![]() ![]() It must make a seamless whole with the clues surrounding it. The puzzle should not be limited to a lock mechanism. What this tells us is that investigation is the driving force of adventure games so puzzles should encourage the player to explore and interact with the environment, not spend hours on end in front of a static screen. Very few gamers are actually interested in the puzzles themselves. Most adventure game fans confirm this analysis, saying that unraveling a mystery, discovering new elements (characters, décor, machines, etc.), and advancing within the adventure, are their chief motivators. Indeed, gameplay is virtually always limited to a cycle where a player must explore locations to discover objects, clues or mechanisms until the player realizes he or she is stuck in a game area and needs to find a way to move on when finally, the player discovers the lock/unlock feature using clues previously collected. Adventure games rely on the same mechanisms as a real-life investigation. ![]() It's a mistake to think that gameplay in an adventure game is merely a succession of brain twisters and just as many opportunities to get hopelessly stuck.Ī detailed analysis of the great adventure game classics reveals one key aspect in their gameplay: investigation. Is an adventure game nothing but a string of puzzles? No. When we say "adventure game", the first thing that comes to mind are images of inextricable puzzles and recollections of hours spent staring at the computer screen. We can now attempt to answer the question: What does it take to build a good puzzle? The rule I often apply is this: What is a player looking for when buying a game? This approach helps me pinpoint the very essence of a game category: the discovery of new sceneries in some adventure games, the humor in a platform game, etc. The answer will obviously hinge on individual tastes and habits, but it's important to have a standard as objective as possible. While this categorization does not seem to explain what makes a good puzzle, each genre relies on a different type of puzzle for success and understand this will help us define what makes a good puzzle for each genre. There are three major game genres that employ puzzles they are: adventure games in the traditional sense such as Myst Action-adventure games that are strongly bent on "action" like Star Trek Voyager - Elite Force and Mixed action-adventure games such as Alone In The Dark. ![]()
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