Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
3.
Create a construction set.
The only way to be sure that a puzzle concept works
is to play it, but obviously you don't want to code up the whole game before you
know whether it's fun. You can build a paper prototype or a simple version in
something like Macromedia Flash to see if it works. The rule designer can play with
the prototype to tweak the rules, and later the level designer can use it to build lev-
els. You can also code a construction set into the final game so that players can
build puzzles for each other.
4.
Define the rules.
This is the key part of puzzle design. Most puzzles are charac-
terized in terms of four things: the
board
(Is it a grid? A network? Is it irregular? Or
is there no board at all?), the
pieces
(How are they shaped? What pictures are on
them? What other attributes do they have? Where do they come from?), the
moves
(What is allowed and what is not? Are they sequential or simultaneous? What side
effects do they have?), and the
goal
or victory condition (Does it have to be an
exact match, or will a partial one do?).
5.
Construct the puzzles.
A puzzle challenges the player to get from a problem to
a solution, but of course, the path isn't simple. Every puzzle requires that the player
make choices, some of which lead to dead ends. In an adventure game, each puzzle
appears in a larger context (the story) that gives it meaning, and solving it advances
the plot somehow. Some puzzle games also offer an overall plot of sorts or won't let
you try the next puzzle until you've completed the current one. Good puzzles
require insight from the player, the “Aha!” moment that occurs when the player
realizes how the puzzle works and how to solve it. But you mustn't require an
insight that's too obscure, or it will feel unfair. If you tell the player that he's in a
maze, it's unfair for the only solution to be to knock down the walls unless you
indicate somehow that this is possible.
6.
Test.
Testing tells you several things. It tells you whether the puzzle is too
easy or too hard (this can be difficult to predict in advance), and it also tells you
whether it's fun in the first place. It helps you find out if there are alternative solu-
tions that you didn't think of, and it helps you discover errors in the rules. And, of
course, it lets people try out the user interface. Because puzzle actions tend to be
repetitive, it's important that the interface be smooth and not frustrating.
7.
Devise a sequence.
Now it's time to order all your puzzles into a sequence. The
most obvious arrangement is a linear or accelerating sequence going from easy to
difficult, but in practice, that becomes tiring and discouraging. A better arrange-
ment is a sawtooth shape, which gets difficult for a while, then goes back to an easy
puzzle, and so on, over and over. And, of course, you can give the player the free-
dom to play the puzzles out of order or let her earn that right. You also need to
think about transitions between puzzles, something that will keep her moving on
to the next one. War games and role-playing games often do this with a storyline.
Or, the player can be working on a
metapuzzle
(a single large puzzle, parts of which
the player solves in between the regular puzzles), which motivates her to complete
the whole game.
