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[aschearer]

I'm in the middle of adding unlockable levels to my game, Shade, and I wanted to get a sense of what players expect. Here are some of the ideas I have for how to approach unlockable levels:

  * Present some sort of "locked" level without any explanation, i.e. just a padlock on it
  * Present the player with the above and clear instructions to follow
  * Present the player with the above and a riddle or hint but not a complete explanation
  * Don't show anything but let the user find it through playing

Obviously some or all of these approaches have been tried before, so I wanted to hear what your preferences were as developers and gamers.

[nayon]

I guess it depends on what kind of player you want to reach. As I said in my thread, some players will just breeze through what you give them, going "what's next"; while others will look through every nook and cranny to find whether the developer has hidden something. I am the latter, as long as I enjoy the game. You need to choose which one to address.