The Art of Game Design: A book of lenses by Schell Jesse

Author:Schell, Jesse [Schell, Jesse]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann
Published: 2008-07-31T16:00:00+00:00

Puzzle Principle #9: Give the Answer!

No, seriously, hear me out on this one. Ask yourself this question: What is it that is so pleasurable about solving puzzles? Most people answer that it is the “Aha!” experience you get when you figure out the answer. But the funny thing is that experience is triggered not by solving the puzzle, but by seeing the answer. Sure, it’s a little sweeter if you solved it yourself, but if you have given serious consideration to a problem, your problem-solving brain is primed for a rush of pleasure at merely seeing or hearing the answer. Think about mystery novels — they are just big puzzles in book form. And sometimes readers guess the ending ahead of time, but more often, they are surprised (Oh! The butler did it! I see now!), which is just as pleasurable, or weirdly, more pleasurable than if they had figured it out themselves.

So, how can you put this into practice? In the age of the Internet, you probably won’t have to — if your game is known at all, answers to your puzzles will quickly be posted online. But why not consider saving your players the trouble, and give them a way to find out the answers to your puzzles from within your game, if they are truly stumped?

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