History Main / GuideDangIt

* Does the game only inform you what to do in a single textbox that doesn't pop up again? Well, you just need to take a right and...wait, NowWhereWasIGoingAgain

'''Note:''' A "Guide Dang It" is '''any instance in a video game where the game fails to provide sufficient information, hints or otherwise, to a player that could aid them in solving a task or discovering a hidden in-game element'''. If the game does provide a hint that's reasonable enough to locate and decode, it doesn't qualify. Before listing this on a page, consider if it may fall under one of these other tropes instead, though there could also be potential overlap.

A Guide Dang It can crop up in a game for many reasons. The developers may not have intended for the task to be obscure because they assumed the players would make a connection that seemed intuitive in playtesting. They also might have simply forgotten to include instructions or hints in game that could nudge players in the right direction or may not have wanted to overload players with information that wasn't necessary to know for the main parts of the game. At other times, the inclusion of a Guide Dang It is very much an intentional part of the gameplay experience. It may add ReplayValue to a game where players discover a new secret they didn't catch previously. It can also give a game an air of mystery that gets fans theorizing and figuring out that the [[EmptyRoomPsych empty room]] actually isn't so empty after all.

Contrast with PlayerNudge when the developers are aware of Guide Dang it and attempt to subvert it. Often overlaps with {{Metagame}}, which has new rules that are not written in the official books, making the game very annoying for new players.

'''Note:''' A "Guide Dang It" is '''any instance in a video game where the game fails to provide sufficient information, hints, or otherwise to a player that could aid them in solving a task or discovering a hidden in-game element'''. If the game does provide a hint that's reasonable enough to locate and decode, it doesn't qualify. Before listing this on a page, consider if it may fall under one of these other tropes instead, though there could also be potential overlap.

** ''GuideDangIt/WorldOfMana''

Many of these examples may have been placed as interesting finds for players that ''accidentally'' get into obscure situations or curiously muck around with the game, especially in older sandbox titles where [[TryEverything groping around in the proverbial dark]] was an intentional part of the experience. There were also some more sinister versions where the developers ''[[CopyProtection wanted]]'' [[CopyProtection you to spend money by calling their hotline or buying their hintbook]] or [[Magazine/NintendoPower Magazine]]. Now that Website/GameFAQs, {{walkthrough}}s, forums, and even dedicated wikis are ubiquitous and easily accessible, this practice has died out.

'''Note:''' A "Guide Dang It" is '''any instance in a video game where the game fails to provide sufficient information, hints, or otherwise to a player that could aid them in solving a task'''. If the game does provide a hint that's reasonable enough to locate and decode, it doesn't qualify. Before listing this on a page, consider if it may fall under one of these other tropes instead, though there could also be potential overlap.

It should be noted that '''a "Guide Dang It" is any instance in a video game where the game fails to provide sufficient information, hints, or otherwise to a player that could aid them in solving a task'''. If the game does provide a hint that's reasonable enough to locate and decode, it doesn't qualify. Before listing this on a page, consider if it may fall under one of these other tropes instead, though there could also be potential overlap.

It should be noted that '''a 'Guide Dang It' is any instance in a video game where the game fails to provide sufficient information, hints, or otherwise to a player that could aid them in solving a task'''. If the game does provide a hint that's reasonable enough to locate and decode, it doesn't qualify. Before listing this on a page, consider if it may fall under one of these other tropes instead, though there could also be potential overlap.

Please also refrain from speaking in excessive Administrivia/WalkthroughMode fashion. The goal isn't to inform readers how to complete every action in a sequence.

It should be noted that '''a 'Guide Dang It' is any instance in a video game where the game does not provide any information, hints, or otherwise to a player that could aid them in solving a task'''. If the game does provide a hint that's reasonable enough to locate and decode, it doesn't qualify. Before listing this on a page, consider if it may fall under one of these other tropes instead, though there could also be potential overlap.

Cousin to a SolveTheSoupCans puzzle, a Guide Dang It is any part of a video game in which that correct action or set of actions is so difficult to figure out from the game's own clues that, effectively, the only way to know what to do (aside from spending countless hours of trying [[TryEverything every remote]] possibility [[TrialAndErrorGameplay until something happens]]) is via a StrategyGuide or an online {{Walkthrough}}. For example:
* Battles are tough but {{save point}}s are [[CheckPointStarvation terribly placed]].
* Inventory decisions must be made with extrasensory perception.
* TalkToEveryone and TryEverything three times or you will miss crucial stuff.
* Cannot tell when MissionControlIsOffItsMeds and when it's helping.
* Cryptic puzzles that betray [[DamnYouMuscleMemory what you've learned to expect]], like [[ViolationOfCommonSense resetting the game to move on when]] normal logic would dictate that doing so means losing all your progress.
* Instead of doing things within the actual game, [[BreakingTheFourthWall the player]] has to [[ParadiegeticGameplay mess around with the game interface itself]].
* After you get used to seeing a menu or message pop up as part of the game, [[PoisonMushroom a deceptively phony version of it pops up to catch you off guard]] and [[FissionMailed you might overlook it, causing a disastrous outcome]].

Do note that quite a few of these examples may have been placed as interesting finds for players that ''accidentally'' get into obscure situations or curiously muck around with the game, especially in older sandbox titles where [[TryEverything groping around in the proverbial dark]] was an intentional part of the experience. Examples that are required to complete the game are still nasty, however.

Most of these examples are basically just poor design, where the manual or in-game instructions just fail to elaborate on some things (see TutorialFailure for that). There were also some more sinister versions where the developers ''[[CopyProtection wanted]]'' [[CopyProtection you to spend money by calling their hotline or buying their hintbook]] or [[Magazine/NintendoPower Magazine]]. Now that Website/GameFAQs, {{walkthrough}}s, forums, and even dedicated wikis are ubiquitous and easily accessible, this practice has died out.

Contrast with PlayerNudge, when the Devs are aware how complicated the game might have become and try to subvert it. Compare MoonLogicPuzzle, where the game does provide the information you need, but most players will still require a walkthrough to put it all together. Compare and contrast ReadTheFreakingManual, where the information you need isn't provided in the game itself but is explained clearly in the manual. Often overlaps with {{Metagame}}, which has new rules that are not written in the official books, making the game very annoying for new players.

Cousin to a SolveTheSoupCans puzzle, a Guide Dang It is any part of a video game in which that correct action or set of actions is so difficult to figure out from the game's own clues that, effectively, the only way to know what to do (aside from spending countless hours of trying [[CombinatorialExplosion every remote]] possibility [[TrialAndErrorGameplay until something happens]]) is via a StrategyGuide or an online {{Walkthrough}}. For example:

Contrast with PlayerNudge, when the Devs are aware how complicated the game might have become and try to subvert it. Compare MoonLogicPuzzle, where the game does provide the information you need, but most players will still require a walkthrough to put it all together; also compare ReadTheFreakingManual, where the information you need isn't provided in the game itself but is explained clearly in the manual. Often overlaps with {{Metagame}}, which has new rules that are not written in the official books, making the game very annoying for new players.

Contrast with PlayerNudge, when the Devs are aware how complicated the game might have become and try to subvert it. Compare MoonLogicPuzzle, where the game does provide the information you need, but most players will still require a walkthrough to put it all together. Compare ReadTheFreakingManual, where the information you need isn't provided in the game itself but is explained clearly in the manual. Often overlaps with {{Metagame}}, which has new rules that are not written in the official books, making the game very annoying for new players.

Contrast with PlayerNudge, when the Devs are aware how complicated the game might have become and try to subvert it. Compare MoonLogicPuzzle, where the game does provide the information you need, but most players will still require a walkthrough to put it all together. Often overlaps with {{Metagame}}, which has new rules that are not written in the official books, making the game very annoying for new players.

** GuideDangIt/SonicTheHedgehog

* GuideDangIt/{{Other}}