Poll of the Day > What should I do with my game dev stuff?

(+) Yeah! (+)

@Aculo

I was diligent in making video games for a long time, but I got sick like 4 years ago and haven't done, well, ANYTHING...

No programming, no job, no volunteer work.

I don't wanna give up, but I don't know where I am.
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Just start working on it again! It'll jog your memory and you can continue where you left off!
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Does anyone remember any of the projects I mentioned?

y'know... to jog my memory?

Brain damage is a tough thing... if no one remembers anything I'll start from scratch.
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I brain derped and played games I don't like again.

Anyways:

For people who are interested in good game design in a puzzle game - I highly recommend watching (at triple speed :V, it's a beastly slow game) or playing a run of the MSX version of Castle Excellent.

Most puzzles rely on the "a-ha" moment where you put all the clues together and figure out what has to be done... this suits an adventure game like Zelda where the reward for the puzzle is an item, and builds anticipation :|: But in a puzzle game, the reward for a puzzle is another puzzle, so you can't rely on Eurekas all the time. This is what Castle Excellent does so beautifully. Instead of relying on Aha moments, you tend to instantly figure out puzzles as soon as you see them... since they all use similar mechanics with very few gimmicks. The real reward comes from the "I C WUT U DID THAR" moments.

For example:

There's a puzzle early on at about 11:40 of

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBVD1BWObo4" data-time="

It's very obvious from the way the puzzle is set up that you'll have to break all the objects from their respective sides to get to the blue door on the left-middle.

It's not until about 12:10 when, if you are paying attention to the map, that you'll realize what the outcome of the puzzle is... the way to get to the green key in the room. You have setup and anticipation, and the payoff is satisfying since you not only get the green key - but you get revenge on the 2 knights in the room.

Then comes the trick. Further exploration to the left will lead to a room with 5 green doors that rewards you a purple key. (25:00) although you may have found it earlier since it's one of the first rooms you can go to... those green doors set up a throughline for this entire section of the map. Your rewards become the anticipation for the next set up!

You have the purple key and continue, you get your various rewards and rescue the fairy (which requires said purple key).... but it's not enough! You got the treasures and can't continue...

But this is a bait'n'switch! Because you gain a pink key by doing this you can get TWO purple keys (51:45) later, which lets you finally get the fairy.

...so why is there any extra purple key? You got the seemingly end goal of this section of the map, why have this dangler? Well, at 54:08 there's a purple door that serves as the exit to the sewers...

Of course, you can be savvy and use your keys in different ways to get different outcomes, but the throughline for the game is very natural.

...

The NES version (known as Castlequest) does have many of the same puzzles... the NES version is more 'open world' in its design. The throughline goes away pretty fast and the game is more about managing a key economy so you don't perma-lose your run. Both designs have merit, I love both games... but in terms of execution in a puzzle game, the MSX Castle Excellent is among the best puzzle games there are.
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