Good puzzles in RPG Maker games?

[Htlaets]

How about: A shifting maze. Let's say you have a maze with a lot of intersections, and every time you go through one, the layout of walls of all intersections changes. You could have 3-4 different layouts, you just have to make sure the player can never get stuck.

The puzzle part is figuring out which order you have to go through the intersections to get through the maze and how to get to treasure.

 

[ZombieKidzRule]

How about: A shifting maze. Let's say you have a maze with a lot of intersections, and every time you go through one, the layout of walls of all intersections changes. You could have 3-4 different layouts, you just have to make sure the player can never get stuck.

The puzzle part is figuring out which order you have to go through the intersections to get through the maze and how to get to treasure.

Personally, I think that is an interesting idea and that sort of puzzle wouldn't bother me even though I know it would frustrate a lot of people. I would think (maybe incorrectly) that such a puzzle would be somewhat easier in the traditional RPG Maker view than say a 3D view where everything might look the same so it is hard to differentiate.

I remember some older games where that was the case and the developers purposefully turned your party in a different direction when you moved or randomly teleported you without visual cues. You had to really watch an on screen compass.

I am going to keep this suggestion in my possible puzzle list.

 

[LordOfPotatos]

There actually IS an answer to this question, it's just more conceptual than concrete.
good puzzles share common elements even when the application is vastly different.

one of them is intuitive rules. the puzzle's challenge should come from applying it's rules, not from understanding those rules.
a good puzzle's rules should be explainable in 2 or 3 textboxes at most.

a good example is a rubik's cube. you can explain how it works in a couple of sentences and yet it has more complexity than most people care to understand.

another one is clear feedback. the player's actions should have a clear effect on the puzzle.

for example, imagine a room with 4 levers. the exit opens when levers 1 and 2 are OFF but levers 3 and 4 are ON.
in this case the player can turn each lever once and have nothing happen, causing the player to scratch their head in confusion.

in a better example, imagine a room with 4 levers and the exit is a corridor with 4 consecutive doors. doors 1 and 2 open when levers 1 and 2 are OFF, while doors 3 and 4 open when levers 3 and 4 are ON.
in this case the solution is the exact same as before, but the player can actually see what each lever does and use that info to solve the puzzle.

those are the very basics, there are more advanced concepts but this post is already too long.

 

[pawsplay]

I've never defeated the original Pool of Radiance, even after a dozen attempted playthroughs, because of the teleport puzzle at the end. It involves multiple porters, multiple switches that change porter behavior, and repetitive-looking maps. There are probably several hundred possible configurations, assuming you don't just get lost in what you are doing. I've thought about just using a game walkthrough to defeat it, but even the couple of times I tried that, I had trouble reproducing the exact steps needed.

Don't be Pool of Radiance.

 

[A_Higher_Plane]

Oh there are a lot of great answers to my thread here! How can people think that I am just "trolling" when so many people do answer my questions so well? I also appreciate it and "like" their posts.

Now as for the puzzles themselves, I think that I won't create any. I have no creativity for this sort of thing. I have more creativity for the different types of RM gameplay. I am terrible at solving game puzzles so I shouldn't be able to create my very own puzzles.

 

[LordOfPotatos]

How can people think that I am just "trolling" when so many people do answer my questions so well?

it's because you ask very broad and basic questions very frequently, which is unusual in a forum frequented by game designer types.

I recommend watching some videos on game design to get some basics down, you'll get more into the forum's vibe as you learn more and need to ask less.

"game maker's tool kit" and "design doc" on youtube are cool.

 

[Frostorm]

I love how the Golden Sun series did theirs. I just love the interaction with the dungeon mechanics via Psynergy (aka "Magic"). Even though it's mostly just simple pushing/pulling or jumping puzzles, the overall execution made it feel fun despite its simple constituent mechanics. Or maybe it's just nostalgia, lol.

Edit:

Oh there are a lot of great answers to my thread here! How can people think that I am just "trolling" when so many people do answer my questions so well? I also appreciate it and "like" their posts.

It's because you ask very broad and basic questions very frequently, which is unusual in a forum frequented by game designer types.

Yo @A_Higher_Plane, it's just as @LordOfPotatos said, most of your threads/topics are quite basic, generic, and/or vague. Look at some of the other threads for examples. The topics in my threads, for instance, are rather specific. Also, while the opinions of others are important, it is equally important to realize when opinions are/aren't useful to your goals. Like, asking "What makes a game good?" or "What can make X part of my game pleasant?" is going to get you a whole bunch of different and subjective answers that are rarely gonna be useful in any meaningful way.

Imo, you should just work on parts of your project until you get stuck on a specific thing. Once you know what the specific issue is, and you are unable to solve it, that's when you should make a thread on that specific topic.

 

[IvanForever]

I'm generally "okay" with puzzles in RPGs (and of course enjoyed Golden Sun puzzles ), but there was one game, Sweet Lily Dreams, where I found it frustrating or boring. In that game puzzles are presented as short "mini-games." Such as sliding puzzle, spin the different parts of a "wheel" to form an image (when there's no sample image for this), etc....