Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
city and complexity of action sentences. If they are too easy to unravel, players are
disappointed because the gameplay becomes predictable and routine. On the other
hand, if the sentence is hard to understand, the players drop the game and switch
their attention to something else, being sure that only artificial intelligence might
solve that puzzle because all logical connections are so unnatural. This is the weak
point of many adventure games: trying to tangle a player, they forget about apparent
logic in their riddles, which become complex and intricate, and require some alien-
or machine-like thinking, being free of real-life principles.
By solving a puzzle, a player should deeply understand all the connections between
objects and accept them, concurring that in this particular context, they are logical or
at least plausible. Understanding them in such a way, the player ascertains that the
riddle is pretty natural and can be solved by true work of mind, but not simple good
luck that rewards him with a bit of self-esteem and makes him a little bit glad. On
the contrary, complex puzzles with unnatural lines of logic, strange twists, and so on
looks like an artificial creature without signs of life; being unable to resolve it leaves
a nasty taste in the mouth. The common answer to such elements in games is "And
how do you suppose I'd guess that?" or simply, "Are you serious?". Therefore, solu-
tions must be hard to achieve, but they should be honest, without a cheating narrat-
ive.
As from my experience, a good puzzle fits the empirical 90/10 rule. This means that
a player from the start sees 90 percent of the correct answers and tries to figure out
the most important 10 percent of the answers that are hidden somewhere. By getting
to the right solution, the player exclaims, "Yes, of course! That is logical."
Always try to tangle the player not by strange connections inside an action sentence,
but by distracting him with false hints and fruitless items that increase the number
of variables. Hide important things partially, as magicians do, by showing something
bright and useless in light, but hiding the actual objects in the shadow. Make the
player run, search, and calculate; allow him to invent the solution. And always check
whether the logic inside a puzzle is universal enough. For example, it can be based
on your own knowledge and life experiences, but other people would not understand
what you are talking about; therefore, riddles should not be too subjective.
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