Games with NPC dialogue that gives strong yet mimesis-keeping hints - an IFDB Poll

by Andrew Schultz
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In IFComp 2022, it struck me how your partner Alex, in A Walk Around the Neighborhood and your father in The Last Christmas Present did a really good job of providing an NPC that gave hints without outright spoilers. This was to help you find something you misplaced, and another thing that was deliberately hidden.

But are there any other works that do this well? It seems like there's a lot of latitude for this.

I realize this is potentially subjective, but I'm in particular looking for stuff that might be sort of detailed and not just "go to room X."

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Illuminismo Iniziato, by Michael J. Coyne
3 votes
"Sweet little Crystal. Besides hints, she's great blabbermout about her fairy friends too. " [+]"Sweet little Crystal. Besides hints, she's great blabbermout about her fairy friends too. " ( - Full review) --Rovarsson... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Zape... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Denk...

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The Wizard Sniffer, by Buster Hudson
2 votes
"The two fleas,..." [+]"The two fleas, one of which always tells the truth, the other of which always lies." --OverThinking... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Zape...

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Foo Foo, by Buster Hudson
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --Zape...

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A Walk Around the Neighborhood, by Leo Weinreb
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) --Andrew Schultz...

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Broken Legs, by Sarah Morayati
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --EJ...

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Improv: Origins, by Neil deMause
1 vote
"Very subtle hints in dialogue etc. Still hard. Look out for bugs though." [+]"Very subtle hints in dialogue etc. Still hard. Look out for bugs though.: The bugs will quickly become apparent and can be worked around, so save often. " ( - Full review) --Denk...

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Inside Woman, by Andy Phillips
1 vote
"Technically many..." [+]"Technically many of the "hints" are just things you need to know to complete the game, but the NPC associated with them is well-integrated into the plot." () --Zape...

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Curses, by Graham Nelson
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --Zape...

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The Only Possible Prom Dress, by Jim Aikin
1 vote
"The player's..." [+]"The player's daughter sends mysterious hints coming off her Ouija board." ( - Full review) --Jim Nelson...

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Once and Future, by G. Kevin Wilson
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --Zape...

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How Prince Quisborne the Feckless Shook His Title, by John Ziegler
1 vote
"NUDGE command makes the prince give non-spoilery suggestions" [+]"NUDGE command makes the prince give non-spoilery suggestions" --Johnnywz00...

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Oppositely Opal, by Buster Hudson
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --Zape...

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Poll created on January 2, 2023