Return to Zork: The Official Guide to the Great Underground Empire by Peter Spear falls into the too-much-too-soon trap. The best books give hints to the player and only reveal the step-by-step solution when the player is completely stuck. This takes much of the fun out of a game as the player becomes little more than a trained monkey following the book’s instructions. The main pitfall of these books is that too many of them say too much they tell the player exactly what to do in order to finish the game in as short a time as possible.
And many players (who are mostly male, and mostly under 20) refuse to admit they are unable to beat a game, and view these books as justifiable aids in their quest.
The theory behind hint books is simple: if someone buys a game and after playing 10% of it cannot solve a puzzle or beat an enemy, they have effectively wasted 90% of their money. The increasing complexity of these games has spawned a vast number of hint books for the more popular games, books that reveal secrets and solutions to problems and puzzles that players encounter. Higher technology has also enabled these games to be much larger in breadth and scope, and thus more complex.
As the quality of computer games increases, so does the number of eager consumers willing to pay $60+ for the latest chance to slay a dragon or whack some bad guys. While just 15 years ago graphic-less “text adventures” were the ultimate in gaming, computer games today use full-motion video, stereo sound, and startlingly (and mostly bloodily) realistic graphics. New technologies such as CD-ROMs, faster processors, and better monitors mean that computer games are finally approaching cinema-quality graphics and sound.
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