[Gonzosports]

I hate puzzles.

I started a thread called that a few years ago. I think in the end, it degenerated into a discussion on semantics, in that when I think of puzzles, I think of sliders, or creating some absurd contraption to get a key in a subway station.

Because although they ARE technically puzzles, I don't think of the situations in Riven like puzzles. And Riven is my favorite game. Everything seems seamlessly integrated, not contrived, but perfectly reasonable machines that have been abandoned in a fantasy environment.

Myst - which i love, too - things were more puzzle-y, but I still think they worked.

The thing is, I'm interested in how we tell stories interactively, and nothing breaks up a good yarn like a poorly contrived, suspension-of-disbelief puzzle in the middle of nowhere.

The worst puzzles are there just to create, or extend, gameplay but do not ADD to the gameplay or the atmostphere.

The Longest Journey gets a lot of love around here - and having played it twice - I still enjoy the experience, but I hate so many of the puzzles. Just. Reach. Down. And. Get. The. Key.

I hate puzzles which ruin suspension of disbelief but love "puzzles" which further augment it. Seamlessly integrated so well into the story that you don't even realizing you're solving a "puzzle." Puzzle, hell no, i hate those things. I'm adventuring.