Some dos and don'ts for point-and-click adventure game designers. A quick tour of the types of puzzles found in some of the past and present point-and-click adventure games and how they merge with gameplay and storytelling. Beyond nostalgia, and with a glance at new technologies, this talk aims to suggest a way to avoid some of the design mistakes of the past and generate new ones, so to foster new solutions.

1. “That doesn’t seem to work.”A puzzle design cheat sheet for point-and-click adventure game designers
Christopher Sacchi
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2. @LostTrainDude
christophersacchi.com
me@christophersacchi.com
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http://www.christophersacchi.com/games

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The Adventures of Willy Beamish (Dynamix/Sierra On-Line, 1991)

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Broken Age (Double Fine Productions, 2014) deconstructed into a Puzzle Dependency Chart
Unpoint / Unclick
http://www.christophersacchi.com/unpoint-unclick

6. Puzzle Dependency Chart
http://grumpygamer.com/puzzle_dependency_charts
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Puzzle Dependency Chart
“A Puzzle Dependency Chart is a list of all the puzzles and steps for solving a puzzle
in an adventure game.” - Ron Gilbert

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Puzzle Dependency Chart
“A Puzzle Dependency Chart is a list of all the puzzles and steps for solving a puzzle
in an adventure game.” - Ron Gilbert

9. Restore power
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Puzzle Dependency Chart
“A Puzzle Dependency Chart is a list of all the puzzles and steps for solving a puzzle
in an adventure game.” - Ron Gilbert

10. Restore power
Use tape to hold
lever
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Puzzle Dependency Chart
“A Puzzle Dependency Chart is a list of all the puzzles and steps for solving a puzzle
in an adventure game.” - Ron Gilbert

11. Restore power
Use tape to hold
lever
Get duct tape
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Puzzle Dependency Chart
“A Puzzle Dependency Chart is a list of all the puzzles and steps for solving a puzzle
in an adventure game.” - Ron Gilbert

12. Restore power
Use tape to hold
lever
Get duct tape
Switch off other
lights
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Puzzle Dependency Chart
“A Puzzle Dependency Chart is a list of all the puzzles and steps for solving a puzzle
in an adventure game.” - Ron Gilbert

13. Restore power
Use tape to hold
lever
Get duct tape
Switch off other
lights
Fix the broken switch
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Puzzle Dependency Chart
“A Puzzle Dependency Chart is a list of all the puzzles and steps for solving a puzzle
in an adventure game.” - Ron Gilbert

14. Restore power
Use tape to
hold lever
Get duct tape
Switch off
other lights
Fix the broken switch
Use knife to open the
stuck drawer
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Puzzle Dependency Chart
Get tools
“A Puzzle Dependency Chart is a list of all the puzzles and steps for solving a puzzle
in an adventure game.” - Ron Gilbert

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Puzzle Dependency Chart
“A Puzzle Dependency Chart is a list of all the puzzles and steps for solving a puzzle
in an adventure game.” - Ron Gilbert

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Puzzle Dependency Chart
“A Puzzle Dependency Chart is a list of all the puzzles and steps for solving a puzzle
in an adventure game.” - Ron Gilbert
● Keeps the game’s linearity under control

17. ● Keeps the game’s linearity under control
● Is a puzzle too easy? Add more branches! Is it too hard? Remove them!
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Puzzle Dependency Chart
“A Puzzle Dependency Chart is a list of all the puzzles and steps for solving a puzzle
in an adventure game.” - Ron Gilbert

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Chris Crawford’s First Law of Software Design

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Chris Crawford’s First Law of Software Design
WHAT DOES THE USER DO?

21. What do players (usually) DO?
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22. ● Explore
● Pick up items
● Examine items / characters
● Use / Combine items
● Talk to other characters
● Give items to other characters
● Make choices (ethical or not)
● Think
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What do players (usually) DO?

23. ● EXPLORE
● PICK UP items
● EXAMINE items / characters
● USE / COMBINE items
● TALK TO other characters
● GIVE items to other characters
● MAKE CHOICES (ethical or not)
● THINK
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What do players (usually) DO?

24. ● EXPLORE
● PICK UP
● EXAMINE
● USE / COMBINE
● TALK TO
● GIVE
● MAKE CHOICES
● THINK
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What do players (usually) DO?

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Else Heart.Break() (Erik Svedäng, 2015)

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LOOM (LucasFilm Games, 1990)

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HOW are they going to do it?

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HOW are they going to do it?
Mouse (and keyboard) Touch screen
VR

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“Design to the Medium's Strengths
Instead of Struggling with its
Limitations”
- Greg Costikyan
#37 of the “400 Project” (Noah Falstein, Hal Barwood)
http://www.finitearts.com/pages/400page.html

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4 levels of abstraction

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9-verbs interface
Day of The Tentacle (LucasArts, 1993)

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9-verbs interface
Day of The Tentacle (LucasArts, 1993)
Lower level of abstraction

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Mobile
Early footage of Thimbleweed Park (Terrible Toybox, 2017) running on Nintendo Switch, recorded by Ron Gilbert

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Mobile
Picture of a Nintendo Switch running ScummVM (taken by gbatemp.net user RichKK)

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Icon bar
Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers (Sierra On-Line, 1991)

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Icon bar
Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers (Sierra On-Line, 1991)
Use / Open / Close / ...

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Icon bar
Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers (Sierra On-Line, 1991)
Average level of abstraction

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Verb coin
Full Throttle (LucasArts, 1995)

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Verb coin
Full Throttle (LucasArts, 1995)
Average level of abstraction

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2-clicks interface
Beneath a Steel Sky (Revolution Software/Virgin Interactive Entertainment, 1994)

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2-clicks interface
Beneath a Steel Sky (Revolution Software/Virgin Interactive Entertainment, 1994)
Interact

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2-clicks interface
Beneath a Steel Sky (Revolution Software/Virgin Interactive Entertainment, 1994)
Interact Examine

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2-clicks interface
Beneath a Steel Sky (Revolution Software/Virgin Interactive Entertainment, 1994)
High level of abstraction

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Single-click interface
Enigma (Bad Pixel Games, 2016)

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Single-click interface
Enigma (Bad Pixel Games, 2016)

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Single-click interface
Enigma (Bad Pixel Games, 2016)

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Single-click interface
Enigma (Bad Pixel Games, 2016)
Higher level of abstraction

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“Design to the Medium's Strengths
Instead of Struggling with its
Limitations”
- Greg Costikyan
#37 of the “400 Project” (Noah Falstein, Hal Barwood)
http://www.finitearts.com/pages/400page.html

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Single-click interface
STASIS (The Brotherhood/Daedalic Entertainment, 2015)

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Single-click interface
The Fickle Hands of Fate (2017)

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Single-click interface
Unavowed (Wadjet Eye Games, TBA 2018)

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VR
The Gallery - Episode 1: Call of the Starseed (Cloudhead Games Ltd., 2016)

53. ● EXPLORE
● PICK UP
● EXAMINE
● USE / COMBINE
● TALK TO
● GIVE
● MAKE CHOICES
● THINK
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What do players (usually) DO?

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VR
The Gallery - Episode 1: Call of the Starseed (Cloudhead Games Ltd., 2016)

55. Un po’ di Puzzle Design

56. 2017 / Tim Schafer
(Day of The Tentacle, Full Throttle,
Grim Fandango, Broken Age)
2009 / Noah Falstein
(Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade,
Indiana Jones and The Fate of Atlantis)
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57. 2017 / Brian Moriarty
(LOOM, Trinity, Wishbringer, The Dig)
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Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge (LucasFilm Games, 1992)
Puzzles!

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Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge (LucasFilm Games, 1992)
Puzzles!
!

60. ● Quid pro quo
● Inventory Puzzles
● Timing Puzzles
● Distract-and-Grab
● Tracking Puzzles
● Mazes
● Escape Room Puzzles
● Disguise Puzzles
● Cryptograms
● Memory-based Puzzles
● Logic-based Puzzles
● Repeated Action
● Dialogue Puzzles
● Forced Dialogue Puzzles
● “Staircase To Nowhere”
● Riddles
● GUI-based
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Puzzle Types
http://junk.dk/puzzle/ + more!

61. “Why Adventure Games Suck” - Ron Gilbert, 1989
https://grumpygamer.com/why_adventure_games_suck
There is nothing more frustrating than solving
pointless puzzle after pointless puzzle. Each
puzzle solved should bring the player closer to
understanding the story and game.
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Puzzles should advance the story

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Quid Pro Quo
The Librarian (Octavi Navarro, 2018)

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Quid Pro Quo
The Librarian (Octavi Navarro, 2018)

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Quid Pro Quo
The Librarian (Octavi Navarro, 2018)
+ Easy to implement
- Quickly become boring

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Inventory Puzzles
Every adventure game ever

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Inventory Puzzles
Lamplight City (Grundislav GamesApplication Systems London, TBA 2018)

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Inventory Puzzles
Day of The Tentacle (LucasArts, 1993)

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Inventory Puzzles
Day of The Tentacle (LucasArts, 1993)
+ Very rewarding if well balanced
- Hard to balance and make interesting

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Timing Puzzles
The Secret of Monkey Island (LucasFilm Games, 1990)

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Timing Puzzles
The Secret of Monkey Island (LucasFilm Games, 1990)

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Timing Puzzles
The Secret of Monkey Island (LucasFilm Games, 1990)
+ FUN! SO MUCH FUN!
- Harder to design well and to implement

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Timing Puzzles
The Secret of Monkey Island (LucasFilm Games, 1990)
+ FUN! SO MUCH FUN!
- Harder to design well and implement!

73. http://gameaccessibilityguidelines.com/
“Do not make precise timing essential to gameplay – offer alternatives, actions that
can be carried out while paused, or a skip mechanism”
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Timing Puzzles

74. “Why Adventure Games Suck” - Ron Gilbert, 1989
https://grumpygamer.com/why_adventure_games_suck
The key is to use Hollywood time, not real
time. Give the player some slack when doing
time-based puzzles. Try to watch for intent. If
the player is working towards the solution and
almost ready to complete it, wait.
(...)
The player thinks they "just made it" and
consequently a much greater number of players
get the rush and excitement.
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Real time is bad drama

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Distract-and-Grab
Maniac Mansion (LucasFilm Games, 1987)

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Distract-and-Grab
Maniac Mansion (LucasFilm Games, 1987)
+ FUN! SO MUCH FUN!
- Harder to design well and to implement

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Tracking
The Secret of Monkey Island (LucasFilm Games, 1990)

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Tracking
The Secret of Monkey Island (LucasFilm Games, 1990)
+ Can be used to show parts of the game world
- Harder to implement properly

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Tracking
Grim Fandango (LucasArts, 1999)

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Tracking
Thimbleweed Park (Terrible Toybox, 2017)

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Mazes
Zak McKracken and The Alien Mindbenders (LucasFilm Games, 1988)

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Mazes
Zak McKracken and The Alien Mindbenders (LucasFilm Games, 1988)
- Most players don’t enjoy them
- Very hard to design well

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Mazes
Legend of Kyrandia: Book One (Westwood Studios, 1992) - Screenshots from: https://lparchive.org/Legend-of-Kyrandia/

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Mazes
Legend of Kyrandia: Book One (Westwood Studios, 1992) - Screenshots from: https://lparchive.org/Legend-of-Kyrandia/

85. Escape Puzzle
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Curse of Enchantia (Core Design, 1992)
Escape Room Puzzles

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Escape Room Puzzles
Technobabylon (Technocrat Games/Wadjet Eye Games, 2015)

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Technobabylon (Technocrat Games/Wadjet Eye Games, 2015)
Escape Room Puzzles

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I Want Out! (Matthieu & Nicholas Fouache, 2017)
Escape Room Puzzles

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I Want Out! (Matthieu & Nicholas Fouache, 2017)
Escape Room Puzzles
+ Easy to implement. Good tutorials. Good for storytelling.
- Hard to design well. Easy to overuse.

90. Escape Puzzle
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A Homie Adventure (Sidney Sacchi, 2015)
Escape Room Puzzles

91. Escape Puzzle
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A Homie Adventure (Sidney Sacchi, 2015)
Escape Room Puzzles
+ Easy to implement. Good tutorials. Good for storytelling.
- Takes longer to design well. Easy to overuse.

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Disguise Puzzles
Zak McKracken and The Alien Mindbenders (LucasFilm Games, 1988)

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Disguise Puzzles
Shardlight (Wadjet Eye Games, 2016)

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Disguise Puzzles
Shardlight (Wadjet Eye Games, 2016)
+ Can prove to be interesting if well designed
- Easy to make them too cheap (or obscure)

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Disguise Puzzles
Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned (Sierra On-Line, 1999)

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Cryptograms
Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (Sierra On-Line, 1993)

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Cryptograms
Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (Sierra On-Line, 1993)

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Laura Bow 2: The Dagger of Amon Ra (Sierra On-Line, 1992)
Cryptograms
Make them interesting, if you really want to implement them

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Memory-based Puzzles
The Secret of Monkey Island (LucasFilm Games, 1990)

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Memory-based Puzzles
The Secret of Monkey Island (LucasFilm Games, 1990)
+ Very rewarding
- Harder to implement and to design for accessibility

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Logic-based Puzzles
Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror (Revolution Software, 1997)

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Logic-based Puzzles
Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror (Revolution Software, 1997)
+ Can add plenty of atmosphere
- Hard to design well-hinted and balanced logic puzzles

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Logic-based Puzzles
The Samaritan Paradox (Faravid InteractiveScreen 7, 2014)

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Repeated Action Puzzles
Zak McKracken and The Alien MindBenders (LucasFilm Games, 1988)

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Repeated Action Puzzles
Zak McKracken and The Alien MindBenders (LucasFilm Games, 1988)
+ Easy to implement and highly adaptable
- Players may not get them right away

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Dialogue Puzzles
The Secret of Monkey Island (LucasFilm Games, 1990)

107. Blade Runner (Westwood Studios, 1997)
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Dialogue Puzzles

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Dialogue Puzzles
Resonance (xii gamesWadjet Eye Games, 2012)

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Forced Dialogue Puzzles
Martian Memorandum (Access Software, 1991)

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Forced Dialogue Puzzles
Grim Fandango (LucasArts, 1999)

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Forced Dialogue Puzzles
Grim Fandango (LucasArts, 1999)
+ Great for storytelling purposes
- Bad for pretty much anything else

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Staircase to Nowhere
Bear With Me (Exordium Games, 2016)

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Staircase to Nowhere
Bear With Me (Exordium Games, 2016)
“A dialogue tree where none of the options is the correct one, but you still have to
choose them all” - Space Quest Historian

114. Riddles
King’s Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow (Sierra On-Line, 1992)
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115. Riddles
King’s Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow (Sierra On-Line, 1992)
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+ Can add plenty of atmosphere
- Players may just not get them if too obscure

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GUI-based Puzzles
Blackwell Convergence (Revolution Software, 2009)

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GUI-based Puzzles
Blackwell Convergence (Revolution Software, 2009)
+ Extremely resourceful
- UX rules may apply

118. “Faux” Puzzles
Primordia (Wormwood StudiosWadjet Eye Games, 2012)
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119. A recipe for point and click adventures
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120. ● Start with a solid Escape Puzzle
● Integrate puzzles and plot as much as possible
● Show, don’t tell: avoid “info-dumps”
● Play, don’t show: these are games, after all
● Reward players’ curiosity and after each solved puzzle step with:
● Unexpected or funny dialogue
● Special-case animations
● Cutscenes
● New locations to visit
● New characters to meet or control
● …
● Acknowledge players’ intent: let them know they’re on the right track
● Provide multiple solutions for puzzles
● Provide hints, but don’t make players feel stupid
A recipe for point and click adventures
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121. Ingredients to avoid
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122. Pixel Hunting
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (LucasFilm Games, 1989)
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123. Dead Man Walking / I forgot to pick it up
Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places) (Sierra On-Line, 1988)
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124. Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge (LucasFilm Games, 1992)
Wordplay or Pun-based Puzzles
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125. Conspirocracy (Little Red Dog Games, 2013)
Fourth Wall Breaking Puzzles
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126. Paper-Key Retrieval Puzzles
Clip from Richard Cobbett’s Shooting Crap episode about “The Mystery of The Druids”
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127. @LostTrainDude
christophersacchi.com
me@christophersacchi.com
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