Telling the player everything

[Eurgh]

I have various followers that can only be recruited if the player does certain things.

This where the problem lies, I don't want to force feed the player information on how to get the followers, but I also don't want them to completely miss them due to having no idea of their existence.

Near the start of the game you can temporarily recruit a wolf to protect you through the forest, once you leave he tells you that he's done his job and leaves the party. However if you finish the next quest and go back to where you came out of the forest from, he's stood there waiting and you can get him back.

What do I do?

Do I force the player to say "HURR DURR. MAYBE IF WE GO BACK WE CAN RECRUIT HIM!!?!?!?!" thus giving any thought process away from the player, or do I just leave it and hope the player decides to go back there at some point, for whatever reason?

 

[Trihan]

You could always follow somewhat of an RPG trope: don't give anyone portraits while talking except people who are important or who can be recruited. That way, the player will become conditioned to understand that when they see someone talking with a portrait chances are they're a potential party member.

 

[Kes]

As well as Trihan's suggestions (not instead of it), give the player some minor reason for going back there.  Not something that looks important enough so that the player feels that they 'ought' to go back, but something that a more thorough player will pick up on, and be rewarded for their thoroughness.

 

[Prizmik]

Why do you want the player to find everything?


Some exclusivity helps, you should reward players that go out of their way investing more into your game. If they didn't find something on their first play through, that is just the way they played it, they are not entitled to everything just because they bothered.

 

[Dark Horseman]

Make the player say those exact words - caps lock and multiple exclamations for full effect.

 

[kerbonklin]

You could always go on Dark (Demon) Souls / Bloodborne levels of explanations, which is literally almost no explanations except some super cool item descriptions and let the player figure everything out. But that style is mainly for single-character games, wouldn't work too well (maybe) with a game of multiple "active" characters.

 

[Eurgh]

Why do you want the player to find everything?

Some exclusivity helps, you should reward players that go out of their way investing more into your game. If they didn't find something on their first play through, that is just the way they played it, they are not entitled to everything just because they bothered.

It gives me peace of mind that my hard work didn't go to waste is all. I get paranoid that I would have spent like 6000000 hours creating a backstory, side quests, unique dialogue, game mechanics for a follower, only for no one to even bother looking at it. 

Make the player say those exact words - caps lock and multiple exclamations for full effect.

Made me lol.

As well as Trihan's suggestions (not instead of it), give the player some minor reason for going back there.  Not something that looks important enough so that the player feels that they 'ought' to go back, but something that a more thorough player will pick up on, and be rewarded for their thoroughness.

Hmm, I didn't think of that. I wasn't sure how to do it really, but I guess I'll give that a go.

 

[Kes]

It gives me peace of mind that my hard work didn't go to waste is all. I get paranoid that I would have spent like 6000000 hours creating a backstory, side quests, unique dialogue, game mechanics for a follower, only for no one to even bother looking at it. 

I've recently been watching someone on Youtube play my first game.  I was just amazed at the total lack of exploration, so this guy missed nearly all the items he could have collected (including a chest that was no more than 4 steps off the beaten track) and most of the side quests.  This despite a tutorial book (they are scattered around for the player) telling him to check out pots, crates etc and speak to people.  So be prepared for that work to be wasted on some players.  Fortunately there are players who will find and appreciate all your work.

Hmm, I didn't think of that. I wasn't sure how to do it really, but I guess I'll give that a go

For example, in an earlier shop you could have the shopkeeper say something like "Come back later and I may have some better potions for you."  Or you could arrange for a (missable and/or not very important?) side quest to involve some slight backtracking to this area.  Or a shopkeeper in the next area says "Sorry, I'm clean out of MP Potions.  Only Harry over in Toonyville has any at the moment." At that, many players will go back to Toonyville just to be on the safe side, and the road takes them past your character.  Things like that; things which can be ignored, but which could also induce some players to return.

 

[kvk]

Hmm, I didn't think of that. I wasn't sure how to do it really, but I guess I'll give that a go.

To add ideas to previous suggestions :

- Maybe during the sequence where the wolf show the way through the forest you could add all the clues needed to recruit this character? Like favorite food, how he love singing in the wood at midnight, etc.

- You could also use a "callback" to how he was recruited in the first place. For example if the player had to make an offerering to the Wolf Spirit, then he may found later a similar offering that could trigger the first step of the "recruitement quest".

- A similar forest can be found later. It's not mandatory to go there, and the player can't if the wolf doesn't travel with him. It could be a great reminder and incentive for the player to search how to recruit back the wolf.

- During the game, every night, the wolf can be heard. 

And so on.

Good luck anyway!

 

[Wavelength]

I think ksjp's suggestion is generally the best way to go about it; maybe once the wolf is recruitable have an NPC allude to some special fruit that's growing on the trees there (nothing too important in itself, just a nice item you can pick off a few of the trees) and when the player is there if they poke around at all they'll find the wolf.  This will make the player feel clever and they'll get all the content that you worked so hard to make, without it being so blindingly obvious that it feels like a chore not a discovery.

 

[Braydon]

I don't see it being a problem with people not finding them unless they are missable, if someone can go back at any time it doesn't really matter if they don't find it at first.