scenario and pr o duce possible soluti ons w it h t h e
characters, objects and envi r o n m e nt s at t h ei r d i s p osal.
C lassic puzzles on the ot her h and are more about long t er m t h i n k i n g , ex am i n i n g
what actions should be perf o r m e d to f u r t h e r t h e pl ayer's success later in th e game
(Adams and Roll i ngs 487; Bates 125). An example of a classic puzzle is "Tetr i s".
" Tetris" is a puzzle game where the player organises blocks fall in g f ro m t h e to p of
the screen into r o ws. When a row is complet ed, the player earns poi n ts, the row
disappears and the blocks placed above of that row, move downwards. The player's
a im is to plan out t h ei r ac t i on s well enough to see how long they can cont i n u e
p laying the game. These types of puzzles revolve around repet i t iv e action an d
p erfecting a set of acti o n s .
C lassic puzzles also tend to h ave mu l t i pl e solut i ons wh ereas point and cl i ck s
tradit i o nal only h ave the one solut ion t o each puzzle. All th e pu z zles typ es
explained in th e f o l l o w i n g section are tr a d i t i o nal p o in t an d cl ick pu z zles.
D IA L O G U E A N D PU Z Z L E D ES I GN W I T H I N T H E A D V EN T U R E GE N R E
32
O bJect Ba se d P u z z l e s
O bject based puzzles have the player pr i m a r i l y u s in g object in t e r act ion in t h e
puzzles soluti o ns. Bates defin i t i on s of "or d i n ar y use of an object", "unusual use of
an object", "building", partially "machinery" and partially "people" puzzles would
be classified as object based puzzles. In the fo l l o w in g descrip t i o ns, an example of
a puzzle has been used to help iden t if y t h e d i f f e r ences between the puzzles. This
e xample consists of th e pl ayer t r y i n g t o cut a r i b b o n .
An "ordi n ar y use of an object" pu z zle has the solut ion i n v o lve the use an object's
t radit i o nal p u r p ose (Bates 120). For example, the player needs to cut a ri b bon an d
f inds a pair of scissors. The scissors would be used to cut th e r i b bon as that is wh at
scissors are tradi t i o n a ll y u sed for .
This type of pu z zle varies slightly in t h e p u z zle type k n ow n as the "u n u sual use
of an object". This puzzle has the solut ion st il l i n v o lve the use of an object but
instead of the t r a d i t i o n a l u se, it has the object use an unconvent i o nal approach
(Bates 120). For example, the player needs to cut a ri b bon but can't f i n d a pair of
scissors. The player in st ead fi nd s a pair of heavy prescrip t io n gl asses and uses the
glasses combined wit h t h e sun t o b ur n t h r o u g h t h e r i b b on . The t r a d i t i o n al use of
t he glasses is not used wi t h i n t h e game and th e only p u r p ose is for an u n t r a d i t i o n a l
use.
" Building" pu z zles are another f a i rl y com mo n p u z zle expected to be seen in a poin t
and click game. These puzzles involve players fi n d in g and comb i n i n g objects to
c reate other objects that w i l l b e used in th e solut io n of th e pu z zl e (Bates 121).
Using the ribbon cutting example again, the player may find a pair of scissors but
the bolt t hat h eld th e tw o h a l ves together is mi ssing. The player must f i n d a bolt
to replace the missing piece, combine it w it h t h e scissor part s and use the repaired
scissors on the r i b bon t o com pl ete the puzzle.
The follow in g pu z zles, "machinery" and "people", are part i a lly object as well as
either in f o r m a t i o n or conv ersation based.
"Machinery" p u z zles, while mo stly i n f o r m a t i o n b ased, often requ i res players to
find objects in or der m ake th e mach i n ery ru n ( B a tes 126). This could in clude gears,
l evers, or even non t r a d i t i o n a l i t em s such as chewing gum and al u m i n i u m f o i l . T h e
o ther por t i o n of t h e p u z zle is about how t h ese objects work in t h e m a ch i n ery w i l l
b e elaborated in th e i n f o r m a t i o n p u z zle section .
M ONIC A D U N N E
33
" People" puzzles are mostly conversation based as they inv olve comm u n i c a t in g w i t h
NPCs (Bates 123). However, quite a lot of t h ese puzzles also require an object to be
given or used on th e NPC in or der to be solved. These NPCs are an obstacle rather
than a character w it h w h o m t o c o m m u n i c a te. An exam ple would be ret u r n i n g a lost
item to a character so they would r eveal some in f o r m a t i on , or using a scary mask in
o rder to scare a character to m ove f rom an area that t h ey may be blocki n g .
Inf arrogation Based Puzzles
I nform a t io n based puzzles use the player's ability t o su r vey t h ei r su r r o u n d i n g s
and come to a solution based on t h ose understan d i n gs. Bates defin i t i on s of
"infor m a t i o n", "code/cry p t o g r a m s", "sequence" and some "machin ery" p u z zl es
would be classified as inf o r m a t i o n b ased puzzles.
"Infor m a t i on " p u z zles, as Bates describes, require the player to di scover
inform a t io n t h r o u g h ex a m i n i n g t h e env i r o n m en t an d in t h e p r o cess, solve a puzzle
( 121). For example, when th e pl ayer explores an envi r o n m en t an d f i n d s a not e
w ith th e n u m ber " 8 9 7 8". The player later f i n d s a lock that r e q u i res four d i g i t s .
T he player should realise the code they found earlier wo uld be the solut ion t o t h e
puzzle.
"Code/Cryp t o g am" or ot her w or d pu z zles require players to decipher th e codes
b efore being able to proceed wit h t h e game. These puzzles can reveal in f o r m a t i o n
t hat can assist the player later in th e game or it may pr o v ide the player wi t h
something of cu r r en t n a r r a t iv e i m p o r t a nce (Bates 122).
"Sequence" puzzles require players to iden t if y a pa t t er n an d act in accordance
with t ha t p a t t er n ( B ates 124). For in st ance, the puzzle may be crossing a lake
with m o v i n g l o gs. Every t im e th e pl ayer m akes a move, the logs would also move.
T hrough exam i n i n g th e m o v em ent p a t t er n of t h e l ogs, the player can deter m i n e
what logs to jump on an d at w hat t i m e s to pr o ceed to the ot her side of the lak e.
T he "Machi n e ry " p u z zle, as explained earlier, requires the use of objects for t h e
machinery to r u n . H o w ever, the in f o r m a t i o n p o r t i o n of t h e p u z zle is revealed
w hen the objects need to be placed or used in a certain o r d er. This order can eith er
be solved via t r i a l and er ro r or, m ore of t en, th e solut ion can be found somewhere
w ithi n t h e game's envir o n m en t ( B ates 126). It is the players task to acquire th e
i nform a t io n t h a t i s needed to un d er st and how t o op er ate the mach i n e r y .
D IA L O G U E A N D PU Z Z L E D ES I GN W I T H I N T H E A D V EN T U R E GE N R E
C onver s i n g B a s e d P u z z l e s
Conversing based puzzles involve comm u n i c at ion b et w een th e PC and the NPCs in
order to be solved. Bates defin i t i o n s of " l o g i c / r i d d l e ", "dialogue" and the partially
" people" puzzles would be part of th e conversing puzzle ti er .
" Logic/Ri d d le" puzzles are where the player has to decipher the i n f o r m a t i o n
provided by a NPC and solve the logic or riddle puzzle posed by them (Bates 124).
These puzzles are often solved wit h solely the use of dialogue.
" Dialogue" puzzles, alongside object puzzles, are the most l i k ely t y p e of pu z z l e
to be found in a point and click game. A "dialogue" puzzle is where the player
communi cates with a NPC in or der to m a n i p u l at e th eir act i o ns. The player achieves
this th r o ugh u n d e r st a n d in g th e N PCs persona and selecting th e correct responses
f rom the di a l ogue opt i on s t hat adh ere to t hat p er sona. These manip u l at ed
a ctions can be as simple as having th e NPC move, to tel l in g th e player some vit a l
i nform a t io n or even have them p er f or m an act ion t h a t w i l l h elp in a n o t her pu z z l e
(Bates 125).
T he last puzzle type in t h i s collection is th e "People" puzzle which was bri ef l y
m entioned earlier. This puzzle has players comm u n i c ate wit h N PCs to iden t i f y
t heir goals. Usually the pu z zle involves an NPC want in g a certain object, fi n d i n g
the object and giv in g t h a t o b j ect to th e NPC in or der to compl ete the puzzl e (Bates
123). The reasoning behind wh y t h i s p u z zle resides in both , here and in th e objects
t ier, is due to the pu zzle requi r in g th e pl ayer to converse with th e N PCs to ident i f y
their objectiv e.
M ONIC A D U N N E
35
D IA L O G U E A N D PU Z Z L E D ES I GN W I T H I N T H E A D V EN T U R E GE N R E
36
M ONIC A D U N N E
37
C HA P T E R 4
Mg Prospect
Prospect Susesearg
For the project, a point an d cl ick advent ur e game was created based on the design
rules that Ron Gi lb ert an d Ti m Schafer devised in th e early 19 9 0's when developin g
t heir own adven t ur e games at LucasArt s (R. Gilbert, "Why Advent ur e Games Suck"
4; Lessard, "Casual Revolut ion o f ... 1987" 149; Schafer, "Broken Age: Rethinking a
C lassic Genre for th e M o d er n Er a"). This advent ure game is set in a fai r y t a l e sett i n g
where the player is given th e role of a young elf who is accompanied by a fairy. In
t he game the player t r ies to f i g ur e out how t o open up an enchanted door t hat h a s
s uddenly appeared. In or der to open t h i s door th e pl ayer must f i n d t h r e e key it em s
t hat they acquire t h r o ugh solv in g pu z zles wit hi n t h e gam e.
T he game consists of four p u z
zles; a puzzle to in t r o d uce the player to th e st yle of gameplay, a conversing
puzzle, an in f o r m a t i o n p u z zle and an object puzzle. The aim was to create a game
t hat featured a num ber of d i f f e r ent p u z zles a player would expect to f i n d i n a n
adventure game. Thr ou gh out th e game the player wil l be i n t r o d u ced to a nu m ber of
characters that w i l l h elp in t h e quest to open th e enchanted door. These characters
will be a source of in f o r m a t i o n fo r t h e t a sks the player should u n d e r t ak e as well as
serve as obstacles in a num ber of pu z zles.
D esig n
Choices
T he project focuses on the di f f e r ent p u z zle ty pes wi t h i n t h e game and exam i n e s
t he various ty pes of di al ogue in po in t an d cl ick games. The reasoning behind m y
choices in what I i n c l u ded and decided to exclude in my advent ur e game was to
reflect the st r o n gest poi nt s in m y r esearch.
D IA L O G U E A N D PU Z Z L E D ES I GN W I T H I N T H E A D V EN T U R E GE N R E
38
I chose to include four pu z zles. This was done to out l i n e th e t h r ee main t y p e s of
puzzles as well as include a tut o r ial p u z zle to i n t r o d uce the player to th e mechan i cs
of the game. The three main types of puzzles that I will be basing my puzzles
on are: conversation based puzzles, info r m a t i o n b ased puzzles and object based
puzzles. With t h ese puzzles I wil l be able to show th e d i f f e r ent t y p es of pu z zles
w hile still h a v in g th e pr oj ect f lo w sm o o t hl y f r o m on e pu z zle to anot h e r .
I chose to include four env i r o n m e nt s in t h i s game. The fi rst area would be th e
p layer's start in g p o in t w h er e the player would be restr i c ted to u n t i l t h e y compl et e
t he first pu z zle. The second area would be the wor l d's main ar ea, lin k i n g all t h e
different areas together. The t h i r d an d f o u r t h a r eas are places where the player can
e xplore to gain k n o w l e dge about pu zzles in di f f e r ent ar eas as well as obtain i t e m s
that wil l b ecome vital in t h e compl et ion of t h ose puzzles. I in i t i a ll y t r i e d to k eep
t he envir o n m e nt s to t h r e e areas however I fo un d it was too crowded and I wa n t e d
to have some element of ex p l o r a t i on . By having four en v i r o n m e nt s I was also able
to assign a puzzle foreach area.
My reasoning behin d u s ing th e Adven t ur e Game Studio was because it was a game
e ngine that m an y adven t ur e game developers use, such as Dave Gilbert and V i n c e
T welve, and it was an engine specifically m ade to create games in th e "LucasAr t s "
style. Furt h e r m o re, the pr ogr a m m i n g scri pt s t ha t I w o ul d r e qu ire would al r eady
b e available to use. The other op t io n I had available would be to use the Un i t y
E ngine, an engine wit h w h i c h I am f a m i l i a r . H o w ever, in using t hat en g in e I wo u l d
s pend much of my d evelopm ent t i m e l ear n in g how t o w r i t e new scri pt s for t h e
t ype of game I would w ant t o c r eate as opposed to using Advent ur e Game Studi o
which already had a fr am ew ork t o w or k f r o m . A d v en t ur e Game Studio was made
accessible for people begin n in g in t h e game development so it was easy to pick and
learn to use.
I chose to include five characters wit h i n m y g a me; the main ch ar acter, her
companion and t h r e e NPCs. The main ch aracter is an elven girl n a med Tr i sha and
h er demeanour is meant to be a bit bl ank so players can ident if y w i t h h e r w i t h
e ase. I made her colour scheme red and gold in or der for her not t o b l end i nt o t h e
background.
Her companion is a fai ry, Lea, who is always tr y i n g t o get Tr i sha mov i ng. This was
d one to create a source of mot i v a t io n for th e pl ayer, to keep them w a n t i n g t o m o v e
forward. She is designed to be a glowing blue orb rat her t h a n a h u m a n oi d ch aracter
in order to avoid an i m a t i n g an o t her ch aracter t hat al w ays is mov in g alongside
t he main pr o t agon ist or conversing w it h her i n s ome way. I also in i t i a ll y pl a n n e d
M ONIC A D U N N E
39
for her to be a non gender specific character but as I developed the project I kept
referring to the character as afemale.
T he three NPCs in t hi s game are a Riddle Gnome, a Rhym in g Gn ome and a Fril l y
Troll.
T he Riddle Gnome and Rhy m i n g Gn om e are tw i n s . They are made to be twi n t o
s ave time in design ing an ex tr a ch aracter for a simple puzzle. By simply changi n g
the colour scheme of the clot h i n g I could use the t im e I saved imp r o v in g th e game
i n another area. Wit hi n t h e game they are feuding w h ich gives a reason for t h e i r
puzzle being th ere, as they simply w o n't t al k t o each oth er. This leaves the player
to talk bet w een th e t w o . As th eir n a mes suggest, the Rhy m i n g Gn om e speaks in
rhymes whereas the Riddle Gnome enjoys spout in g r i d d les for th e player to solve.
T he final ch aracter is a fr i l l y t r o l l n a m ed Cindy as I needed a character that w o u l d
h ave presumed in t e rests. This is displayed th r o ugh her sur r o u n d i n gs, a femi n i n e
l ooking house, and her at t i r e , a pur ple dress with a r i b bon pl aced her hair .
I chose to use a basic two verb system as I wanted to rest r ict th e am o un t o f
dialogue that n eeded to be wr i t t e n w hen a verb is used wit h a n u m ber of objects.
B y having only tw o v e r bs, the player is able to skip th e f r u s t r a t io n of selecting t h e
c orrect verb to fi t t h e cor r ect scenario and avoid th e same standard di a l ogue th at
o ccurs when an object in t e r act ion is in cor r ect .
T utor i a l
Puzzle
The first pu z zle that was designed for t h i s pr oj ect was a tut o r ial p u z zle to
f amili a r ise the player w it h t h e t y p e of gameplay they would exp er i ence. In t h i s
puzzle the compan ion ch aracter, Lea, in her eff o rt s t o w ake the PC, Trisha, up
managed to get her w i ngs wet f ro m t h e m o r n i n g d ew. Wit h her w i n gs wet she is
unable to f ly and cont i nu e on th e jou r n ey. It is the player's task to f in d a way to d r y
L ea's wings in a non h a r m f u l m a n n er . All of t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n i s pr o v i ded t h r o u g h
t he dialogue between Lea and Tri sha. The player is able to achieve this t h r o u g h
collecting m at ches and a lant e rn , and comb i n i n g th e objects along wit h Lea in or d er
to solve the puzzle. By ligh t in g th e la n t er n t h e heat f ro m t h e l a n t er n w i l l b e able
t o dry Lea's wings. This puzzle was based on object based puzzles, taking element s
used in "ori g i nal use of an object", " the unusual use of an object" and " b u i l d i n g "
puzzles (Bates 120-1).
D IA L O G U E A N D PU Z Z L E D ES I GN W I T H I N T H E A D V EN T U R E GE N R E
40
This puzzle was designed to be quite small so that th e pu z zle would have few steps
a nd the player would be able to move on to expl o r in g th e rest of th e w o r ld . Th e
puzzle also int r o d u ces the player to th e concept of th e compan ion ch aracter as
she explains that T r i sha can't cont i nu e w i t h ou t h er. An o t her i n t e r est ing aspect of
this puzzle was that Lea serves as both a NPC and a companion ch aracter and her
d ialogue was shown to r e f l ect t h at . She still p r o v i des help in th e way a compani o n
character would but she also requires to behave in NPC man ner wh ere the player
isn't revealed all th e an swers.
I chose to have this pu zzle to be separate from th e rest of th e env i r o n m e n t s
b ecause as it was the t u t o r i a l st age, the player should not be led astray by hav i n g
the whole game available at once. The envir o n m en t u sed for t h i s pu z zle was chosen
to show the var i ous nu m ber of t h i n g s a player could in t e r act w i t h . H o w ever, it was
not always necessary to i n t e r a ct, nor was every t h i n g n eeded to be used. This was a
notion t hat r e m a in s t r u e t h r o u g h out th e game.
Main 0bgective
After th e f i r s t i n t r o d u c t or y p u z zle is completed, the m ain qu est is ann o u n ced. At
the base of the t ree where the m ain ch aracter liv es, a mysteri ous enchanted door
has appeared. From t hat p o in t o n w a rd s th e player's end goal is to f in d a way to
o pen that do or. On th e door is a small pl aque that i n f o r m s th e pl ayer what t h e y
w ill requ ire and it is pr esented as a riddle. The objects required for op en ing t h e
door are a ring, a t o m p h ot o and a fl o w er. Af ter th e pl ayer f i nd s and places these
objects in th e enchanted door, it w il l o p en . Th ough t h i s i n t e r a ct ion is posed to
the player as a puzzle, in the way it has a riddle and requires objects to solve, this
should not be considered a puzzle. This is due to the player not n eeding to solve or
f ind the solut ion t o th e p u z z l e (Bates 127). The objects that are required to open
the door are key objects that th e pl ayer wil l gain a f t e r compl et in g th e ot her pu z zl es
w ithi n t h e game. By having t h ese objects as the solution t o th e m ai n q u est, th e
only problem is f i n d i n g a way to gain t h ose objects needed to complete that quest.
T here is no problem solv in g i n v o l ved wh ich is what m a kes a puzzle in a point an d
click game. However the reason behind why it i s st il l p o sed as a puzzle is due to
t he puzzle needing to fi t t h e f o r m a t of t h e game. Wh il e it could have been simpl e
to include a cutscene where the player is told what t h ey w o ul d n eed, it feels more
engaging to have the player feel like t hey are solving anot her pu z zl e.
M ONIC A D U N N E
F rom thi s po in t on , th e pl ayer needs to obt ain i n f o r m a t i o n on how t o gain t h e
key objects. The player is required to i n t e r act w it h m u l t i p l e characters. Though
these characters are all involved in separate puzzles, they can all reveal helpful
inform a t io n on t h e p u z zles that t hey aren't d i r e ctly par t of . For in s t a n ce, in one
of the puzzles ment i o ned below, it feat u res no in t e r act i ons w it h N PCs in or d er
to solve the puzzle. However, for th e player to u n d er st and what n eeds to occur in
t he puzzle, the player is required to speak to N PCs to un d erst and what th e pu z zl e
r equires to be done. The puzzle could be solved wi t h ou t t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n b e i n g
revealed. However, the reasoning behin d th e pl ayer's actions would not m ak e sense
in the nar r a t i ve. This somewhat calls back to one of Gilb e r t's and Schafer's design
rules: "Players should not f i n d sol u t i on s before puzzles are presented." (R. Gilbert,
"Why Adven t ur e Games Suck" 4; Lessard, " Casual Revolution o f . .. 1987" 149;
Schafer, "Broken Age: Rethi n k i n g a Classic Genre for th e M o d er n Er a"
Conv e r s i n g
)
P uz z l e
The first pu z zle designed for t h i s game is a conversation based puzzle, meaning it
is solved th r o ugh th e use of di al ogue between characters, usually th e PC and NPCs.
In this puzzle the player is required to com m u n i c ate and t r ade wit h t w o g n o mes in
order to collect one of th e key it ems requi red to open th e enchanted door.
E ach of the gnomes has a verbal tick t hey acquire when t r a d in g i t e ms. One of t h e
g nome only t r a des items that r h y m e w it h each ot h er, and the ot her w i l l o nl y g i v e
the player somet h in g t o t r ad e after an swer ing a ri d dle about th e object. These
puzzle elements come from th e " L o gi c/ R i d d le" puzzle type (Bates 124).
In this puzzle th ere are also some remn a nt s of an object puzzle as the player mu st
u se objects while in t e r act in g w it h t h e g n o mes in or der to t r ade and complete th e
p uzzle. This puzzle is referred to as a "People" puzzle (Bates 123). Throu gh out t h e
puzzle the player can ask Lea for in f o r m a t i o n ab out th e cu r r ent si t u a t i on , and her
response will h i n t t o w a r d s play ing to t h ei r p er sonal i t ies rather t ha n how th e pl ayer
w ould nor m a ll y i n t e r a ct. Lea will also men t io n how th e pl ayer wil l n eed to t r a d e
w ith th e gn o mes in or der to gain th e object they requ i r e .
Initi ally it was plan ned to i n c l ude a second part of t h i s p u z zle was designed
h owever due to t im e const r a i nt s it was cut. In t h i s p o r t i o n d ep en d ing on w h i c h
gnome the player speaks wi th , th e pl ayer is required to change their approach.
For instance one of the gn om e's is aggressive so a frien dly approach wil l no t be as
D IA L O G U E A N D PU Z Z L E D ES I GN W I T H I N T H E A D V EN T U R E GE N R E
42
effective as a more conf r o n t a t i o n al appr oach. The other gn ome, however, is far
f riendl ier so having a harsh approach would m ost l i k ely deter hi m f r o m h e l p i n g
you. This portion of the puzzle is based on the "Dialogue" type puzzle (Bates 125).
These puzzles serve as examples of the di f f e r ent t y p es of conversing puzzles that
c an occur in a poin t an d cl i ck. It is i m p o r t a n t t o n ot e t hat o nce the correct m a i n
item is acquired and placed in th e enchanted t ree the puzzle wil l end. This mean s
the player wil l n o l o n ger be able to t r ade wit h t h e gn o mes for objects. None of
t hese objects have any use outside this pu zzle so the player need not w o rr y ab ou t
not having access to an object they may need later on. The player wil l s t i l l able to
interact wit h t h e g n o m es, to ask about ot her p u z zles and objects they may possess
i n their i n v e n t o r y .
O bJect P u z z l e
The second puzzle that was designed for t h i s game was an object based puzzle,
referring to th e elements in v o l ved in solv in g th e pu z zle all relate to th e use of
o bjects. For thi s pu z zle, the player must cause a wilted pot pl an t t o b l oom w h i c h
t hey will accomplish by wat er in g and gi v in g it access to sunl i g ht . T hi s d i v i des th e
p uzzle into tw o sub goals, gaining water and gain in g su n l i g h t .
The "gaining wat er" p o r t i o n of t h e p u z zle is based on the "ori g i nal use of an object"
p uzzle as it inv o lves the player fin d an object t hat w o ul d be used to t r a d i t i o n a l l y
c arry somet h in g (cont a i n er) and use it to carr y w a ter f ro m on e env i r o n m en t t o
a nother. This would be seen as a fairly sim ple and str ai g h t f o r w ar d p u z zle as it onl y
r equires one action of th e pl ayer and does not in v o lve the need for pr oblem solv i n g
skills from t h e pl ayer. It also doesn't require t h i n k i n g o u t s ide the usual realm of
p ossibilit y h e nce why is an "or i g i nal use of an object" pu z zle (Bates 120). It fo l l o w s
t he one line of logic and does not chall enge the player. The only chall enge wit h i n
this por t io n i s t ha t t h e pl ayer needs to locate the objects needed in th e pu z zle.
In the second por t i o n of t h e p u z zle, the "gain in g su n l i g ht " p u z z le, it uses a
combinat ion of th e "u n u sual use of an object" and th e " b u i l d i n g " p u z zle ty pes to
produce a puzzle that w i l l c ause the player to t h i n k c r i t i c a lly and br oadly wh en
trying to develop a solution (B ates 120-1). In t hi s pu z zle the player is required to
collect a number objects scatter in g t h r o u g h out th e game, combine th ose objects
together and t hen use the newly created object to solve the puzzle. The puzzle
b eing, the vi nes in f r on t o f t h e pot p l an t are blocked the sunl i gh t f r o m c o m i n g
M ONIC A D U N N E
43
through and it's the player's task is to f in d a way to cut th e t h i c k v i n es. The player
c uts the vines by combi n i n g a sharp r ock and a soft pi ece of cloth . Using t h e
wrapped rock the player can cut the vines to reveal the sunlight. The player in
t his puzzle is able to come to t h i s solut ion t h r o ug h ex am i n i n g t h ei r i n v e n t or y an d
h aving a dialogue between the PC and the inv en t or y objects the PC are carry i n g .
T his puzzle also features the few m o m e nt s when th e pl ayer can in t e r act w it h t h e
environm en t r a t her t h a n o b j ects that are wi t h i n t h e scene. The player is able to
interact wit h t h e l ake w it h t h e cont a i ner to h old th e w ater to be used later on an d
t he vines with t h e w r a p ped rock to give the pot pl ant access to the sunl i g ht . W h e r e
in other pu z zles the player is able to exam in e th e env i r o n m en t t o h elp solve a
puzzle at hand, in t h i s p u z zle the env i r o n m en t n e eded to be used and in t e r acted
with in o r der for th e pu z zle to be solved.
Inf arrogation Puzzle
The final pu z zle that was designed for t h i s game was an i n f o r m a t i o n b ased
p uzzle. It was designed to fo cus on the player's int er p r et a t io n of th e i n f o r m a t i o n
d isplayed wit h i n t h e g ame and how t hey per f or m c e r t ai n act i ons based on th o se
i nterpr et a t i o n s .
In this puzzle the player is in f o r m ed by ot her N PCs that th e f r i l l y t r o l l , Ci n dy, has
one of the key objects required in op en in g th e door. The player may go to Cindy an d
ask for the object di r e ctly but t h e pl ayer's request wil l be denied. It is presumed at
t his point t h a t by g i v i n g Ci ndy an object she desires she will be w i l l i n g t o p ar t f r o m
the key object. What Ci ndy w a nt s is left t o t h e pl ayer to i n t e r p ret as she likes pink
frilly objects but she doesn't state thi s herself. It is t h r o ugh w hat o t her N P Cs, the
gnomes and Lea, say about Cindy and th e PC exami n i n g her h ouse, that th e pl ayer
c an come to t hi s conclusion. The player next t ask to ex pl ore the env i r o n m en t t o
find an object t hat i s of Ci n d y's taste, someth in g p in k an d f r i l l y . Once the player
trades the desired object, Cindy w il l g ive the key object to th e pl ayer.
However, the key object is locked away in a chest and Cindy has forgotten the
c ombinat ion t h a t i s needed to un l ock th e chest. Asking any of th e N PCs about t h i s
problem, wil l cause them to d i r ect th e pl ayer to th e cl if f f ace area where there is an
engraving of a code. Before this point t h e pl ayer would have no idea what th e code
would be refer r in g t o bu t o nce the chest is revealed so did the puzzle.
D IA L O G U E A N D PU Z Z L E D ES I GN W I T H I N T H E A D V EN T U R E GE N R E
44
Both of t h ese puzzles are versions of th e " i n f o r m a t i on " t y p e pu z zle where th e
p layer is given in f o r m a t i o n an d is requi red to decipher what it m e a n s (Bates 121).
H owever, the fi rst p u z zle section is in t e r p r e t in g verbal i n f o r m a t i o n t h r o u g h
t alking w it h N P Cs and the second por t io n is about i n t e r p r e t i n g i n f o r m a t i o n
through vi sual clues.
T his puzzle pr i m a r i l y u ses explorat ion of th e env i r o n m en t i n o r der to f i n d a
solution. Th r o ugh ex p l o r in g th e game envi r o n m en t t h e pl ayer is able to decipher
t he both th e f i r s t an d second half of th e pu z zles while stil l i n t e r p r e t i n g v a r i o u s
displays of in f o r m a t i o n . T h r o u g h out t h i s p u z zle the use of di alogue is mostly used
to direct the pl ayer to th e r i gh t so u rce of in f o r m a t i o n r a t her t h a n t r y i n g t o serve as
a n obstacle to prevent th e pl ayer from o b t a i n i n g i n f o r m a t i o n .
M ONIC A D U N N E
45
D IA L O G U E A N D PU Z Z L E D ES I GN W I T H I N T H E A D V EN T U R E GE N R E
46
M ONIC A D U N N E
47
C ON C L U S I O N
C ancl U < i a n
T his paper led to th e creation of an A dv en t ur e game based on the "LucasAr ts" st y l e,
with a focus on puzzle and di al ogue design. Th r o ugh th e pr o d u ct ion of th e gam e
a nd research conducted, a broad wealth of new k n o w l edge was uncovered. Wit h
t his deeper awareness has enabled the produ ct ion of an A d v en t ur e game that h a s
e xceeded all expectat i ons and w il l co n t i n u e to i m p r ov e the gameplay of f u t u r e
games developed in t h i s genre.
Prior to t h i s r esearch, dialogue in Adv en t ur e games was used as a source of
inform a t io n or an ob st acle for th e player. This paper expanded the way di alogue
w as perceived. Dialogue is dependent on w h ich tw o p a r t i es are comm u n i c at i n g .
W hile only fo cusing on tw o r e l a t i o n sh ips that occur, thi s t o pic could be fu r t h e r
explored wit h t h e d i s cussion of th e pl ayer and the player character. This is a
r elationship t h a t i s especially i n t e r esting in th e cont ext of th e A d v en t ur e and t h e
use of verbs to in s t r u c t t h e pl ayer.
Through researching pu zzle design an un d er st an d in g of th e va r i et y of p u z zl es
available for the Adv en t ur e genre was found. In th e p r o d u c t ion of th e pr oj ect it
revealed how di f f e r ent elem ents f rom v a r i ou s puzzle ty pes could be combin ed
to create complex puzzles. This added more vari a t ion t o an area th ou ght of as
n arrowly st r u c t u r e d .
T his research exam i ned one of th e styles of Advent ur e genre, the "LucasAr t s "
s tyle. In f u t u r e w o rk , th e research could be broadened in one of tw o d i r e c t i o n s ;
examin in g th e v a r i a t io n of st y les by the companies that p r o d uce Advent ur e games
(for inst ance looking at th e Sierra and the Tellt ale approach to th e genre), or
examin in g th e d i f f e r ent sub-genres of the Adven t ur e genre (visual novels, text
b ased adventures and envi r o n m e n ta l si m u l a t o r s ). This research could also be more
r eliant on com pl et in g case studies on the games chosen to research, rather t ha n t h e
research of ot h e rs. Thr o ugh w r i t i n g t h i s p aper, it was discovered that th e research
which discusses the gameplay mechanics wit h i n t h e A d v e n t u r e genre was not
s ubstantial enough for th e depth w h i c h t h i s r esearch requir ed .
D IA L O G U E A N D PU Z Z L E D ES I GN W I T H I N T H E A D V EN T U R E GE N R E
48
I am quite pr oud of th e pr o d uct I m a n a ged to pr o duce at the end of t h i s year.
I n the begin n i n g , it seemed that I' d be lucky if I co uld pr o d uce a funct i o n i n g
prototype, that would only outline the basics of my research. However, by working
on the product alongside my research I found t i m e t o d evelop ot her areas and add
additional feat u res that w er en't i n i t i a l l y p l a n n ed. Upon compl et in g t h i s w or k I
was able to achieve an aspirat ion of m i n e for t h i s year wh ich was to obt ain en ough
insight on th e subject so I can cont i nu e to pr o d uce games in the Advent ur e genre.
M ONIC A D U N N E
49
D IA L O G U E A N D PU Z Z L E D ES I GN W I T H I N T H E A D V EN T U R E GE N R E
50
M ONIC A D U N N E
A PPE N D I X E S
h ppendi x e a
G arne Design Da cuseent s P uzzl e s
Tuto r i a l
P u zz l e -
Summary: The fairy is unable to fly due to a water droplet falling on her wings. The
p layer must dr y t h e w i n g s before they can cont i n u e .
Characters:
Fairy
Items:
Matches
Lantern
Steps:
O btain M a t c h es
O btain La n t e r n
U se Matches on Lant er n
U se Lantern on Fair y
E nchan t e d
Daar =
S ummary: Op en in g t h i s d oor is th e overall goal of th e player. To obtain t h r e e it em s
and place it in th e slots allocated.
Items:
A photo tom (Fear)
D IA L O G U E A N D PU Z Z L E D ES I GN W I T H I N T H E A D V EN T U R E GE N R E
52
Engraved ring (Wealth)
Flower (Grow)
R hyme for Enchan ted Do o r :
"Three gi
fts you'll need to enter here,
Something of Wealth and something to fear,
The third gift comes from earth and grain,
As it'ssomething to grow, not to obtain."
P uzzl e i = C o n v e r s a t i o n P u z z l e = R i d d l e
a nd Rhy m i n g
S ummary: The player must converse with t w o g n o m es, one who speaks in r i d d l e s
and the other wh o speaks in r h y m es. Thr o ugh conversation and t r a d in g th e player
w ill gain one of th e objects needed to open the Enchanted Do or .
Characters:
Riddle Gnome
Rhyme Gnome
Items:
A Red Hot Flame
Birthday Cake
Yellow Corn
A Hidden Shame
Cute Snake
A photo t hat was t o m
Steps:
Talk to Rid dle Gnome; ment i on s rh y m i n g g n ome hav ing objects of fear,
mentions he tr ades objects but w i l l t r a d e w it h yo u if you solve 3 ri d d l es.
After solvin g t h r ee ri d d les the player gets to choose their p r i ze; A fl a me, a
cake and corn .
M ONIC A D U N N E
53
Talk to Rhy m i n g g n o me; M en t i on s he has th ree items to t r a de, A shame, a
snake and a phot o
T rade Corn wit h a Photo t h at was T o m .
Use Photo on Enchanted Tree
Puzzle 2= Obiect Puzzle- Growing Tree
Summary: The player must f i n d a way to cause the fl ower to bl ossom
Characters:
Frilly Troll
Items:
Pot Plant
Container
Water
F rilly M a t e r i a l
Sharp Rock
Vines
Blossom
Steps:
T alk to Fr i ll y Tr ol l about Pot Plant; m e n t i on s need water and sun l i g h t
O btain Cont a i n e r
U se Container on L a k e
Obtain Cont a i ner of W at er
Use Water on Pot Plant
O btain Fr i ll y M a t e r i a l
Obtain Sharp Rock
Use Frilly M a t e r ial on Sharp Rock
U se Holdable Sharp Rock on V i n e s
D IA L O G U E A N D PU Z Z L E D ES I GN W I T H I N T H E A D V EN T U R E GE N R E
54
T he flower blo om s
Obtain Flow er's blossom
Use Blossom on Enchanted Tree
P uzzle 3= Inf ormatio n P u z z l e - Fr i l l y
Troll
Summary: Th r o ugh ex am i n i n g t h e env i r o n m en t an d w hat ch ar acters say the player
will be able to deter m i n e w hat t h ei r act i ons should be.
Characters:
Frilly Troll
Riddle Gnome
Items:
Pink Frilly Umbrella
Locked Chest
E ngraved rin g
Steps:
•
T alk to Rid dle Gnome; ment i on s t hat F r i l l y Tr oll w i l l h ave the object t h a t
you' re looking for
Talk to Fr i ll y Tr o ll ; m e n t i on s hav ing th e object the player wan ts, and how
he like pink and frilly things
O btain Pin k F r i l l y U m b r e l l a
Use Pink Frilly Umbrella with Frilly Troll
Obtain Lo cked Chest
Look at Engraved Wall
Look at Locked Chest; th r o ugh d i a l o gue opti ons enter code
O btain Engraved ri n g
M ONIC A D U N N E
55
G arne Design Da cvseent s ObJects and E n v i r o n<cent
Object
Puz
Description:
Location:
Matches
Used to create a flame for the lantern so the fairy can
dry her wings.
Treehouse
Lantern
Used to contain the flame that will dry the fairy's wings. Treehouse
Aflame
One of the possible items to gain from the Riddle
Gnome if you correctly answer his riddles. It is traded
for "A secret shame" (Brown Bag).
Enchant-
One of the possible items to gain from the Riddle
Gnome if you correctly answer his riddles. It is traded
for a "snake".
Enchant-
One of the possible items to gain from the Riddle
Gnome if you correctly answer his riddles. This item is
Enchanted Tree
Name:
Cake
Corn
ed Tree
ed Tree
the correct item that is needed to be traded in order to
receive the key item for the enchanted tree. It is traded
for a "photo that's tom" (T om Photo)
Snake
One of the items that can be traded for.
Cliff Face
Tom Photo
One of the items that can be traded for. This item is the
key object that will help open the enchanted door.
Cliff Face
Brown Bag
One of the items that can be traded for.
Cliff Face
Container
This object is used to hold water so it can be used on
Treehouse
the plant later
Enchant-
Container
with water
See above. Alternative sprite.
Frilly Material
A piece of cloth used to hold the sharp rock
Sharp rock
A rock that is sharp enough to cut through the thick
vines that are blocking the sunlight to the pot plant
Cliff Face
Blossom
A key item for opening the enchanted door. This item
comes from completing the puzzle by watering and
providing sunlight to the pot plant.
Troll
Pink Um-
This item is traded with the Troll in order to receive the
Treehouse
brella
locked chest.
Chest
Item that is received after trading with the pink um-
Troll
brella. In order to get the key item the chest must be
opened by learning the code.
House
The key item that was located inside the locked chest.
Troll
It is another item that is used in opening the enchant-
House
Ring
ed Tree
Troll
House
House
ed door.
D I A L 0 G U E A ND
P U Z Z L E D E S IG N W IT H IN T H E A D V E N T U R E G E N R E
56
Location:
Description:
Treehouse
The player starting room. 'Ihe player is restricted to this room until they
solve puzzle l. 'Ihis room is located above the "Enchanted Tree".
Enchanted
Tree
The main HUB area that links all the rooms to each other. It is the loca-
Cliff Face
This room is on the left of the "Enchanted Tree" and it contains the sec-
Troll House
ond half of puzzle 2. This room also contains a code that is used in puzzle
4. The Rhyming Gnome is located in this area.
'Ihis room is on the right of the "Enchanted Tree". This room is the location for puzzle 3 and 4. It is also the location where the Frilly Troll can be
found.
tion of half of puzzle 2 and the main objective, the enchanted tree. The
Riddle Gnome is also located in this area.
M ONIC A D U N N E
57
P uzzl e D e p e n d e ncy Ch a r t
PJLI'e
i n t' o
F' Ziake5 Jp
C tacare 1
rir '.5 nel
P:..k dp I»tn'Jr»)5 I
-' . :k . I P I ; 1»I» n
Llew I'.'.alt Iea < n
' a»!err.
I) ae '.: I ar! I-.
I)l I
I wJ do'*I'
I I I' '
ill " e i
C !5oa lie 2
Enchantro Door
PJII e 3
Fuzz e 4
Infer~at-.nn Pirzzs.
O O IE..:
Porc e
I Jzzlo 2 Go»Ivor'ali'g
PIIZZIe
ialk!o Riddli
G. I,. n'e
Ta ' io Trri I
T1lk tni R-".I!III~
Grin'11I)
Ot:tain Container
Obtain Sharp
Rook
O L!a i F i ' 1
!,'a!anal
Bnl)i) 8 drtli:,
Use Con:a ne.
(). it a i «) n h'el: a
Llee " r lly
I.'.aria ia nn Ron»
\' I La»e
( I' ' 'I'I' I i Iloln
T;) ik t'ai Fth vmirq
Gnn'11e
Tale to Troll
lradi' IO Cr<" .I
Um Filled
Gart,rine'.r I:1 POI
J5c H cII)k oiii
Th CI, Viro.c
aslant
I IIO» al
Eriqra1 e» v'i'all
Tr,vdrr )I;ith
Po: Pant
Rhyrr in<i Gnome
B:=oin5
Ope i C' i ce!
Co'.a n B'.cssom
Otda s R ng
0'itai i 1 oiri
1 holo
T- — Phr to r)r|
i " CI'IIIII'.."»I ) I l ( I I
»e B n»5q~
I. - <:!I,i" '.I% I % I . I
LIac Ring-I : iiiri» »nii! [ ) c . »
O;;er f r . - . trr '! d
O a Ina
D IA L O G U E A N D PU Z Z L E D ES I GN W I T H I N T H E A D V EN T U R E GE N R E
58
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