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AG article discussion (“freedom” in adventure games)
One thing that drives me in adventures is seeing places I can’t get to, and it’s that ‘unfreedom’ that makes me want to adventure forth and reach those places.
But that is not “unfreedom”, if you’re still able to enter those places later on - it’s just a nice motive BUT the game should hint to you somehow that you’re not able to enter those places AT THE MOMENT.
It still matters when you can access them though. Compare these two (extreme) examples- Safecracker where from the very start you have access to the whole house and can tackle the puzzles in almost any order, but completing some give you clues to others, and RHEM which is mostly a linear trek through a series of areas, and to get to the next area you need to complete a puzzle. I love both games but my motive is slightly different in each - in Safecracker it’s not to explore new areas and encounter new puzzles but to get clues to another puzzle, whereas in RHEM it’s to gain access to a new area and puzzle. I can imagine that if you’re one of those people who play AGs to reach new places, Safecracker wouldn’t interest you because you’ve got total freedom from the very start.
As i said those are extreme examples and ideally there would be a good balance, which might be why the Myst series has such wide appeal.
There’s a puzzle, I find a solution and move on.
I agree, but imagine that not every one will think the way you did - that’s what should worry game designers. That’s why in theory, having two solutions to a single puzzle should cover more different ways of thinking. And just as you said, you don’t even have to know that the particular puzzle had two solutions, but from the designer’s perspective they’re more assured the players will find the solution to it. But again, as said, more is not better, and the key is in right balance. Just as some brilliant puzzles are that good on its own terms they don’t need any of the alternative solutions.
Some games do hint. For puzzles too. They say something like “hm, that’s not a bad idea”, so you know you’re on the right track with your combination of objects.
I like that in games, but again - they could spoil the puzzle if there’s too much of it. Let me mention Toonstruck again - it has one of the most ingenious “global” puzzles: EVERY object in you inventory is a POTENTIAL part of the machine you need to build. Starting clue is that you need to find the 12 opposite objects
but you can also put 12 random objects at any time and the game will tell you how much of it is right, and how much of the right ones are positioned at the right spot. That way, the puzzle is made easier, so I guess even feedback needs to be balanced. I’ve never believed in more difficulty levels in adventures, but seems like, especially with current trends it could just be the right way 
I tried an unusual approach (doubt it was unique, but certainly not common) in the Christmas Quest trilogy way back in the day.
Jack, are those games still available? Even though I’ve found some links elsewhere, the links on AG article just lead you to the homepage.
Recently finished: Four Last Things 4/5, Edna & Harvey: The Breakout 5/5, Chains of Satinav 3,95/5, A Vampyre Story 88, Sam Peters 3/5, Broken Sword 1 4,5/5, Broken Sword 2 4,3/5, Broken Sword 3 85, Broken Sword 5 81, Gray Matter 4/5\nCurrently playing: Broken Sword 4, Keepsake (Let\‘s Play), Callahan\‘s Crosstime Saloon (post-Community Playthrough)\nLooking forward to: A Playwright’s Tale
Haha, it reminds me of a scene from Absolutely Fabulous:
“Edwina, dear, do you remember your first pair of platform shoes?”
“What, the ones you saw Patsy steal? Yeah.”
“Yes, dear. Patsy didn’t steal them. Your father and I took them on a camping trip to the Rhineland, to bang the tent pegs in with. I should have told you earlier. I told you when you bought them they were very shoddily made. They absolutely fell to bits; We had to invest in a mallet after all.”
That’s a funny bit, Jatsie! One pair of platforms I had years ago would have been stronger than a mallet.
One of the best done series of “nos” in an adventure game was the very variable “Not yet” used in Connections. The voice was a pleasant female one, and the use of the phrase let me know that I needed something else before I could complete a particular task. It wasn’t a put down, and it always made me smile.
“Rainy days should be spent at home with a cup of tea and a good book.” -Bill Watterson
Jack, are those games still available? Even though I’ve found some links elsewhere, the links on AG article just lead you to the homepage.
Hm, no, it doesn’t look like the links survived the transition to the new site. Will get those fixed when I can (definitely before Christmas!).
If I recall correctly, CQ1 had a unique response for absolutely every possible interaction. But that really was insane, so for the next two I trashed that idea and scaled it back a little. Still a freakin’ lot of commentary, though. 
Giving the player explorational freedom, whether it’s on a small scale (the ability to open every draw and examine every object) or on a large scale (the ability to travel to 10 different locations at once) can be a logistical nightmare. Coincidentally, I’m playing a game that does both—The Pandora Directive.
I found the beginning of the game really liberating compared to a lot of modern adventure games—there’s a lot of places to go, people to see and objects to examine, which empowers you as a detective in the world.
The downside, for me at least, is that the further you get in the game, the easier it is to become completely stumped because there are more environments to double-check, with even harder items to find (with some appearing in places they weren’t previously), and even more obscure clues.
To me, The Pandora Directive demonstrates that more open adventures have the potential to be more rewarding than linear adventures…but obviously this type of game could be executed far more effectively nowadays.
As a side, I’d rather have multiple puzzle solutions that create a more seamless experience over narrative pathing, because I rarely play games twice.
Yes, having multiple solutions makes the puzzle easier. And that’s all it does.
I agree that finding a solution is easier, but finding all is harder. This makes the game have a broader difficulty, people that want a easier game can only find a solution and some that feel only finding a solution is too easy, can find all.
I like the idea of optional puzzles and multiple solutions, when those things are meaningful. To use a non-Adventure example, I thought Dishonored did a terrific job of giving you diverse ways to approach situations that felt meaningful.
Within the genre itself, The Pandora Directive is the best I’ve seen. There are some optional puzzles as well as dialog that leads to divergent paths, and even some multiple solutions (mostly in the form of have money/don’t have money solutions). If that sort of thing was fleshed out further, it’d be interesting.
Really, the genre never caught up to a lot of what that game did.
If I recall correctly, CQ1 had a unique response for absolutely every possible interaction. But that really was insane, so for the next two I trashed that idea and scaled it back a little. Still a freakin’ lot of commentary, though.
Supposedly Leisure Suit Larry Reloaded will have this as well, but not all of it will be voiced.
Yes, having multiple solutions makes the puzzle easier. And that’s all it does.
I agree that finding a solution is easier, but finding all is harder. This makes the game have a broader difficulty, people that want a easier game can only find a solution and some that feel only finding a solution is too easy, can find all.
And then you also have puzzles with single solutions, but multiple possibilities. You’d still have to find the different solutions until you find the one that’s the true solution.
Example: finding that lost book in Barnett College in Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. There’s several places where it could be, and each of the potential locations has a puzzle of its own just to check the location. Also, if you found the book in one location, there’s no certainty that it’ll be there again on your next playthrough…
It doesn’t add any freedom at all (it’s still with a single solution), but it adds a certain randomness to the puzzles that keeps them “fresh”.
The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka
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