December 1999
Adventure Game Making : Episode 1
**Part 0: Intro
Ok, so you're making an Adventure or an RPG which
requires a puzzle for the player to solve, just to add some brain to the whole
shebang. No prob.
**Part 1: What is a Puzzle:
What is a puzzle? (For those who are new to
the Adventure biz) A puzzle is when you come to a situation in which you must
get past an NPC, or some other obstacle that prevents you from continuing, and
eventually ending the game. Usually, you'll find items by buying, trading,
finding, stealing, whatever, somehow AQUIRING an item, and:
-Using it in an area, which will alter it somehow
-Giving it to somebody,
who may give you something in return, be it info or another item.
-Altering
it, either by combining it with another (Or several) other items, or screwing
with the insides or whatnot, and somehow changing the item to use in a different
way.
And then ya use this new item to accomplish the puzzle, and usually another
puzzle presents itself and the whole process starts again.
**Part 2: Why is it so hard?
Why is it so hard? Sometimes they aren't.
But usually, it requires great thought to relate the items to be used together.
That's what makes a good puzzle, if it's creative. So, instead of USING the
Pencil with the Pencil Sharpener (Which isn't original at all), you could use a
small tree in the Pencil Sharpener and somehow end up with a pencil. =)
Understand? Yes or no, read on.
**Part 3: How do I create a Puzzle?
Ok, no prob. All you've gotta do is
wait 'til Saturday, grab the remote, and watch some cartoons on TV. Don't have
cable? Splice your neighbours line, believe me, it's worth it.
Now, let's see what we've got. Ah yes, the infamous RoadRunner and Coyote
cartoon. Now, everybody loves it when you bring in a puzzle that people will
recognize when they see the pieces come together. Say you have a ROCKET and a
GIANT SPRING, and are near a ROCK FACE. Come on now, we all know what we should
do, so why bother explaining it? =)
A word of caution though, some puzzles are overused. Avoid these, or lose
respect in the gaming world. Although, if you take an overused one, twist it and
make fun of it's overusedness, THEN it'll be cool! =)
**Part 4: Conclusion
That's basically it, I've probably left something
out. Oh well.
Questions? Kermit@webjetters.com
Comments? Kermit@webjetters.com
Complaints?
Don't bother. =) j/k
That's it. Tut's over.
By The Specialist