Needs Help: Missing Secret

The Missing Secret in this image is the empty square in the bottom right of the far-right box. It's hard to notice since the image is so busy, and there's concerns that it really only works to people who know Shovel Knight, and know that people thought there should be 24 things in the right box.

This is another trope about the absence of something which makes me think it'll be hard to illustrate.

Opening

Pull.

Previous threads for reference: selected here, kept here.

Per those threads, I'll say to keep until better image suggested.

Edited by PeabodySam on Jul 10th 2022 at 8:12:35 AM

Keep Until Better Image Suggested, but I would add "on the bottom right" to the caption to make what it's pointing to clearer.

What Fernando said.

Pull

Pull; leaning toward BUPKIS.

You we're fine with keeping it in the last thread.

I agree with keeping and Fernando's suggested caption change. And I for one am glad to put this on the Multiple Threads list so nobody can start another thread without a concrete replacement.

Edited by rjd1922 on Jul 10th 2022 at 9:51:17 AM

Pull

Weak keep per the previous threads.

Pull until better image suggested.

That's 6 for keeping and 6 for pulling, fyi.

that just means pull, unless you'll bring it back when a better image is suggested.

Keep until better image suggested. We could get one similar to this, but where the inventory slots are more clear.

Weak keep.

Weak keep per previous threads. This seems rather difficult to illustrate, so it's good enough for me that something looks off and the caption explains that it's never clarified. The image and caption can work together to lift it out of JAFAAC territory. Riddle for the Ages, which was kept about 6 months ago, would be in a similar boat.

Edited by Synchronicity on Jul 11th 2022 at 10:59:13 AM

Maybe a crop can help so our attention is drawn more to the actual missing item.

Hmm, there's that, but then it lacks any indication that the game is over.

I tried cropping the middle part of the image and moving the blank/"secret" space so that it's nearer to the center than the corner to make it more obvious.

I wonder if it'd be a good idea to put a question mark on that spot or if that might get mistaken as a "complete" space and thus muddles things.

Edited by Adept on Jul 11th 2022 at 11:44:19 PM

Changing the location to make it more obvious starts misrepresenting why it seems to be missing.

But as mentioned in the OP, if you don't know the work, and the empty space is in the last corner, it's easy to assume that there's really just 23 collectibles(?), instead of showing anything missing.

That's why I also suggested putting a question mark or some other placeholder symbol to imply that there's something to be "unlocked" in that space but you can never do so even after completing the game.

Edited by Adept on Jul 11th 2022 at 7:47:37 PM

I agree with Noaq; that wouldn't look like a "missing secret", it just looks like something the player failed to collect. The space being at the bottom corner has the dual implication of either being something the player failed to collect, or the result of the devs just not spacing it well.

Alright, I've put back the missing space where it belonged.

That's better.