Include directions in description?

Since Squiffy uses links to move around, do you prefer the description to include something like "West is the kitchen", or just a link to the kitchen?
In a large game I would think that people who map a game would like the inclusion of the direction.


I would vote for including the direction. Whether they draw a map or not, I think it's always worthwhile giving the player as clear a picture as possible of the immediate 'geography'.


As a follow-up - what do you thinks looks better:

  1. You're in the living room. West is the kitchen. East is the bedroom.

  2. You're in the living room.
    West is the kitchen.
    East is the bedroom.

To me 2 looks a bit cleaner but 1 reads more like part of the story.


It all depends on the larger context. But if your room description is going to be brief anyways, with a large emphasis on movement and other actions, then option 2 is cleaner to my mind too. But I would put a blank line between "You're in the living room" and the movement options to make it cleaner still.


I don't like to add the name of a room to the direction unless the player has visited it already. It takes away some of the discovery and adventure. Unless the exit is open. Then you can tell what the player might see through the exit. This will require some extra work because the player may want to 'look' at the things you describe through the exit before moving there.

I also like to make the name of the objects clickable in the parent descriptions to show verbs associated to reduce typing, however, also let the player know in help or in the game description at start that not all possibilities are show in these hyperlinks and they may want to try typing some ideas. This will add speed to areas where the player just wants to do the basics to move on or they can dig deeper when they are trying to figure something out.

Very basic room descriptions and more focused detailed descriptions as the player digs.


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