History Main / PlayerNudge

The dev team opens a crack in the fourth wall to offer the player a hint... couched in plausible deniability by putting it in the voice of an-in game character. Which fools nobody, but isn't it polite?

Compare HintSystem, NoticeThis. For a subtle hint ''before'' the encounter in question, see {{Antepiece}}.

* Near the end of ''VideoGame/AbsoluteDespairGirls'', the player has to choose a door that Monaca is hiding behind. One will advance the game, the other two kill you. If you get it wrong, upon choosing to retry, Komaru and Toko will have a conversation that results in a flashback that drops an obvious hint as to which door is correct.

* In ''VideoGame/TaskMaker'', if you return to the title ruler without having picked up the latest item in his FetchQuest, he will demand that you try again, and drop a hint or two on how to find it.

* On ''Series/WheelOfFortune'', host Pat Sajak will sometimes do this. The most frequent variant is if a contestant asks to buy a vowel and still has enough money to buy another, at which point he will say "You can buy another" if the puzzle still has at least one vowel unrevealed. Also, if a player calls a right consonant on the highest dollar amount and is holding a Wild Card, he will often remind them that they can use the card to call a second consonant for the same amount.
* If a contestant hits a Daily Double on ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}'', Alex Trebek will usually say "You have $x more/less than your opponents" to give a hint as to how much they should wager on it if they feel confident enough in doing so (particularly if they want to go "True Daily Double" and wager all their winnings). He also drops similar hints leading into Final Jeopardy! This is as much to prompt large wagers and therefore more drama as it is to help the contestants, however.
** Alex sometimes subverts it for laughs as well, by jokingly suggesting that a contestant with a commanding lead go True Daily Double.

Lots of games are hard. Some of those are NintendoHard, and some games are [[GuideDangIt simply impossible]]. And, every now and then, the dev team takes notice and decide to give the player a little help. These would be situations in which the Devs actually try to subvert GuideDangIt.

For example: let's say TheHero MUST use the SwordOfPlotAdvancement on the FinalBoss in order to avoid GameplayAndStorySegregation. Simple enough, right? However, some players won't catch on, and instead use the InfinityPlusOneSword on their final duel with the BigBad, prompting a CurbStompBattle by ThatOneBoss as a result. The players instantly cry out [[ThisCannotBe "BULLSHIT!!"]] and get ready to start over...

Oh, wait? That is not the GameOver screen? Wait, why is the screen showing the spirit of the mentor now? What does he mean, I was supposed to use the [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Excalibur]] against the boss... Aaahhh, crap.

Pay note that in order to qualify as Player Nudge it must be something that the player would otherwise easily miss. Telling the player to stock up on [[PlayingWithFire Fire Spells]] because the opponents on TheMaze are all weak to it does not count because it will become obvious in a matter of seconds [[FakeDifficulty (or at least hopefully)]]. To qualify, it needs to be something that will make you go "Oooh, snap. I should have done that instead," preferably after you get a NonstandardGameOver.

Contrast, [[InvertedTrope naturally]], with GuideDangIt. Compare HintSystem, NoticeThis. For a subtle hint ''before'' the encounter in question, see {{Antepiece}}.

* One of the earliest examples is in ''[[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1 Super Mario Brothers]]''. The dev team was afraid the audience would confuse the [[PowerUp mushrooms]] for something hostile and avoid them. To prevent this they structured the first level so that it was nearly impossible to avoid the mushroom after it was spawned, ensuring the players would see it was not harmful when it struck them.

** In ''[[Videogame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow]]'', if you do not equip a certain piece of equipment prior to entering a certain room, the DownerEnding ensues. Afterwards, a short scene appears with Julius and Genya outside the castle. Genya laments, saying: "I had assumed he would have equipped the talisman from Mina...". Cue FacePalm by the player.
** Zig-zagged with the 'books' in ''Dawns''' predecessor, ''[[Videogame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Aria of Sorrow]]''. It's played straight in that they're just subtle enough to point towards how to get the good ending without outright stating it, but also subverting the trope by being hidden themselves, and also not saying ''when'' they're needed. [[spoiler: They hint towards the three souls you need to equip when fighting the final boss, but they don't hint towards the ''when fighting the final boss'' part. [[note]]The red book could ''technically'' be hinting towards two different souls, but only one of them works. It still counts however, as the other, 'incorrect' soul can only be obtained ''once you're already on the Good Ending route anyway''.[[/note]]]]
** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia'', if you don't rescue all the villagers, you get the bad ending halfway through the game. This bad ending pans over all the villagers you failed to rescue, although since only the room they're in is shown and some of them are in hidden rooms behind breakable walls, it's largely up to player to remember where exactly they ran into rooms with such a design.

* In ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'', the "Bad End" drawn by Haruna in the Battle For Mahora arc parodies this.

* ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'' will generally pop up a little message offering hints if it looks like you're dragging your feet on any goal. The game more or less hands you the answers to any puzzles you may encounter. And the whole thing is {{Justified|Trope}} and possibly {{Deconstructed}} by [[spoiler:your character being mind-controlled into advancing the plot for the majority of the game]].

* A non-gaming example: on ''Series/WheelOfFortune'', host Pat Sajak will sometimes do this. The most frequent variant is if a contestant asks to buy a vowel and still has enough money to buy another, at which point he will say "You can buy another" if the puzzle still has at least one vowel unrevealed. Also, if a player calls a right consonant on the highest dollar amount and is holding a Wild Card, he will often remind them that they can use the card to call a second consonant for the same amount.

** You can spare every monster you encounter by using ACT commands until the first proper BossBattle with Toriel, where using the only ACT command available ("Talk") repeatedly will result in the game flat-out stating that [=ACTing=] won't escalate the battle any further.

** In the old version of the [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Sorceress's Tower]], a puzzle required you to enter the [[ClassicCheatCode Konami Code]]. If you fail, the game prompted you to '''VideoGame/{{con|tra}}'''cen'''[[VideoGame/{{Contra}} tra]]'''te a little harder. Similarly, dying against the Tower guardians gave the player five increasingly blatant hints on the key item to use against them.

* ''Franchise/MetalGear'' series features [=NPCs=] giving hints via the codec if a boss battle starts to drag on.

* Creator/LucasArts adventure games would do this sometimes, as opposed to the alternative.

* Done with camera angles in both ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'' and its' prequel, ''[[VideoGame/LifeIsStrangeBeforeTheStorm Before The Storm]]''. When the player attempts something that doesn't work, a different possible solution will often be in the shot showing the player that it didn't work. For example, a shot showing that Chloe failed to open the hood of the wheel-clamped truck in the junkyard during ''Before The Storm'' Chapter 2 is framed to show Chloe, the still-closed hood and the hood release button in the trucks' interior.

** VisualNovel/FateStayNight has the Tiger Dojo, which does the same thing.

** There's a sequence in the first ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' where you're trapped in a prison cell, and can escape by one of three ways. If you don't think to hide under the bed when the guard leaves for a little bit, [[TheLancer Otacon]] sneaks in and gives you some food supplies that include [[ABloodyMess ketchup]]. Fail to escape by either of these means for even longer and [[spoiler:[[TheRival Gray Fox]]]] just busts the door open for you.

* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}''

---> If you couldn't form a couple with Linda, it could be said it's because of bad luck. After all, [[RagsToRiches she's a nouveau riche]], and the heiress of a conglomerate... [[FallenPrincess If she doesn't fall back]] [[AFoolAndHisNewMoneyAreSoonParted to a low social status]], it'll probably be impossible to be with her. Well, [[MadBomber if something like a bomb explodes]] and her conglomerate crumbles, you may have a chance.
** Since most players go for the {{eas|ierThanEasy}}y {{first girl|Wins}} [[TheHero heroine]] in their first playthrough, and her storyline contains a major Event where [[spoiler: there's a terrorist attack on the Theater]], this is the hint for the players to replay the game with said heroine in their girl roster, so they can get to see this Event and thus get Linda's Ending.
* The Descent series had a lot of these. Usually they were subtle, the devs might put e.g. a Smart Missile in a place where using it would be a good idea. This worked best when the player was already full on Smarts. A good example was level 22 of the original game, in the shaft leading to the red key.
* In ''VideoGame/HotelDuskRoom215'' and its sequel ''VideoGame/LastWindow'', if you get a GameOver, usually Kyle will flash back to the conversation that triggered failure, unless it's an interrogation scene.
** There's also a subtle hint during interrogations: if you are asking questions that will lead to a game over, the character will have a red shadow slide over them. You get the choice of either continuing to press them or to backtrack.

* ''VideoGame/HotelMario'' loved this trope, as evidenced by the page quote above.

* Similarly, if a contestant hits a Daily Double on ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}'', Alex Trebek will usually say "You have $x more/less than your opponents" to give a hint as to how much they should wager on it if they feel confident enough in doing so (particularly if they want to go "True Daily Double" and wager all their winnings). He also drops similar hints leading into Final Jeopardy! This is as much to prompt large wagers and therefore more drama as it is to help the contestants, however.

* The ''VideoGame/TalesOf'' games sometimes use the skits to give hints either on what the player should do next (or outright tell you) or about any sidequest they have the opportunity to do at that moment.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', if you die on a boss, you get an extra option on the GameOver screen that lets them view a skit where the characters lament over their failure and then try to think of a strategy for when the player tries again. You don't need to fight the boss this way, but it helps a lot.

** Similarly, dying to a boss in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPaperJam'' and retrying will also add a Hint Block to the brothers' battle menu, which will give hints on how to counter the boss's attacks. This also doesn't take up a turn.

** Zig-zagged with the 'books' in ''Dawns''' predecessor, ''[[VideoGame/Videogame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Aria of Sorrow]]''. It's played straight in that they're just subtle enough to point towards how to get the good ending without outright stating it, but also subverting the trope by being hidden themselves, and also not saying ''when'' they're needed. [[spoiler: They hint towards the three souls you need to equip when fighting the final boss, but they don't hint towards the ''when fighting the final boss'' part. [[note]]The red book could ''technically'' be hinting towards two different souls, but only one of them works. It still counts however, as the other, 'incorrect' soul can only be obtained ''once you're already on the Good Ending route anyway''.[[/note]]]]

** In ''[[VideoGame/Videogame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow]]'', if you do not equip a certain piece of equipment prior to entering a certain room, the DownerEnding ensues. Afterwards, a short scene appears with Julius and Genya outside the castle. Genya laments, saying: "I had assumed he would have equipped the talisman from Mina...". Cue FacePalm by the player.

** In ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow'', if you do not equip a certain piece of equipment prior to entering a certain room, the DownerEnding ensues. Afterwards, a short scene appears with Julius and Genya outside the castle. Genya laments, saying: "I had assumed he would have equipped the talisman from Mina...". Cue FacePalm by the player.
** Zig-zagged with the 'books' in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow'', It's played straight in that they're just subtle enough to point towards how to get the good ending without outright stating it, but also subverting the trope by being hidden themselves, and also not saying ''when'' they're needed. [[spoiler: They hint towards the three souls you need to equip when fighting the final boss, but they don't hint towards the ''when fighting the final boss'' part.]]

** The method for sparing Toriel (select the "Spare" option repeatedly, even though it doesn't seem to do anything at first) is a bit of a GuideDangIt, and most players will try the "get her health low enough that she becomes spareable" option first (as hinted by one of the Froggits in the Ruins). However, Toriel is programmed so that once her health gets below a certain amount, any attack after that will instantly kill her, in order to indicate to the player that she can't be spared in this manner. Also, using the only ACT command available ("Talk") repeatedly will result in the game flat-out stating that [=ACTing=] won't escalate the battle any further.
*** Also, if you run from Toriel and go back to bed, you'll get a message saying "Wake up, player name! You are the future of humans and monsters!", which is essentially the game telling you that you have to go through with the tutorial fight.
** If you beat the game on a Neutral run and spare Flowey at the end, he'll give you a hint on how to get the GoldenEnding.
** The first enemy that uses blue attacks explicitly says that he can only see moving things, in order to clue players in that blue attacks don't hurt them if they're not moving. (Sans also says this a screen or two before the fight, but it's an optional conversation that the player might miss.)
** Some of the Riverman (or Riverwoman?)'s lines when you ride on their boat are actually VERY cryptic hints about certain parts of the game (for instance, "Did you know spiders have a favourite food? It's spiders.") hints that you can [[spoiler:end the battle with Muffet instantly by using a Spider Donut or Spider Cider (obtained from the Spider Bake Sale in the ruins). The items are described as being made "by spiders, for spiders, of spiders!"]]
** If you keep getting hit by Papyrus's attacks after he turns your SOUL blue, he'll explicitly tell you to press Up to jump.

** If you embrace VideoGameCrueltyPotential and [[spoiler:complete ''two'' KillEmAll runs]], then [[spoiler:the Fallen Child]] will tell you that "Another path would be better suited", which might be a vital hint in the incredibly unlikely circumstance that you've done this without ever figuring out the game rewards {{Pacifist Run}}s. Far more likely, if still not ''that'' likely, is that you've seen the GoldenEnding once already and this leads you into seeing [[spoiler:the corrupted version that you unlocked after completing the first KillEmAll run]].

* The [[Franchise/TalesSeries Tales Of]] games sometimes use the skits to give hints either on what the player should do next (or outright tell you) or about any sidequest they have the opportunity to do at that moment.

* If you get stuck for a while in Telltale's ''VideoGame/SamAndMax}}'' games, someone (usually Max) will mutter a vague hint or two about your next move.