ThorinTeague
Creative/Father/Professor
Who other than literally everyone probably hates RPG puzzles?
I like them, because I like to have some aspect of player challenge, but not something that's too hard to solve. I know, the puzzles should be solved by the characters, not the players, which is what I strive for.
Puzzles and brain teasers can be a point of contention with some role players because, if done wrong, it can take the focus off the character’s abilities to think and solve problems and place it on the players’ shoulders. This is both good and bad. To do it right, keep the problems, and the solutions, relatively simple components of what would be complex problems in the real world. And what is probably most important of all, make them integral to what’s happening in the adventure. The problem to solve shouldn’t be just decoration; shouldn’t just be some random obstacle obstructing the PC’s path to the next action... it should be the action.
A great example of this is Dead Space. Isaac Clarke is a highly intelligent engineer who must solve a series of engineering problems (indeed, his life depends on it). Once you get the hang of it, they’re really not that hard. The player is not made to reprogram the computer, all they have to do is go click on it and Isaac does the reprogramming. By moving components around, repowering various machines, and generally manipulating your surroundings in fundamentally basic ways, Dead Space allows you to solve these engineering problems in a way that is, A) believable but relatively easy to understand, B) integral to the adventure, not frivolous, C) rely on Isaac's abilities as much or more than the player's, and D) confers a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment upon success.
I like them, because I like to have some aspect of player challenge, but not something that's too hard to solve. I know, the puzzles should be solved by the characters, not the players, which is what I strive for.
Puzzles and brain teasers can be a point of contention with some role players because, if done wrong, it can take the focus off the character’s abilities to think and solve problems and place it on the players’ shoulders. This is both good and bad. To do it right, keep the problems, and the solutions, relatively simple components of what would be complex problems in the real world. And what is probably most important of all, make them integral to what’s happening in the adventure. The problem to solve shouldn’t be just decoration; shouldn’t just be some random obstacle obstructing the PC’s path to the next action... it should be the action.
A great example of this is Dead Space. Isaac Clarke is a highly intelligent engineer who must solve a series of engineering problems (indeed, his life depends on it). Once you get the hang of it, they’re really not that hard. The player is not made to reprogram the computer, all they have to do is go click on it and Isaac does the reprogramming. By moving components around, repowering various machines, and generally manipulating your surroundings in fundamentally basic ways, Dead Space allows you to solve these engineering problems in a way that is, A) believable but relatively easy to understand, B) integral to the adventure, not frivolous, C) rely on Isaac's abilities as much or more than the player's, and D) confers a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment upon success.
