The Pros and Cons of Puzzles

[- Z - 30]

Topic says my main concern, and an interesting thing to note.

 

Sometimes, i come across games where both battles and puzzle will

be obstacles for the player. I played through many puzzles to know

they can be fun additions to the game, or downright unnecessay.

 

When i meet a puzzle, I get two reactions of it based on situation.

• "YAY! A PUZZLE! Alright, brain, do your stuff." (if puzzles are enjoyable)
• "Oh no...Not another puzzle..."                         (Opposite effect)

Many games have done puzzles right. Some others just make you want to get

the puzzle done as quickly as possible. I plan to add puzzles as a way to give

players a rest from all the battles against monsters and such (as in, the room

where the puzzle is has no enemy encounters), but as a test for the mind.

 

And so, comes my questions.

What makes puzzles enjoyable, or annoying? Is it their complexity, or their simpleness?

What puzzles fustrate you the most, and which ones make you enjoy the game more?

 

I personally find riddle-like puzzles to be the thorn of my life, but be free to mention your favorite

or not-so-favorite puzzles. I want to know!

[Galv 1,387]

I really like puzzles in RPGs - for the reason you mentioned: to give the player a rest from one part of the gameplay and let them do something else for a little bit.

The puzzles in the Zelda games and Lufia II were most enjoyable and memorable to me (I use 'memorable' loosely here as I have a terrible memory).

I don't remember them being particularly hard (some of them were rather easy) but even so, they did make you think for a bit and solving them gave you satisfaction and a good breather from grinding your way through the dungeon's enemies.

 

I say the Zelda games but I do hope it's assumed that I forgot about the water dungeon in Ocarina of Time and how annoying it was... There's one example of frustration I found

[HumanNinja 144]

I only find puzzles annoying when they are too easy. I understand easy ones at first to break in the player to the elements of type of puzzle. But when puzzles continue to be too simple throughout the game, they become (to me) more of a pain and one of those parts I'd like to skip.

 

Variety of puzzles are good but I also enjoy difficult puzzles.

[+ morewordsfaster 28]

I think the best puzzles are those that tie together a thread that appears in several game areas. If you can set something up prior to the puzzle, like giving the player an item or spell or something that will payoff as the solution to a puzzle later on, that's kick ass. It helps make the game world feel more cohesive in my opinion.

 

Emergence is another great concept to play with in puzzles; Portal and Portal 2 were completely based on the idea of emergence. They set up some pretty simple rules (only certain surfaces can have portals, momentum carries over through a portal, etc) and then built hundreds of puzzles based on the emergent dynamics of that rules system. In fact, there's a flash-based 2d Portal game that is terrific for showing off cool puzzles.

 

But when I think of great puzzles in games, I think of point-and-click adventure games. The LucasArts games like Maniac Mansion, Loom, and Secret of Monkey Island had some of the best puzzles I've ever experienced and considering puzzles are the main gameplay mechanic in those games, they HAD TO do it well or the game would be a failure. The Myst games are a great example of environment puzzles. And for those who want more recent examples, the Puzzle Agent games, Zack and Wiki, and the Sam and Max series were all great as well.

[amerk 1,122]

Dawn's Light and Eternal Eden (both commercial games for RMVX) made puzzles a downright chore. Luckily, combat was not random and once you killed an enemy troop they don't respawn, making the puzzles a bit easier to digest.

 

It's not that I hate puzzles. It's just that 95% of the puzzles in both those games were more like switch puzzles or box-pushing puzzles.

 

Eternal Eden at least had the ability to switch between the Light and Dark worldmaps, and things you complete in one map might have an effect on the other. Those are the puzzles I enjoy.

 

If you ever want some good puzzles, I recommend looking at the Zelda games and Wild Arms. In fact, the earlier Wild Arms games pretty much owns the franchise on well-designed turn-based puzzle-driven rpg -- at least in my opinion.

[Tsarmina 2,612]

Agree SO much with Amerk. I really don't like box-switching puzzles, or those random "find the hidden objects" ones that require no thinking at all and just random clicking. (Referring to some of Big Fish's games, as in the company. The games were fun, but finding objects was a dreaded task.) Overall, I enjoy puzzles better than battles (one reason why I prefer non-fighting games), and think they can be a great addition. You just have to plan them out carefully.

[dylanmc12 2]

If puzzles don't halt gameplay and the story, then I guess they're acceptable. Infact, if they're made fun, then yeah, they could be a great part of gameplay.

 

There also have been games made using this engine, where the only way to get experience points is by finishing puzzles. That's.. and interesting idea. But probably also very frustrating.

[amerk 1,122]

After reading a recent article about Zelda games, it strikes me more so than before that most puzzles are nothing more than a lock and key method. How you solve the puzzle, and the effects of such, are different each time, but in most cases, it's to unlock a way forward in the game.

 

Knowing that, you might be able to come up with some different kinds of puzzles, or find new uses for each puzzle. What I get tired of seeing, of course, are the same old push-pull puzzles (pull this lever, push this boulder), as they get very old fast.

[Darkanine 116]

I won't lie,I hate puzzles in RPGs,I feel they slow down the game pointlessly.I never feel rewarded when I finish them I just say "ugh finally" in my head and go forward.Hell,the trails in FFX made me quit the game out of boredom,maybe its because I'm not great and looking ahead and having a puzzle come together in my head.

I also feel puzzles can be a tad restrictive,especially when theres only one solution to it,which is why I love games like Scribblenauts unlimited,the amount of solutions to a puzzle makes you feel genuinely rewarded for being clever.

I also agree with the people before me,switch puzzles are not really puzzles,they just glorified scavenger hunts.

[Tsarmina 2,612]

Well, having more than one solution can be fun, but it makes it...easier...I suppose, on the player. (Less thinking? :\ I don't know...) 

[amerk 1,122]

I won't lie,I hate puzzles in RPGs,I feel they slow down the game pointlessly.I never feel rewarded when I finish them I just say "ugh finally" in my head and go forward.Hell,the trails in FFX made me quit the game out of boredom,maybe its because I'm not great and looking ahead and having a puzzle come together in my head.

I also feel puzzles can be a tad restrictive,especially when theres only one solution to it,which is why I love games like Scribblenauts unlimited,the amount of solutions to a puzzle makes you feel genuinely rewarded for being clever.

I also agree with the people before me,switch puzzles are not really puzzles,they just glorified scavenger hunts.

 

I don't mind them, per se, as long as I know going into them what I'm playing.

 

For example, I won't pick up a Wild Arms game and get mad at there being puzzles, because it's aimed at being a puzzle related rpg. Final Fantasy X, on the other hand, I agree. The trials got in the way of the story for me, and considering it was much more linear than most FF games, the story was really what drove it.

 

If puzzles are related to the game, they should be included as early as possible, and throughout the game. The player has time to decide if this is the game for them, and adapt to it. If puzzles are just randomly tossed in at the least expected moments, it can detract from the overall experience.