Master's Project

Abstract

In the game God of War: Ragnarok, some players expressed dissatisfaction with its hint

systems. This raised deeper questions over how game designers go about making hint

systems in games. Current research on hint systems focuses more on player engagement

and player perspectives of hints rather than game designers’ views, motivations, and

processes. To investigate designers’ perspectives, a semi-structured interview was

conducted with five game designers to understand their views on hint systems. Through

these interviews it was found that hint systems are meant to be a safety net for players,

and that there are many hints that players may be unaware of while playing. There was

also evidence that certain types of hint systems may affect players of different skill

levels in different ways. It grew apparent that there was a need for more research into

hint systems, to further understand the options and reasoning used by designers and

their varying impacts on player experiences.