{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-protagonist-self-hints","type":"mechanic","id":"game-mechanics--gm-protagonist-self-hints","lang":"en","title":"Protagonist Self-Hints AKA: Talking to Yourself","summary":"The protagonist voices observations or a suggested next step.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-protagonist-self-hints/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-protagonist-self-hints.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-protagonist-self-hints.md","aliases":["Protagonist self-hints"],"tags":["Game design techniques","Diegetic"],"sourceIds":["source-a58431595c8e1b63","source-63a386456c22c7c5","source-c3ac4408df8c4576"],"sources":[{"id":"source-a58431595c8e1b63","title":"Game Mechanics: Protagonist Self-Hints AKA: Talking to Yourself","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/protagonist-self-hints","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-63a386456c22c7c5","title":"Alan Wake 2 (2023)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/protagonist-self-hints/game/alan-wake-2","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-c3ac4408df8c4576","title":"Tomb Raider (2013)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/protagonist-self-hints/game/tomb-raider-2013","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"The protagonist voices observations or a suggested next step."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### How the technique works\n\n<a id=\"gm-protagonist-self-hints-rule\"></a>\n\n- The protagonist voices observations or a suggested next step. <a id=\"gm-protagonist-self-hints-definition\"></a>"},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"All 199 Game Mechanics entries at the check date: player actions, systems, presentation techniques and contested patterns. Entries are grouped by their first source-card category; all categories appear in their descriptions. Definitions use original wording. References link to game-specific galleries; images and videos remain at the source."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"game-mechanics","id":"gm-protagonist-self-hints","title":"Game design techniques","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/game-mechanics/#gm-protagonist-self-hints","categoryIds":["gm-category-diegetic"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Protagonist self-hints","description":"The protagonist voices observations or a suggested next step.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/atmosphere-protagonist-self-hints.webp","width":900,"height":504,"game":"Alan Wake 2","sourceUrl":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/protagonist-self-hints","originalUrl":"https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/alan_wake_talking_to_himself.jpg","credit":"Remedy Entertainment; image via GameMechanics.org","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Source host: GameMechanics.org. Visible source watermarks preserved. All rights reserved; excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"A spoken hint suggests using the lamp at an entrance","alt":"Alan Wake 2: A spoken hint suggests using the lamp at an entrance.","markers":[{"x":50,"y":85,"label":"Subtitle of a line about the next action"}]},"tips":["Allow time for independent solving and adjustable hint frequency."],"examples":[{"title":"Alan Wake 2","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/protagonist-self-hints"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Editorial reference index based on the 199 public Game Mechanics pattern pages checked on 2026-10-20. Original concise RU/EN definitions by gamemechanics.pro; pattern names, category associations and game-reference URLs retained from gamemechanics.org. The source gallery includes a film analogy. Linked materials retain their original rights; references are upstream attributions, not independent verification.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/game-mechanics"}}