Game Design Feedback for a student project, Zhudingi Idol.

1. DESIGN FEEDBACK (PUZZLE
DESIGN)
BY ALEXANDER RYBAK ON 11/15/16
FOR TEAM “COCONUT CREW” AND THEIR GAME, ZHUDINGI IDOL.

2. OVERVIEW
• Zhudingi Idol is a 3rd person shooter/puzzle game in the vein of Indiana Jones
and Lara Croft. It will rely on multiple puzzle systems throughout the game
to help drive the story and action forward. There are several useful techniques
for creating “good” puzzles that can easily be implemented. On the next slide
we will glance at the content of this PowerPoint.

3. OVERVIEW (CONTINUED)
• Elements of Every Puzzle
• Puzzle Difficulty
• The “Weakest Link” chokepoint
• Working Backwards
• Story-driven Puzzles
• Achieving Insight
• Puzzle Evaluation

4. ELEMENTS OF EVERY PUZZLE
• Puzzles are problems that need to be solved by the player to progress. They typically
are non-competitive and rely more on critical thinking than in-game skill or
technique
• The most important aspect of a puzzle is that it allows the player to achieve insight
in order to progress. It is a chokepoint for players where they must demonstrate an
understanding of your world to move forward.
• This allows for an experience where the player has a sense of accomplishment at
being “clever” and figuring out the puzzle, thus increasing overall enjoyment and
connection to the game world. The puzzle has to be fair to the player, above all else.

5. PUZZLE DIFFICULTY
• Different levels of difficulty in puzzles can be a very useful tactic to provide
solutions for a variety of player types.
• Puzzle solutions of varying degrees of difficulty allow for multiple paths forward
and encourage replay-ability, spurning players to determine other, more advanced
solutions.
• Ideally, you should consider multiple/alternative solutions for every puzzle. Boxing
in the player with only one possible way out ruins the illusion of the game and limits
the creativity of play.

6. THE “WEAKEST LINK” CHOKEPOINT
• The puzzle is only as strong as its ability to guide ALL players to the solution. It is
not a valid methodology to dismiss players that don’t understand or are unable to
solve your puzzle. As a game developer, it is your job to design the puzzle so
ANYONE has the potential to solve it.
• A “chokepoint” forces an attacker or opponent (in this case the player) to use a
narrow channel that you can monitor and control.
• Consider implementing a “Weakest Link Chokepoint” that allows you to monitor the
players ability to progress.

7. WORKING BACKWARDS
• Working backwards is a tactic applied to both
math and science problems and can also be
used when creating a puzzle. Working
backwards can help you, as the game
developer, to determine cause and effect in
your puzzle.
• It also helps you build to the climax/reveal you
want the player to experience.

8. STORY-DRIVEN PUZZLES
• The story and puzzle should be two sides of the same coin.
• Allow for the story to provide natural, organic puzzles that provide a purpose
to the overall narrative.
• The solution will help bring the player to a specific situation, according to the
game developers design.
• Characters and props only previously exposed to the player should be used.
New information or props will confuse the player and seem arbitrary.

9. ACHIEVING INSIGHT
• Achieving insight is the primary goal of a puzzle in video games.
• There are three different methods for leading the player to insight. They are:
• Selective Encoding
• Selective Comparison
• Selective Combination

10. SELECTIVE ENCODING
• Selective encoding occurs when you make apparently
irrelevant information suddenly relevant. The object or
piece of information may have no use outside the
puzzle, thus only becoming relevant when the player
achieves insight.
• In Uncharted, Drake’s ring served this purpose. Early
on you can investigate the ring and find unique
features. Later on, when searching for treasure the ring
would play a vital role in operating the compass that
leads to the treasure.

11. SELECTIVE COMPARISON
• Using analogies & metaphors, to draw a non-obvious
relationship between two pieces of information.
• In Uncharted 2, when searching for Shangri-La, you
stumble upon a monastery and see various
hieroglyphics and symbols. Several levels later, this
information becomes useful for solving puzzles that
eventually lead to Shangri-La. Tying these two objects
together is an example of selective comparison.

12. SELECTIVE COMBINATION
• Selective combination is when joining pieces of
information come together in order to form/solve a
larger, overarching puzzle.
• In Uncharted 4, when trying to find a hidden island,
you can explore several locations around the world.
While exploring you would find various coins and
trinkets with messages on them. At the end of the
game, all these random items and puzzles that have
been collected must be put together to solve the final
puzzle.

13. PUZZLE EVALUATION
• The following are some questions that indicate whether the puzzle needs to
be refined or changed.
• Is the puzzle obvious/apparent to the player?
• Is all the knowledge needed to solve the puzzle provided to the player in-game?
• Does the puzzle include characters, objects, themes from the story?
• Does the solution to the puzzle provide insight and constitute an “event” in the overall
story?

14. EXAMPLE OF PUZZLE INTEGRATION
Many games utilize puzzles outside of a traditional puzzle. A
common one used in games such as the Uncharted franchise
involve navigational puzzles. That is, the puzzle the player
grapples with is how to proceed forward. Since Zhudingi Idol utilized
similar movement mechanics, you can consider creating areas that players must
figure out how to navigate through climbing or jumping.

15. EXAMPLE OF PUZZLE INTEGRATION
Additionally you can create puzzles where the player has to
navigate through an area without detection. Since there are
already roving sentry bots integrated into Zhudingi Idol, you can
consider using them as a puzzle element. Creating an open area with a good
vantage point can allow the player to determine the best course to navigate
without getting caught by the enemy.

16. REFERENCES/FURTHER READING
• Falstein, N. (2013). The Arcane Art of Puzzle Dependency Diagrams. Gdcvault.com.
Retrieved 16 November 2016, from http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1017978/The-
Arcane-Art-of-Puzzle
• Fernandez-Vara, C. (2016). Puzzle Writing: Best Practices. Gdcvault.com. Retrieved
16 November 2016, from http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1013851/Puzzle-Writing-
Best
• Menzel, J. (2016). Level Design Workshop: Solving Puzzle Design. Gdcvault.com.
Retrieved 15 November 2016, from http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1023139/Level-
Design-Workshop-Solving-Puzzle