In the 1980s, Martin Handford and a few others laid down the idea to make a game based on the activity-teeming images of Philippe Dupasquier’s Busy Places book series. This idea featured a wanderlust time traveler dressed in red and white blending amongst a setting with usually-packed crowds. 1987 was when the first edition of Where’s Waldo (Are you living outside North America? You’ll know this as Where’s Wally if you do) came into circulation. What was it all about? It is a two-page image with a jampacked place, lots of busy people, and that one guy in hiding.

You can say that this is one of the precursors of what we know of today’s online hidden object games. There’s an unbelievably cluttered place with stuff that typically doesn’t belong there. Objects can either be shown in plain sight or blend so well that it takes at least 3 passes before your eyes can figure out the funny-looking item hidden wherever. Here we’ll find out a little more about the traits of Where’s Waldo that gave rise to a variety of object-finding puzzles.

A busy place

There are some liberties done to this definition as time passes on. Making a ‘busy picture’ does not necessarily have to be in a place of work. It can be a bunch of tools left by workers who are done with the day, or crops recently-tended by a farmer and some helpers. You can use our Scavenger Quest game as an example of a busy location with some surprises hidden in between them.

Plenty of background scenery

This is where player focus is important. Hidden object games should love offering distractions to keep somebody glued to the screen for a long time. A sharp pair of eyes can help find things faster, but even these don’t help much when there are too many good sights to see on a level. These guys at Hidden Fellas are good starters when it comes to training focus. Some scenes can interact with the searcher by revealing other items, or cause actions that lead to more interesting sights. Hidden Fellas makes good use of this setting element and game mechanic.

Animated and lively

There’s a usual ladder of concepts to follow when it comes to making fun hidden object games. It can be a combination of traits or at least one interesting characteristic that keeps you on the screen. There can be a wide range of colors to dazzle and misguide the searcher, or quirky animations that draw the player to only look at one part of the challenge. A target object can also go with the flow of other items to mislead somebody. Hidden Through Time is an example of a game that achieves these elements.

Exciting outcomes await

Where’s Waldo’s vast scapes give the solver a great sense of achievement once the traveler in red and white is found amongst the imposing throng. A player should get something good out of getting the spotting duty done. Games could go with other visual rewards like a livelier image – or a gesture of approval from your target for a job well done. Bringing a city to life and in literal flowing colors is what Hidden Cats in New York is all about.

There’s a reason Where’s Waldo has made its strides in the world of games – and weaving games in between non-gaming activities. Google knows this and has used Waldo’s ways of endorsing tourism. Finding hidden objects (and people) in a game has its own simple but quite fulfilling brand of fun.