Blog 3: Physical Puzzle

Type of Puzzle:

I designed a mixture of a information/code puzzle. According to the Bates reading, these are puzzles that involve the player adding something that is missing. The code part of the puzzle comes from it being a word puzzle that involves a bit of encryption. To begin with the players are given this envelope looking piece of paper. They have to make word by lining up the letters in the boxes. There are a few hints to how to solve the puzzle, but the player must think both outside and inside the box.

Bad Design Avoidance:

After going over the Bates reading, I concluded that my puzzle manages to avoid any of the bad aspects of design. It is not a designer puzzle, as there are many clues to help to player. It does not involve a yes or no answer. And, it doesn't punish the player for not getting it then reveal the answer to them. My puzzle gives the player all the controls and does not try to mislead or misdirect them in any way. The clues also aid in the player's ability to win.

Good Design Features:

Out of all the aspects mentioned by Bates, fairness is the ultimate aspect in use. The player has nothing to trick or deceive them. They also have all of the information to solve the puzzle directly at their disposal. As far as the other aspects go, it definitely deserves the V8 response; as anyone that does not get this puzzle probably would have a similar response upon seeing the solution to the puzzle. I would also say it fits nicely into a school/ office environment, it definitely used materials in those environments.

Levels of Difficulty:

I do recognize a number of aspects that involve level difficulty and how well my puzzle relates to them from the reading. I would say that puzzle is on the medium difficulty scale; as it does require a small degree of thinking outside of the box, but with the added hints it should not be terribly difficult. My puzzle along with the hints tries to drive the player into the correct answer, according to Bates. I do not use any red herrings or alternative solutions. 

Unreal Engine Puzzle:

My puzzle objective in Unreal is to open a castle gate and lower the draw bridge. To do this have I have come up with two ideas of how I would like to go about this goal. The first involves a system of buttons and levers. It would be like the player having to type in a code in a specific order for the gate to open and the drawbridge to lower. There would be hints of course to help the player find the correct order or code. The other idea involved a type of chain reaction. I would have the player shoot a few targets that would trigger another projectile to launch and hit the button to open the gate for the player. I want it to be a fun puzzle, so I have considered combining the idea of a code or specific order with that of having the player hit a target in a specific order that in turn would launch another projectile that would open the gate for the player.