"A baffling problem that is said to have a correct solution"
There is a solution to the puzzle and it can be found in many ways by deduction, induction or random chance.
Challenges and puzzles are different, a puzzle can contain a challenges but challenges aren't always puzzles.
Dilemmas:
Puzzles which don't have definite correct answers and choosing an answer can have a drastic knock on affect so which choice do you make? this is a dilemma.
Puzzles in Games:
Putting pieces together:
One type of puzzle where the player has to find pieces of something to accomplish the goal for example finding pieces of armour, ingredients for a potions, parts of the Animus Data Fragments (Assassins Creed Revelations)
Missing Persons, Creatures, or Things:
Putting it simply in any game where you have had to go and find a mystical being or creature to reach the next level or mission, or where a person has got lost, kidnapped, or wandered off, this is an example of missing persons etc.
Hard Choices:
Making tough decisions without knowing the result of the decisions you are making, "The red pill or the blue pill" from Alice in Wonderland and The Matrix is a key example as neither characters knew the full consequences of what they were taking.
What's behind the door - again making a decision without knowing the end result i.e. picking a door to walk through without knowing what is on the other side.
Freeing the prisoners - basically picking between characters and determining the good and the bad and normally who lives and dies - Who do you Save?
Sacrifice - self explanatory
Kill Tasks:
Killing a monster, creature, taking out a hit on a target etc. to complete a task or to unlock an event which is key to the progression of the story. To make the kill tasks more interesting alterations to the target can be made so that the player has to figure out how to kill them, who the target is in a big group of people, the target is a friend or on your team etc.
Getting it Right;
To answer the puzzle correctly the NPC (Non Playable Character) will give hints and tips from the environment or documents which will aid you in making a difficult decision, normally giving you hints at what you will receive if you do the task a certain way.
Unusual Objects You Can Carry or Move:
In game if you come a cross something unusually big or different that you can interact with, pick up or move there is normally a puzzle associated with it.
Ordering Things:
Doing things in a certain order to achieve the overall goal of the puzzle. Like completing smaller puzzles to complete the larger puzzle but having to answer the puzzles in order.
Buttons and Switches:
Many buttons and switches are used in games and will either give a single answer to what happens if i press this button? or multiple choices, of what to do or where to go, the difficult part of this is deciding what way to go and if there is a way back and also where is the button that opens this door etc. This is very useful as it makes the player stop and think, a small puzzle.
Keys
Keys are exactly the same as buttons, you have to find them and use them in the right order and may have to use more than one to open the door, case, safe etc. they can also be used as a reward for accomplishing smaller side missions which means that the player has to figure out what side mission to complete to continue in the main missions, creating yet another puzzle for the player to accomplish to progress but making it not as annoying. Also keys aren't just keys they can be a specific weapon that is the only weapon which can kill certain enemies, a note, a glass of wine, a headline etc.
Configuration:
Configurations puzzles are puzzles of which the player has to move objects to certain places or move multiple objects in a specific order to accomplish the goal to progress. There is usually an immediate effect once the configuration is completed so the player knows they have done it correctly.
Sequence of Tasks;
Self explanatory i believe - a set number of tasks which may or may not be completed in order (being done in order make the puzzle more challenging) to achieve an overall bigger goal, i.e. starting multiple mechanisms in order to open the massive door at the end of the great hall.
Follow the Leaders:
Key examples of follow the leader are: Following an NPC's footsteps, an ordered sequence of lights etc.
Timing Challenges:
Another self explanatory one i think, basically the player has to complete a challenge with the added difficulty of having to complete it within a time limit or as quick as possible so that the player can beat his friends in competitions i.e. score boards etc.
The obscure Object of Desire:
Basically a challenge that the player will want to complete because of the rewards they will receive from it but the player is normally taunted for a period of time before they can actually accomplish or even start the challenge to receive the object of desire, like Prince of Persia when the Dagger of Time is visible for a long period of time but you cannot reach it for a little while making the player anxious to get it.
You Can't Do That...Yet:
Much similar to the object of desire but normally the player can see something they want but can't get it until they have unlocked something of better value or until a skill has been learnt or gadget unlocked later on in the game and they have to venture back later on and remember where it is so they can get it once they have learnt the new trick etc. It tells you, you can come back and get it later basically.
Barriers:
Anything that impends your progress whether that be a physical barrier, locked door or difficult enemies.
Thinking Outside the Box:
A relatively normal situation or series events but with a twist so the player has to think of a different way to achieve the goal but an out of the ordinary way, i.e. escaping out of a room without using the doors or windows.
Managing Chaos (Too Much Too Fast):
Basically quite difficult decisions are thrown at you left, right and centre and you have to answer them all quickly, normally the challenges starts off slowly and build up in pace as the game progresses.
Moral Dilemmas;
Making decisions which are immoral or out of character and completely different to the rest of the decisions and choices your character has had to make. From this games can use the players thoughts and moral compass to their advantage meaning for example if a player is assigned to kill someone the choice they make whether to do it or not or give the appearance of doing it can open up different story lines and quests for the player to complete meaning the players decision is yet another difficult one.
Riddles:
To a degree all puzzles are riddles but more specifically some puzzles are purely riddles for example in Batman Arkham City and Asylum you have to find and answer the Riddler's riddles and in doing so you unlock items and gain more level progression points just by simply answering the riddle's correctly.
Riddle's can be given all at once, in parts or in clues that the player has to figure out without the telling of the riddle at all. Riddle's are normally told the player by an NPC or read from notes, books etc.
Signs and Wonders;
These are basically elements included in the game which divert or distract the player due to a noise, footprints or clues scattered around the world without being told what they are following or looking at actually does, it could be a trap, a big dragon ready to kill you or a massive treasure cove but finding these challenges and accomplishing them are very successful examples of puzzles in games.
Devices:
Devices are in all types of games ranging from doors to mobile phones and computers. Their purpose may be hard to work out or simple but the puzzle is getting them to work and to work to your advantage.They can also be hard or easy to operate but again the purpose of them is to use them to overcome a puzzle and to work. Also if a device is not operational being able to get the device to work is a great method of achieving a puzzle through a device.
Sudden Responsabilites;
Basically where an under experienced or under qualified character is given the sudden responsibility of a task which they are not able to complete without a lot of hard work and competing of puzzles and challenges.
These can be short range of long range puzzles. from gaining a power up or achieving lots of mini puzzles to unlock your character full potential to save the world or achieve the end puzzle in the game, the responsibility set on to them at the start.
Sudden Loss of Power:
In games where the player has achieved greater power from something i.e. a mystical being, armour or special mythical item and then the power is suddenly taken away the player must find away to achieve the goals of tasks that would normally be easy with their old powers but now needs to find another way to figure out the puzzle.
Whodunit:
Basically a mystery and you have to figure out who done it normally by answering lots of mini puzzles or by figuring out a grand puzzle at the end of the game or a mini side mission where you have to find a missing person for example.
Mental Puzzles;
"Some puzzles require a lot of concentration and mental effort, such as;
Spotting the difference, Chinese puzzle boxes, fitting pieces together, Sudoku, arranging and ordering, chess games, finding what's wrong, matching patterns."
Puzzle Based Games:
From this we can see that the puzzle types mentioned above are normally sub games or mini games that are a part of a larger game giving the player more tasks to accomplish.
But some games are completely based on the completion of puzzle aspects and to continue and win the game overall the game must stick to these puzzle mechanics. A key example of a game that uses puzzle elements of which the entire game depends on that struct is Tetris.
Codes and Cryptography:
A means of communication by which the player has to figure it out to understand it i.e. an alien language, cav man scribbles on a cave wall, message from an ancient race etc. And upon doing so the player receives enlightenment and of course a prize.
You need to figure out these languages, scripts etc but looking at the code they use and connecting the dots to understand it, or to have a key to figuring it out whether that key be physically a key or not.
Shouldn't be over used in games as a lot of players don't like searching for hours to find out the hidden meaning of the a coded message or the message hidden in a long list of names or images.
Goals:
Goals are what need to be accomplished to finish or move on in the story whatever the goal takes the form of, killing someone, finding something etc.
Methods you might use:
Simply out how will the player achieve these goals? and what does accomplishing and being set these tasks to achieve open up to the player. i.e. from accepting to attempt the task he receives a gold coin but for completing the task and achieving the goal he receives a bag of coins as an example.
May be best to add more than one way to solve the puzzle if the puzzle is very difficult as not all players will look at the puzzle in the same way as each other but for more simpler puzzles the amount of correct ways to answer the puzzle doesn't need to be as much. Also answering one thing or doing one thing can open up new decisions and choices to make making the game have a lot more depth.
Tools, Skills and Objects;
These are normally determined when creating the puzzle so as a designer, you know what the player needs to have obtained , do in a certain order or posses on his person to complete the puzzle and achieve the goals i.e. the correct keys to the safe or the overpowered weapon of god which no enemy can with stand as an example.
Output:
When the player is faced with a decision they have to decided how to over come it for example, when opening a generic treasure chest do you: use the key, pick the lock, smash it, take the whole chest, leave it or burn it so no one else can have it? and from this the way they overcome what they are shown can or will unlock different paths for them to follow, i.e. what they just broke may have been a key element to make this next battle easier or because they touched it a demon appears and kills you etc.
-Dan
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