The Curse of Monkey Island: Hint System Analysis: Part One

Part One: The Demise of the Zombie Pirate LeChuck on LeChuck’s Ship
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Main Goal: Escape the Hull
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Location: Hull

	Examine	Talk To	Pick Up
Cannonballs	X	X	X
Grate	X	X	X
Keyhole	Hints it’s too dark to see implying that is a place the player will want to explore.	X	X
Locked Door	The name alone being called a locked door implies that the player will want to exit through there.	X	X
Rope	X	X	X
Cannon Restraint Rope	X	X	X
Cannon	X	X	X
Wally	X	Talking to Wally leads into a Dialogue Puzzle as well as exposition for the the later plot.	X
Ramrod	X	X	Added to Inventory

P 1.1 Dialogue Puzzle: “You’re a failure as a pirate”

The player must press this dialogue option in order to progress the game. By continuing the dialogue the player will always complete this puzzle. This puzzle is to introduce us to the dialogue system they have put in place.
After this puzzle the player has access to view the side of the ship and access to the cannon. At this point the music also changes.

Location: Hull

	Examine	Talk To	Pick Up
Wally	X	X	X
Cannon	X	X	Enters into Cannon Minigame
Plastic Hook	X	X	Added to Inventory

Location: Side of Ship
Note: On first enter Guybrush explains how he can’t squeeze past the cannon thus hinting that this is not the route for the exit. Maybe suggesting the idea that the cannon needs to be moved.

	Examine	Talk To	Pick Up
Porthole	Hints towards future plot.	X	X
Gunport	X	X	Hints that the player can't go to the locale.

P 1.2: Minigame: Cannon Minigame
The player must use the cannon to shoot the boats of skeleton pirates before they make it to shore. Using the mouse to aim and either the left or right mouse button to fire the cannons. Once the enemies are shot down the player no longer has access to the mini game but is able to continue in the game.
Note: If the player tries and uses the cannon there is a visual hint of the cannons kickback. This is also visually shown when Wally was using the cannon.
After this game, there is a portion of dialogue where Guybrush states how there is a change in scene, “Eww.. there’s debris floating towards the ship”, hinting to the player that’s where they should be exploring next.
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Location: Side of Ship

	Examine	Talk To	Pick Up
Debris	X	X	“Can’t reach that far” Implying that the player will have to reach it at some point.
Talking Skull	X	X	X

P 1.3: Object Combination Puzzle: Obtaining Skeleton Arm and Cutlass
There are no real hints for this besides a comment about needing to use the Ramrod with something else. Once the Ramrod and Plastic Hook is combined there are still no hints of what is the next task, besides the newly formed Gaff needs to be used on something else.
Using the Gaff the player must use it on the Debris in order to gain the Skeleton Arm and Cutlass. Examining the new items we don’t get much feedback, except for a line when uses the cutlass, “I don’t wanna use this cutlass for no reason.”

Inventory Hints: Location: Hull

	Ballons	Pirate Literature	Gaff	Cutlass	Skeleton Arm
Cannonballs	X	X - It's default response is "It's only for reading"	X	X	X
Grate	X	X	"The hook is too big to fit through the grate"	"Can't reach it"	X
Keyhole	X	X	"The hook is too big to fit through the grate"	“I have never been good at lockpicking”	X
Locked Door	X	X	X	“The door is too strong for the cutlass to cut through”	X
Rope	X	X	X	“Even if I could cut it loose, it is too short and frayed to be of any use.”	X
Cannon Restraint Rope	X	X	X	SOLUTION! Use the cutlass to cut the restraining rope.	X
Cannon	X	X	X	X	X
Wally	X	X	X	X	X

P 1.4: Environment Interaction: Use the cannon
From exploring the environmental and listening to hints the player is led to the cutlass on the Cannon Restraint Rope. Looking at the Cannon Restraint Rope after the interaction will lead to another hint, “The Rope has been cut. There is nothing restraining the cannon now.” Implying to the player that they can now perform an action that they couldn’t before with the cannon. As the player explores their options, (Look, Pick Up/Use and Talk to) with the cannon they will most likely use the correct interaction (Use) that will lead them to the next section.
After a cutscene the player appear in a new location and is informed of losing an inventory item, Cutlass. Though this may not seem to be a direct hint to the player it implies what is required in the next solution is something that is sharp and can cut things, as that was the main descriptor of cutlass in the previous scene.

Location: LeChuck’s Treasure Hull

	Examine	Talk To	Pick Up
Gaping Hole to the Surface	“If only I could find a way to get there and get out!” Implying that the player must find a way up there.	“Someone lower a rope”	“Can’t climb my way up there”
Ladder	“Because the ship is capsized, this ladder go to nowhere.”	X	“Because the ship is capsized, this ladder go to nowhere.”
Box o' Chocolates	X	X	X
Teddy Bear	X	X	“The bear is too big to carry around and the sword is plastic.”
Wreath	X	X	X
Music Box	X	X	X
Portrait	X	X	X
Record Collection	X	X	X
Home Appliances	X	X	X
Champagne Bottle	X	X	X
Bag	X	X	Added to Inventory
Flotation Device	X	X	X
LeChuck's Unused Comb	X	X	X
Lucre	X	X	X
Filthy Lucre	X	X	X
Really Unclean Lucre	X	X	X
Unsanitary Lucre	X	X	X
Porthole	X	X	X
Diamond Ring	X	X	Added to Inventory

P 1.5: Environment Interaction: Diamond Ring on Porthole
After exploring the environment the player should of obtains two new inventory items, bag of wooden nickels and a diamond ring. WIth no great hints the player should se the new items around the scene, with several interactions implying that the diamond ring can be use to cut or scratch things.

• Diamond Ring with Champagne Bottle: “I don’t want to cut this wine bottle open with this ring”
• Diamond Ring with Home Appliances: “I’d hate to scratch the pristine white finish”
• Diamond Ring with Record Collection: “There’s no way I’d scratch up classic dance track like these!”
• Diamond Ring with Flotation Device: “If I scraped the ring on that I’ll pop it.”

All these hints indicate that the ring needs to cut something, in this case the porthole. Doing so will cause the game to continue.