Sunday Thoughts: Puzzling
Of puzzles and portals
Published: 17:00, 05/12/2010 by Kris [Halbpro].
28We probably say this too much on TheSixthAxis, but modern games don’t really provide that much of a challenge. Old games were simply more difficult, or possibly we just sucked more back then. However today I don’t really want to talk about difficulty in general, but about puzzle games. I don’t mean stuff like Bejewled, although that is pretty awesome. No, I’m talking about things like Portal, which I replayed recently, or even games like the Prince of Persia series where you have to work out how to traverse the level.
Now I absolutely adore Portal. It really is a wonderful little game, and does buck the modern trend of simpler games. The concept is pretty unique and some of the test chambers can be pretty challenging the first time you try to get through them. The split second timing aspect of some of the puzzles is great as well, even though it can lead to occasional frustration. The thing I love the most is there’s no real attempt to hold your hand as you go through, you’re pretty much left to figure out the solution to a puzzle for yourself. Can’t work it out? Too bad.
There used to be a lot more games that seemed to take that sort of attitude to solving a puzzle. I can certainly remember becoming frequently stuck on the original Tomb Raider trilogy whilst I worked out how to get through a room. Finding the exact right angle you had to approach a jump at or scouring the room to find the switch you’d somehow missed was tough, but it came with a sense of reward when you finally figured out how to get through that room and you moved onto the next challenge.
I really do feel that most modern games don’t give you that kind of challenge any more. Look at the Prince of Persia game back in 2008. It was actually a pretty enjoyable experience, but there was no real puzzle to how you were meant to get through the levels. Some of the wall climbing sections were a little tricky, but overall it boiled down to “press this button for this obstacle type”. Not exactly the most difficult to break code, and to me it seems a sad departure from the pedigree of the Sands of Time trilogy.
Perhaps this simplifying of puzzles in games is the price we pay for gaining acceptance. If you want to move games away from being the realm of the geeks and into the more mainstream they have to be more accessible, you can’t just sit and punish players. It’s the reason that Nintendo are introducing the Super Guide feature into their games, you don’t want people getting sick of an experience because they can’t get through it.
Now by no means do I want to say that people who aren’t traditional ‘gamers’ are too stupid to get through games that have complex puzzles in them, that would be harsh, unwarranted and probably completely unfair. No you want to draw these new players in and embrace them, and if you put ‘old school’ puzzles and challenges in it doesn’t look like you’re really doing that. It’s not necessarily a bad thing that some games are dropping some of these mechanics, in fact it might be good for the industry as a whole.
Of course if you miss the challenge you’re not completely out in the cold. There’s always Portal.
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05/12/2010 at 17:07
Member since: May 2009
Zelda had great puzzles.. nothing too taxing, but still great.
Here I go again…
05/12/2010 at 17:08
Member since: Oct 2010
I love portal and can’t wait for the sequel.
05/12/2010 at 17:10
Member since: Nov 2009
I’m switching between playing Portal & web browsing as we speak, aha.
It’s got that uniqueness, indeed. It’s a shame other games can’t balance the puzzle difficulty to the same extent.
05/12/2010 at 17:20
Member since: Apr 2010
I think partly gamers are more impatient nowadays as well. I know I would get bored now spending hours thinking about the same puzzle, with so many games to get through and having become used to quick gratification from gaming. I used to spend days stuck on bits of monkey island or discworld, but now I would end up looking it up online if I was really stuck. I just don’t have the patience now to explore everything and try every combination if I can’t work something out.
05/12/2010 at 17:32
Member since: Mar 2009
An excellent point that I hadn’t considered. Increased time pressure on even traditional ‘gamers’ is certainly an issue
05/12/2010 at 18:52
Member since: Jun 2009
I know I am impatient and readily admit turning to Youtube if I cant crack it within 15 minutes, I’m looking at you AC:B Glyphs.
05/12/2010 at 17:24
Member since: Aug 2010
I loved the old Sam and Max, Monkey Island, and Myst games. All very puzzling(especially Myst) and with the other two loved the off beat humour. Main reason I got PS+ was becasue the sam and max games were on offer for free and I decided paying £11 is way better then paying £20. Now my PS+ has run out I don’t know what to do.
05/12/2010 at 17:29
Member since: Forever
Portal. Game of the forever.
I know the article’s not about Portal, but so what? It’s wonderful.
05/12/2010 at 17:35
Member since: Mar 2009
To be fair this article could have been “Other games aren’t as good as portal” but it would have been pretty short.
05/12/2010 at 17:29
Member since: Feb 2009
I’ve still not played postal. Since they wont trophy patch the orange box i wont be playing It either. There are lots of games with puzzles in, ok they’re not as challenging as they used to be, but they’re still there.
05/12/2010 at 17:34
Member since: Mar 2009
You’re skipping over fantastic games just because they lack trophies? Why?
05/12/2010 at 17:36
Member since: Apr 2010
I never understand this viewpoint. Surely gaming is more about enjoying the game than going through the ropes just to hear the little Bing of a trophy! You are missing out my friend!
05/12/2010 at 17:42
Member since: Forever
05/12/2010 at 20:08
Member since: Feb 2009
Now now people, we’re all entitle to our own little little idiosyncrasies or foibles or whatever (are either of those words spelt correctly)
05/12/2010 at 22:41
Member since: Nov 2009
Also, no sex until trophy patch? Just get the PC version cheap and tell yourself there are no trophies so there is no reason to wait or miss out on it. Not playing portal for ANY reason is like running over a box full of companion cube puppies, twice. Can someone please change his nickname subline to “Still thinks the cake is real.”?
05/12/2010 at 22:56
Member since: Feb 2009
Sex? What? Lol. Seriously though, i don’t just play games for trophies, i will only generally play very good games, but they have to have trophies. There’s loads of reasons for it, but my main one is my never ending trophy war with my brother. Since we live 250 miles apart, and rarely get time to play anything together, it’s our means of competition.
06/12/2010 at 08:33
Member since: Nov 2009
You can finish Portal within a few hours. Just do yourself a favor and play the game. Don’t even bother to post a reply because you are only wasting time you could be spending on Portal. Tell your brother to do the same thing so no one has an unfair advantage. Thank me later.
05/12/2010 at 17:41
Member since: Forever
I like my games to be about as challenging as reading a book. Usually a bit easier than that is helpful.
05/12/2010 at 17:50
Member since: Mar 2009
Well yes, but you’re rubbish Michael
05/12/2010 at 17:53
Member since: Forever
Thanks, man!
05/12/2010 at 17:55
Member since: Mar 2009
My pleasure
05/12/2010 at 17:46
Member since: Feb 2009
I’ve barely played Portal. My laptops too crap to run it properly so I need to get the Orange Box but just haven’t got around to it. Must get it before Portal 2 comes out.
05/12/2010 at 18:03
Member since: May 2010
puzzle gamess, im struggling with cuboid atm :/ but its a good brain teaser
05/12/2010 at 18:26
Member since: Oct 2008
I made it through the original levels on Cuboid, but have become thoroughly stuck on a level in the expansions. Frustration was building, so I’m ‘on a break’ from Cuboid at the moment. It’s not going to beat me though. :-)
05/12/2010 at 20:29
Member since: Jul 2009
I did the same. However, for me, I lose all interest in the title and very rarely return. Savage Moon did that to me too. Bonkers!
05/12/2010 at 20:59
Member since: Oct 2008
I’ve not been able to return to Savage Moon. Controller-throwing frustration lays in that direction.
05/12/2010 at 21:03
Member since: Jul 2009
When games do that to me I feel like they’ve got something very wrong as I’m an intelligent enough guy with decent gaming skills. Oh well, their loss.