PNC vs HOG

[Kazuo]

So after playing 9 Clues The Secret of Serpent Creek on SMTV has really got me thinking about the evolution of PNC games and HOG games.


9 Clues The Secret of Serpent Creek


This got me thinking a lot about what Point-and-Click adventures are and what aspects of them appeal to me.

PnC pros
+ Immense satisfaction at completing a difficult puzzle
+ Feels good collecting/stealing items for my use
+ Great depth in conversations that inform me about the characters and world

PnC cons
- Sometimes puzzles make no sense
- Sequence of events can be difficult to understand creating pauses in gameplay
- Overused puzzle mechanics like sliding tile puzzles
- Inventory can become unwieldy

HOG pros
+ Quick and constant satisfaction of moving forward
+ Item puzzles are often very logical and easy to solve
+ Inventory keeps relatively clean
+ Dialog is hyper focused

HOG cons
- Overused puzzle mechanics (sliding tile, light up all the lights, repair the painting)
- Gate and key puzzles are too simple
- The Hidden Object Puzzles are not fun (for me)
- Story is too simple


Maybe I'm overthinking this. What do you guys think?

[von_ozbourne]

Actually Kaz, you kind of covered most of it. I can't think of much to add.
I will say however that one puzzle did bother me a bit. Especially since the HOG mechanics and puzzle solutions are supposedly geared more towards actual logic [as opposed to old-school PNCs where some of the logic is anybody's guess]

The puzzle I had issue with was the one with the skeleton key in the door. The solution was to put a newspaper under the door, knock the key out, and pull the newspaper - with its key payload - back to your side of the door so you can put the key in the lock and open the door from your side. Makes sense right?

Now I've seen this on TV shows back in the day so the concept certainly isn't foreign, but in my case, I've actually lived in a house that had skeleton key locks on some of the inside doors. Same thing with my grandmother's old house. AND I've even been on the opposite side of them while a key was in the other side. But here's where the game solution gets needlessly complex for me. In the case with the skeleton key's lock where it can be opened/locked from either side, the lock is a pass-through. It doesn't matter if you are on the same side of the door as the key, because all you need is a method in which to turn it. In this case, you had a screwdriver, which is exactly the same tool I used - in real life - in order to push the key to one side and turn it enough to unlock the door. Way less steps.
In all fairness, I was much younger and was looking for the quickest solution, I didn't have a newspaper handy, and on the other side of the door was a set of stairs, so the key would have just fallen down to the bottom where it would do me no good anyway