About puzzles

*VampireNaomi* · 08-04-2006, 02:11 PM

I was playing Dreamfall and tearing my hair out because I was stuck on the kind of puzzle that I hate the most in the world; mechanical ones. You know the type that require you to figure out how to use an ancient piece of machinery, usually by figuring out what some symbols mean.

There's always logic in these puzzles, but I hate them so much that I often just use a walkthrough if I don't figure them out soon enough. I get no satisfaction from them even when I solve them on my own and sure as hell can't be bothered to work on them for very long.

On the other hand, I love puzzles that require you to talk to characters and give/use inventory items on them. I can't get enough of the cliché "help me out, and I'll help you" puzzles.

All this got me curious about what kind of puzzles you people like/hate in adventure games, and not just Grim Fandango. Do yo have any specific favourites?

*James Isaac* · 08-04-2006, 06:46 PM

Hmm, I haven't really thought about the type of puzzles I like before. Now that I think about it, I think that my favourite would be puzzles with character interaction... where you either have to say the right things, or use an object with them. I don't really find many puzzles annoying... only ones where you have to keep walking back and forth over a large area which takes a long time to navigate through.

I just purchased Dreamfall but I'm yet to play it, so soon I'll know which puzzle you're talking about

**Smon** · 08-04-2006, 11:34 PM

I love the luck puzzles. You know, where the character like, steps on a cat's tail and it jumps and scares the chef who drops a pan which sends a piece of paper flying out from under it and the paper lands in a puddle of drool left by a sleeping map-maker and creates a copy of the map... or something.

They're so imaginative and impossible.

Shuz · 08-05-2006, 02:19 AM

My favourite puzzles are ones that involve combining inventory items in strange ways. For example in Curse of Monkey Island you combine a special flower, syrup and a spray bottle to make a snake repellent. But sometimes these puzzles can be too illogical liek the infamous subway key puzzle in the Longest Journey (I didn't mind that puzzle, it made me laugh when i figured it out).

There aren't really puzzles I hate, except maybe mazes and some puzzles in Myst where you pull a lever and it opens a door somewhere totally unrelated.

neon_git · 08-05-2006, 06:48 AM

I don't know what my favourite puzzles are, I like all sorts, but I can't stand mazes. With outher puzzles at least your doing something intersting but in a maze you just go from room to room to room with no idea where you are or where your going.

The worst one was monkey island - I spent ages walking round in there before I realised it wasn't actually a maze puzzle at all.

*VampireNaomi* · 08-05-2006, 10:34 AM

If you want a bad maze puzzle, try the one in the end of GK2. It's so awful that I'm ready to worship anyone who can solve it without hints. It's probably the most frustrating puzzle I've ever seen.

I say, I say · 08-05-2006, 11:46 AM

I like the puzzles which require an item you may have picked up earlier and didn't think was very useful and then when you come to the problem you realise that you need that inventory item. Yet like most I hate it when you come to a puzzle that takes ages to solve, where you are stuck for hours; prime example is in Escape from Monkey Island where you have to solve the file-check system in that house of prosthetics, pulling my hair our literally on that one.

*VampireNaomi* · 08-05-2006, 03:01 PM

How does one solve that file system puzzle anyway? I hated it so much that I uninstalled the game and never played it again.

**Smon** · 08-05-2006, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by I say, I say

I like the puzzles which require an item you may have picked up earlier and didn't think was very useful and then when you come to the problem you realise that you need that inventory item.

I don't like those because they seem so... unlikely.

"Glad I could help you!"
"Wait! Have some chalk..."
"...kay..."-Freakazoid and an NPC trapped in an Adventure game.

It's like, what are the odds that a bucket of chum that a hobo gives you will actually come in handy later?

Shuz · 08-06-2006, 05:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VampireNaomi

How does one solve that file system puzzle anyway? I hated it so much that I uninstalled the game and never played it again.

I couldn't solve it but each symbol represented 3 letters of the alphabet and you had choose the three correct symbols to get the file that you were looking for.

Scorpicus · 08-06-2006, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VampireNaomi

How does one solve that file system puzzle anyway? I hated it so much that I uninstalled the game and never played it again.

I worked out that there were only 125 possible combinations and so resolved to just try every single one methodically. 119 combinations, several apples and two blood shot eyes later and I got the right one. My persistance surprises even myself sometimes.

Can't actually remember exactly what it was. I think it was a monkey head and two bananas.