Playing Discworld Noir reminded me of this puzzle topic i've been having on for some time - how do we define a "creative" puzzle? Do we need more "creative thinking" in puzzles?
Text adventure
Well, it's already been done. I completely missed the "text parser" era, but obviously puzzle solving "creativity" in it is generally on a much higher level than full graphics counterpart, simply because of the nature of the interface and a manual input from player. I'm NOT saying typing "OPEN DOOR" is drastically more creative (or fun) than clicking the door with your mouse, but deducing important objects instead of given hot-spots, or even better - typing the vague solution by yourself, rather than selecting it from a fixed number of choices, might be.
Graphic adventure
It's hard to expect developers will suddenly start producing IFs all over again, but what would be the best way to grab a piece of that concept and plant it into the modern game?
Again, it's been done. Legend titles with text input, Sierra games like Conquest of the Longbow and Gabriel Knight series, Tex Murphy, Spycraft, In Memoriam, Frogwares' Sherlock games with its "quizzes" and even otherwise somewhat crappy Still Life 2 with few puzzles... all are perfect examples that involve some degree of "open-endedness" when searching for clues and solutions. Not to mention some usage of "real-time" like in The Last Express or couple of timed puzzles in Monkey Island. Not saying i'm not a fan of inventory puzzles or a typical 1st-person logic puzzle or that they can't be "creative", but it's more the question of puzzle variety, or even "boosting" the "creativity" within even the most traditional type of puzzles:
Deducing-detective type of puzzles, multiple choices, passwords, quizzes, riddles...
These type of puzzles are somehow "by default" considered "creative". I wanted to include terms like "lateral" or thinking outside the box, but realized there's more to it, so i'll stick with the "creativity". It wouldn't sound nice if i started explaining it, so let me give an example.
Puzzle - let's say we need to hack into the computer, but we need the password. In terms of "creativity", we can grade the levels:
1. You just click on a computer, and your character automatically enters the right password - "Aristotle", because there's a book on Greek philosophers nearby with a coffee stain on page with article on Aristotle, which you examined previously.
2. You click on a computer, and the menu with various Greek philosophers shows up where one of them is the right password, based on the book you've read and the page with the clue. Most definitely, if you select the wrong one, you can try again until you get the right answer so the puzzle can be brute-forced.
3. You need to use some kind of "clue" on a computer in order for password to become an evident. This could be an inventory item, like the book you've read and picked, or a torn page.
4. You must manually input the password, based on what you've learned by examining the book.
This is just a rough sketch, because other factors can affect the difficulty, like other books as a distraction. Manual input can also be made much easier if you see number of letters straight away.
Logic puzzles
Many Myst-like puzzles, mini-games, sliders... Lock picking in Still Life or disarming the bomb in A New Beginning is unusual and a nice change of pace, even though not everyone will welcome and like it. These sort of puzzles often evoke "love or hate" feeling, like sliders, no matter how "creative" they might be, but at least "creativity" here is also how it succeeds to feel like an integral part of the story. Apart from many typical 1st person puzzles, Spycraft mini-games really felt like it was me solving CSI stuff, compared to some similar titles where your actions are quite limited, thus feeling less creative.
Inventory puzzles
It's hard to give an answer here, since even opening door with a key has its function, and it's certainly not very "creative". So, what would be a creative inventory puzzle? I'm not a game designer, but it probably comes again to - good and logical (within the game world logic) puzzle, which won't frustrate players but won't be too obvious either, bringing the sensation of accomplishment. It could be the best of "Macgyver-like" puzzles, like those in Lost in Time. The hamster puzzle in DOTT is certainly "creative" and original, as is the inventory in Kheops games like Return to Mysterious Island that really feels like you're able to do anything no matter how tiresome it may seem at moments. I still remember the joy of solving the tape recording puzzle in GK2, just like doing the performance with Spot near the end of TWW. So it's more of - a series of "actions" or player's acknowledgment that led to solution, rather than execution itself.
Well, i wanted to ask a few questions, but this is way over the top already.
So, any thoughts? What are to you most creative puzzles?
