Game Theory: Puzzle Motivation.

[ShadeJackrabbit]

Well, in Canada, Adventure Games do moderatly well. Has anybody heard of The Adventure Company? They publish adventure games, and some are good. If anyone played Myst, 1-3 and 5 are worth the money. There are puzzles which are so weird, they make sense. I think it's because there are practically NO people. You are always thrust into a situation where you don't know anything. For example:

Spoiler

In Myst 3, you talk to Atrus and BOOM! This guy attacks you out of nowhere! You're only hope is to follow his escape.

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Puzzles which help the storyline (You find a strange machine by an old civilization on "The Island" which happens to emit light when you solve the very easy puzzle, telling you these people know about making light without fire. Sometime no knowledge or very little is the key.

And if anyone plays Benoit Sokal's games, you'll also know that a puzzle can be very logically done. (You need to turn on a machine, but half the instructions are missing.)

But, never EVER "Schizm" it. The problem with Schizm is that the puzzles MAKE NO SENSE. So a key part is definantly situation, and relativity to a situation.

BAD PUZZLE:
You come to a stairway which retracts, and it is reracted. You must pull a series of 12 switches, push 6 buttons, and twist 2 knops to get this stairway to work. Once you do, the stairway collapses but opens a door on it's way down.

GOOD PUZZLE:
You come across an old ruin, and in the centre is a pillar with a clear indentation of a jewel. You found a jewel earlier. When you place the jewel in, a wooden tablet comes out. Everything is writen backwards, which you can also tell. You must use it on one of many reflective surfaces to read it. I mean it can be read using water, a mirror, a really shiny rock. etc. etc. etc. Once read, it can be used to assist you later, AND it tells you some key items about the ruins and it's race.

Old games were good. But I think the community should recognize some new jewels too. Maybe then developers would know what's good.