Over the years there have been many aspects originating out of early or modern adventure game design, that many people criticize for various reasons. Note: While some of these puzzle designs appear in other genres, most had start as puzzles in early Adventure Games.
What do you think is the worst in your opinion?
I've given a few I remember people complaining about over the years in various magazines, websites, or in forums.
The first three are three types of puzzles that appear in many of the earliest adventure games (including text adventures) that many people claim are worst and most tedius aspects of adventure gaming. They often get in the way of doing the 'trading/item use' style puzzles.
The first is the maze, a place where you can get lost, and not always know what you need to find. Adventure/Collossal Cave is probably the first to have these. Wizard and the Princess, KQ5, QFG2, KQ6, SQ5, LSL2 (or was it three?), Monkey Island, and any number assorted games have this type of 'puzzle'. KQ8 offers two or three of these in the form of the Dimension of Death, Underground Realm of the Gnomes, and the three levels of the Temple of the Sun. Zork series is generally remembered for the number of mazes thrown at the player. There are different types of mazes, including one screen mazes like the mountain caves/cliffs in KQ3, and the tentacle plant in SQ3.
The second is the tile puzzle (ala KQ6, Torin's Passage, Return to Zork, Gabriel Knight 3, Fate of Atlantis, Last Crusade, and KQ8): These often include jumping puzzles over platforms or move around tiles to find an exit, or some cases a variation on chess or checkers (where you have to defeat an enemy, i.e. the last puzzle of Return to Zork), others involve change all tile colors to another pattern or color. While generally a game had no more than one or two of these puzzles some games like Seventh Guest or KQ8 tried to toss in more than that (at least one of these is almost the same kind of puzzle as a tile jumping puzzle in the lava world of Torin's Passage)! Other variations of this is the sliding picture tile puzzle (EcoQuest 1, Return to Zork), where tiles must be moved around to discover the hidden picture they make up.
The third is the box puzzle, this involves pushing some box, walls, or other objects around a room to find an exit or reach another item. One of the most diabolical versions of this puzzle is in Zork 3 in which the player had to move around not only a maze, but also move walls around, in order to find an exit. All the while there was very few descripive clues to point out if you were doing it correctly (if you failed you had to reset maze). Some may argue that Broken Sword 3 went as far to focus on box and maze puzzles at the expense of other types of classic adventure game puzzle design (item/trading puzzles). KQ8 is also known for tossing 2-3 of these puzzles in a couple of areas of the game (one for example is the picture of the Mask in the Temple of the Sun).
Just for the sake of pointing out how some of these puzzle designs may overlap, I point out a puzzle in the Forest Temple in OOT, that is sort of a combination of box puzzle, and slider/title puzzles, with a ghost image, that resets after several seconds. The basic aspect of this puzzle is very similar to the Mask box/picture puzzle in KQ8.
The Cliches of Adventure Game Design. I use the example of the Door, Key, and Newspaper. For anyone who has played adventure games, this is probably THE most cliched puzzle in any adventure game... You might remember it such games as Hugo's House of Horrors, and a variation of it appears in Back to the Future! In worst situations this might even lead to a dead end, if you push the key before using the newspaper! Can you think of any other over-used puzzle sequences found through many adventure games?
Conversation-style puzzles. This is largely a more well known aspect of non-sierra games, such as Lucasarts. The more advanced forms of this kind of puzzle involves conversation menus, and choosing correct choices during a conversation while attempting to avoid doing anything that would make them angry, try to stop you, etc. They do appear in a few Sierra games such as the Gabriel Knight series, and some of the early Police Quest games, and Quest for Glory (but are generally pretty rare). These are very common in detective adventure games, where some kind of interrogation method is needed in the gameplay. They can sometimes include a visual aspect, like the classic hand puzzle in Monkey Island 2. Note that parser system games sometimes offered more elaborate conversation-style puzzles (without the menu) requring the player to think extra hard about what to ask characters. In the most primitive form of this puzzle (usually in games with cursors and icons) the player may receive points for simply talking to a character and learning about something they need to get (or need to do), or someone else they need to talk to (I.e. in KQ6 there is a chain to speak to Ali to Hassan to hakim to get the magic map). The latter example can fit not only into a conversation-puzzle chain, but also ties into into a type of fetch quest. For another example of conversation style puzzles, see the many examples in GK3 which involve specific missible cutscenes that are required to get full points in the game, and truly solve the mystery. Many of these cutscenes and events are combined with the complicated menu-based conversation puzzles (so if the wrong choice is made the player might not get all the points, or solve the problem completely). Perhaps puzzles that require you to read a letter (but which turn into a more or less useless item afterwards) may be considered a type of 'communication' quest.
'Fetch quest' puzzles are generally one of the most common puzzle types in adventure games. They are usually the b****** offspring of the primitive form of the conversation puzzle and the more advanced versions of the item use/trading puzzles. These puzzles usually being told or reading about something you need to get. In worst case scenario told specifically were to go to get it. Most of KQ3 for example is made up of finding spell ingredients mentioned in the manual, and then using the spells in ways and locations described in the manual. On the other hand some of the most elaborate item trading sequences involve a sequence of fetch quests between various characters. In Sierra a good example of an adventure games based largely on fetch quests are Roberta William's own Mixed-Up Mother Goose, and the sequel, Mixed-Up Fairy Tales. The puzzles in these two games were simplified into very simple fetch quests for sake of children. The main quests in KQ1, 2 and KQ4, are riddled with elaborate fetch quests to find three treasures or keys (see also 'treasure hunt' puzzles below)! Another fetch quest in KQ2 involves Antique Shop owner asking you to fetch her pet nightingale from Hagatha! In some cases, you may just know the gist of what you need, but not told specifically what you need (so there is still a bit more challenge going on). In other cases you might be told what you need, but not be told where to find it (these can also prove to be more challenging style of fetch quest).
Next I use Rube Goldberg (aka Macgyver) as a reference to unusual or illogical use of mundane items (or any items really) to solve puzzles. These are generally unrealistic puzzle solutions, that require thinking completely outside or even under the box. Perhaps its even logical, but requires knowledge outside of the game to solve (pop culture, mythology, fantasy, science fiction, etc). These may overlap into the 'Cliches' category. These should not be confused with 'physics' or 'environmental' based puzzles, although there may sometimes be overlap.
Dead ends and deaths, this is largely self explanatory, and is boiled down to one of the key style differences between Sierra and Lucasarts. But also many other companies.
Action/Combat/Arcade/Mini-games, these are generally limited to sequences in adventure games. But in the case of some games like Mean Streets (the first Tex Murphy game), Conquests series, many of the Indiana Jones adventure games, QFG, Inca, Heart of China, Rise of the Dragon, or KQ8 are made constantly encountered or important aspects of the gameplay. They may also include board games, card games, or other types of 'mini-games'. Space quest 1 (original) and Leisure Suit Larry had its slot machines, and Space Quest has its assorted space combat, battleship, dukem robots, hovercraft and other mini-game and arcade sequences. Codename: Iceman has a difficult card game (that knows and will penalize if you 'cheat') and some rather difficult submarine arcade battle sequences. Infact, it seems that arcade/combat/mini-games tend to go hand in hand with games with deadends or even deaths! Since failture at the mini-game/combat might lead to death later on, if the doesn't kill you outright to begin with!
The last few poll choices are more to do with interfaces, graphics that sort of thing, and hint systems. These aren't necessarily directly related to puzzle design, but are often things people have complained about over the years for whatever reasons!
The final poll choice, gives you an option to mention something I may have missed!
Anyways what are your thoughts? Although you can't vote more than once, if there are several concepts that you find annoying, list them (and list them in order if you can)!
(Posted on: July 31, 2011, 01:14:12 PM)
I've had to reset the poll, as I've expanded it to add a few more puzzle types that get complaints (and it didn't move the selections correctly).
I've added illogical 'rube goldberg' style puzzles, as opposed to realistic everyday mundane puzzle design. I modified one category into 'cliches" (as in puzzles that are reused way too many times in countless games). i've added in the missing 'fetch quests' category.
Keep in mind that each of these categories probably have many sub categories and may blend into other categories as well. Fetch for example is usually combination of simple conversation-puzzle and item-based puzzles.
Each of these categories may have complicated or simple versions of that type of puzzle.
One final thing, I forgot to put on the list, but could fit into the arcade or other, is the mini-game style puzzle! These often involve some kind of arcade or traditional-style puzzle sequence. Like putting a puzzle together, or the Magic Mage or Antwerp mazes in QFG, maybe even a board game (mancala, nine-men's morris, battleship analog), or gambling games (poker, slot machines, etc). These are widely varried, are often required to play to move on in the game, and often hold secrets to a needed item, winning the game, or getting full points. Since these types are so widely varied, it is difficult to classify them all on a single marrit, they are worth mentioning.
I also didn't list up the "treasure hunt" style puzzles. These are puzzles that require you to find some treasure just to get maximum points. See the Sapphire Jewels in KQ2. These were common in early adventure games, but more rare in later ones. Generally they are only found in Infocom and early Sierra adventure games. These items may or may not be used as alternate solutions to other puzzles. But generally their purpose is to get full points. These are probably the most simplistic type of puzzle in adventure games. This concept survived in later games through the existence of 'red herring' items, and non-useable items. The latter might add to the full points in the game, but serve no purpose towards solutions of other puzzles. An example of a red herring or useless item in KQ2 for example is the 'clamshell' or the 'silk pillow'. There only purpose is to be picked up, and find the the treasure underneath, but serves no other purpose after that. In some situations, they may not even be related to any other puzzle, for example the completely useless native Keronian plant in SQ1AGI (hence 'red herring'). The treasure chest in KQ3. In some cases treasure hunts could be the main point to winning the game (find tree treasures, the three keys, etc), but may be just part of an elaborate fetch quest chain!
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