Indeed, in the excerpt from the manual included earlier, the text parsers of old are
derided. It seems that Moriarty was ready to move on to a more intuitive and
easy-to-learn interface. Of course, one of the primary requirements of any interface is
that it be easy to learn. The challenges players face should be in the game-world itself,
not in the controls they have to manipulate in order to affect that game-world.Maniac
Mansionhad already used an entirely point-and-click interface, andLoomborrowed a
lot from that game’s mechanics, at least in terms of world navigation. Players could
move their character, Bobbin Threadbare, through the world simply by clicking on the
location where they wanted him to go. This seems quite obvious to modern gamers
who have seen countless point-and-click movement systems in games ranging from
DiablotoGrim FandangotoCommand & Conquer. Part of the beauty of the system is its
obviousness; once one has seen it in action, one cannot imagine how else you would
direct a character using a mouse.
However,Maniac Mansionand other graphical adventures had still included verbs
for players to click on. These verbs were basically a holdover from the text parsers;
players would click first on an object and then on a verb in order to manipulate that
object accordingly. Some other graphical adventures had replaced these verbs with
icons that functioned identically to their text counterparts. Of course, in many cases
there was only one verb/icon that would have any useful effect on a particular object,
hence making the functionality of the icons largely extraneous.Loomeliminated the
verbs entirely to allow users to simply double-click on a given object and then have the
game figure out what they wanted to do with the object. If players double-clicked on a
person, Bobbin Threadbare would talk to him or her. If it was an object with text on it,
Bobbin would read it. If it was a sheep, he would poke it. The game works with players
instead of against them, allowing players to perform only the actions that will be useful
to them. The double-click is an obvious extension of the single click. The single click
moves Bobbin to that object; a double-click has him attempt to use it. Obviously, this
input system is also identical to how point-and-click is used on the Macintosh and Win-
dows platforms, so it has the added advantage that players are likely to understand it
before they even start playing. The lesson to be learned here is that copying input ideas
from established standards is almost always better than making up something new.
Whatever slight gain one might achieve with a new input method is almost always
negated by the frustration players experience while trying to learn it.
The Drafts System .............................
While the game may do away with an inventory, verbs, and branching conversations, it
does add a unique and well-designed game mechanic accessible through the main char-
acter’s distaff. This system allows players to cast the equivalent of spells on various
objects in the world. This system is quite different from spell-casting systems in any
other games, and was especially revelatory in 1990. Again, the interface is entirely
point-and-click, and it is a system that is very easy to learn.
The system is based around players hearing different tones in different situations
and then repeating those tones on their staff, in a manner reminiscent of a game of
simon says. If players double-click on a particular spinning wheel, a series of four tones
will be played. These tones will also be reflected on the players’ distaff, which is
Chapter 12: Game Analysis:Loom 231