Image credits: IGN guide

In Bioshock Infinite there are secrets that were placed in a way that is almost annoying for the player. For example: there is a key and the game tells the player to find a door or safe to use the key. Or the opposite, the player finds the locked safe or door first and the game tells them to find a key. In this regard the game is counter-intuitive because the key and the door or safe are placed very far away from each other. If the safe is inside the house it's natural for the player to look for the key inside the house. If the key is on another end of the level it's unnatural to backtrack all the way back to the house where the safe is. The long distance to travel becomes an annoyance because there is nothing new when the player travels through areas that have already been explored before. This lowers the value of whatever is inside the safe. The player feels more tired to travel a long distance for a certain unrequired item than rewarded by unlocking some secret.

In Sheol, Sigil's second level, the player finds secrets hidden in corners behind walls or in the lava, where the player wouldn't go because they know lava kills. In Doom many secrets are placed in paths that deviate from the main route and this is the most common way of hiding secrets in games. There are many other ways such as hidden passages behind cabinets, optical illusion, lights that are somewhat off from the surroundings, places that are intentionally darker, breadcrumbs, objects placed in some unusual way, etc to signal secrets.

Many of the doom levels are non linear. In some levels the player has to find three keys to unlock a passage and each key is on a different part of the level, each part being independent from the others. Another trick used in doom is to have buttons or triggers that once activated unlock a secret that was hidden in a previous area, forcing the player to see things that weren't there before. What draws the player's attention is that trigger or button activates something that makes a sound for the player to notice. Whatever has been activated clearly isn't where the player is, as nothing has changed where the player is currently standing.

A very creative aspect of doom is that small levels can have a lot of secrets hidden. This proves that having a lot or very little to explore isn't quite a matter of size alone.

In Alan Wake the player finds pages of Alan's book scattered through the game's world. In some places there are thermal bottles that serve no purpose in the game. They are there to invite the player to explore the environment. The armchair placed overlooking a chasm has a thermal bottle. Sometimes developers play with the game's environment. In that communication tower far away on the mountain there is a red light to warn air-planes about a tower. If the player takes the time to walk up to that point they'll find a page of Alan's book.

In this game there is money and other hidden rewards that invite the player to explore the environment. The secret's placement is well made. For ex: the waterfall in the beginning of the game has a secret room behind it. In the bamboo forest there are hidden paths that guard rewards.

The main problem with this game is that the main route that the player has to follow is poorly indicated. Very often the environment guides the player to dead ends.