Level Up.pdf

Riddle Me This 347
While Mr. Kim has designed waaaay more puzzles than I ever will 10 , this
defi nition doesn ’ t feel quite right to me. What bothers me is the use of the
word “ fun. ” Fun is completely subjective, like the words “ funny ” and “ sexy. ”
What I think is fun may not be fun for you. And frankly, I don ’ t find many
puzzles in video games to be fun. For me, there ’ s nothing worse than a
puzzle whose solution I just can ’ t fathom. At least with a difficult boss
monster, you can brute force your way through to victory. You just can ’ t do
that with a puzzle. So, with apologies to Mr. Kim, I have created my own
defi nition:
A puzzle is a challenge that has a right answer.
Scott Rogers
The difference is the word “ challenge. ” That ’ s a puzzle ’ s job (and the entire
game for that matter!) to challenge the player. And the challenge of the
puzzle is “ solve me. ”
The player first needs to know what reward is offered for solving the puzzle.
It can be to open a door, create a picture, or translate a message; just
make sure the player knows “ what do I need to do? ” I always think this very
important thing applies:
SHOW ‘ EM THE DOOR AND THEN SEND ‘ EM AFTER THE KEY 11
When creating the puzzle, keep the puzzle ’ s pieces simple and modular.
You only need a few pieces to create many combinations. Work with as few
moving pieces as possible to prevent the player from getting confused.
Make sure that when a puzzle piece is adjusted, the player can see that it ’ s
10
Go to http://www.scottkim.com for loads of puzzley goodness, including free games!
11
It doesn ’ t have to be a door. And it doesn ’ t have to be a key. I ’ m speaking metaphorically
here.