A modest proposal (Point-and-click adventure game interface)

[jack]

I felt the high point of point-and-click adventure games was Monkey Island (the first one). I didn't like text adventures as much, and nor the later interfaces -- with only two verbs available, you rule out a large range of puzzles.

However, because this interface was left behind, there's a lot of room for improvement which was never explored.

Proposed interface 1

* Right mouse click #1: Look (eg. title of a book, but don't open it and read it. Response carries on while you're walking, but is interrupted by any other action.)
* Right mouse click #2: Walk to (ground) or walk to and perform default action, if any (object).
* Right mouse click #3: Skip walk to. (Shortcut animation like double clicks on doorways in MI#3)

* Left click: Select object for action, putting name on verb line
* Left click: Select verb for action, putting name on verb line.
* Click again: Do action. (Leave verb selected)

Examine would be different to look. Look is the default and would eg. read the title of a book, or read a large sign, or what a large object is. Examine you have to select as a verb and would read inside the book, or notice a secret lever in the sign you have to be close to see.

It seems complicated, but the idea is that it's easy to learn, but as you get to know it you can do things quickly.

There would be a help line on the status bar saying "Left click to ..." etc.

Do you think that works?

Proposed interface 2

This was my first thought. You shouldn't have to keep moving the mouse to the status bar. Have something like monkey island 3, where right-click gives you a menu of verbs wherever you are on the screen, either to apply to the object you clicked on, or to apply to the object you click on next.

Edited to add:

Monkey Island was always great at reinterpreting the verbs in clever ways for humour or puzzles, eg. when the verbs available change, or are used in unexpected ways. Obviously having more, and different, verbs gives you more scope for that.

Comments

[calamarain.livejournal.com]

I assume you're familiar with Adventure Game Studio?

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Yes, but thank you. Have you ever tried it? I said something about it here: http://cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com/371552.html

I'm starting to think maybe I was too hasty to be stubborn, and should have investigated AGS more fully before jumping on another ship. Basically it seems able to do an awful lot, and generally be awesome, but working with code I don't have control over gives me the heebie-jeebies[1], and I want to feel like a game programmer and author, not just game scripter.

[1] Both because, it theory, it might stop being supported, and because I want the freedom to add things if I want to. I don't know if I would need to or not, I didn't get far enough into exporing AGS first.

[angoel.livejournal.com]

I disliked the adventure games I tried where a click gave you a list of verbs - they invariably tried to reduce the verbs to incomprehensible icons, and it was always nontrivial to hit the icons in comparison to the big easy status bar that the Monkey Islands had.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I can imagine. Which were you playing? The only ones I've played have been MI3 (pop up three verbs, mouth, eye, hand) and MI4 (3d based, one key for "look" and one key for "use").

I couldn't see any reason why you had to use icons, nor why they had to be little, I was going to have something taking over the screen with actual written verbs (because I like verbs :)).

[pseudomonas.livejournal.com]

See also Day Of The Tentacle for good use of verbs, though I think there was a default for each object that you got if you just right-clicked.

[calamarain.livejournal.com]

Mmmmm. DoTT and Maniac Mansion had some of the best ways of doing it. Plus, they were fair. It was impossible in DoTT to get to an unsolvable situation and almost impossible in Maniac Mansion.