Need help creating a torch puzzle (Zelda-like)

[Lnik3500]

Hello everyone!

In my game, I made a dungeon similar to that of zelda dungeons. I created a good layout and I am now to design puzzles... but I suck at making them

The theme of my dungeon is torches. By acquiring the lantern, my character is able to light torches to solve puzzles and open new doors.

To acquire the boss key, my character needs to solve a torch puzzle, but I can't figure out a clever one where the player would have to think alittle bit more than light all the torches.

How can I go to solve this? Can someone help me with some ideas? Thank you and don't hesitate to ask questions if I was unclear

 

[Poryg]

My question is easy... What are torch puzzles?

 

[Lnik3500]

@Poryg Torch puzzles are welll.... let's start by definition...

Do you know what a torch is? It's basically a fire on top of a stick, in my post, I reffered to them as a stick that stands still from the ground and you light a fire on top of it to create a torch.

Now torch puzzles is something resolving around those said torches. A prime exemple is the game The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time. In the second dungeon, there were torches placed everywhere on the map and would need to light them all with fire to open a door. In my game, I'm searching for a way to use a similar mechanic to make a boss key that is used to access to the boss of the dungeon appear. Such mechanic could involve lithing the torches in a specific order, or having all of them lit by fire.

I hope you could understand a bit more by what I was trying to say

 

[Poryg]

Ah, you mean these torches! I thought you meant those known as flashlights in American English, so it was very strange to me!

But now seriously. I asked, because I was too lazy to search for torch puzzles. I've never played the legend of Zelda, so i had absolutely no idea what to imagine behind that.
However, I don't see where's the problem. You can create some tricky or pseudotricky riddles, mathematical examples, booby traps that turn all torches off, several ways toward one torch, only one is correct... There are many features that are possible to add if you want to make it more than lighting torches, just let your fantasy spin around

 

[Nutty171]

@Poryg I know this is off topic, but the torches referring to flashlights is actually a British English thing.

@Lnik3500 Playing with fire. You obviously need more than just "walk up to a torch and use the item on it." You could do things such as lighting a torch also burns down a wall, or puts out some other torches, or you could have torches that you can't actually walk up to and you need to find a way to light it from a distance.

 

[Kes]

"How do I...?" questions belong in the Support forum for the engine you are using. Unfortunately you neither state which it is, nor do you have that included in the info under your avatar.

Please post saying which engine so that I can move this thread.

Also, it is usually not a good idea to rely on saying "I want something like [insert game name].." That excludes everyone who has not played that particular game, even though they might actually know the answer to your query. I haven't played Ocarina of Time, but can tell you that the answer will include switches and variables from the bit of description you have given in your second post.

A clear, concise description of what you want to happen will get you the best quality answers.

 

[Poryg]

@Kes This isn't a "How do I" question though. The OP is asking for a way to make it more than a mere light up torches puzzle, so they are rather asking for feature ideas.

 

[Kes]

@Poryg Ah yes, I can see that it can be read that way, now that I've re-read it.
@Nutty171 As a Brit, we do not call them flashlights. We think of that as a US term. So for me a torch can be a modern electric gadget powered by batteries, or a medieval flaming branch, so I'm sometimes very unclear about what people are referring to unless there is some context.

 

[Nutty171]

@Kes Oh. I misread Poryg's post and thought he said that torch referring to the electric lighting device was an American term. Oops.

 

[Lnik3500]

@Kes I don't really think I need to point out what engines I'm using since it can technically be done with any of them, but hey, I'm using MV

@Nutty171 Thank you for your response! I'm thinking about using a distance so the player cannot light the torch in a normal way, but I would like to hear other suggestions before going with that

@Poryg Thank you for your responses I'm in need of other suggestions. It can actually be tricky to do a puzzle that I know the solution too easily, so it might be that I'm too hard on myself for these kinds of things

 

[Aoi Ninami]

You mentioned that lighting your torches opens doors, but if each torch opens one door and closes another, it can be more of a puzzle. Let's say that lighting torch 1 opens the door to torch 2, but lighting 2 closes it again, so you need to open another door in advance so you can get out after lighting 2. (That would be just a step of the puzzle rather than the whole thing; you would build on that idea to construct a chain of actions that would lead to the final torch in the sequence.)

You could colour-code your torches, and each one opens and closes doors of matching colour. Then the player can see the whole puzzle at once rather than have to experiement to find out what torches do what.

Or instead of a lantern, have single-use matches to light the torches. Now you have to light them in the correct sequence to open the doors that lead to gaining more matches. There can be a door that looks like you should open it, but opening the correct doors gets you round to the other side of it "for free", saving yourself one match, which turns out to be just enough to complete the puzzle.

 

[Anthony Xue]

Basically what @Aoi Ninami said; except maybe

Or instead of a lantern, have single-use matches to light the torches. Now you have to light them in the correct sequence to open the doors that lead to gaining more matches. There can be a door that looks like you should open it, but opening the correct doors gets you round to the other side of it "for free", saving yourself one match, which turns out to be just enough to complete the puzzle.

I imagine this to be rather scary in actual gameplay, because unless there is an infinite source of matches somewhere (which sort of would defeat the puzzle's purpose), how many players will think they have the solution or just try things out, come up maybe one or two matches short and then be locked out of the solution?

In addition, the torches are used mostly as flavorful levers there. Now I admittedly haven't played Zelda, but how about using torches as torches? Especially since there are some plugins out there that should provide the functionalities.

- Don't make the torches open doors, but make their light radius build paths throughout a dark hall.
- Have some sleeping creatures around the hall that will be awakened by too much light (or too much dark/light switching). Now the general idea is to solve the puzzle with as few torch switchings as possible, but if you don't manage to find the solution, you're not completely locked out, you just have to defeat whatever you awakened.
- Move things through the dungeon that change characteristics based on whether they stand in shadow or torchlight. Or if you want to get really fancy, change characteristics depending on the color of that torchlight - we're going magic here, so why not have blue, red, green torches?
- Really evil: A bunch of torches are spread around the dungeon sector. Finding and lighting them all opens a door. Finding and lighting them all, but with a different source of fire (probably meaning they glow in a different color as well), opens a different (secret) door. If you make this a recurring element, this could prompt the player to revisit various earlier dungeons (which were visited first when the different light source was not available) and collect a few optional treasures.

Hm, not sure if I have those in my puzzle list. Narf, that thing will never be finished

 

[Lnik3500]

@Anthony Xue Great idea! I was already planning for my torches to be blue since my characters has access to regular fire magic (normal flame would defeat the purpose of having a lantern to light torches)

But I think I'll make a purple lantern for a similar situation that you described.

Also your link for puzzles mindset at your signature is super helpful

 

[ShadowHawkDragon]

Persona Q has a similar type of puzzle. You had bonfires dotted around the map which allowed you to light a 'torch', however said torch would only last a fixed number of steps (15 I think?). The aim was to carry your torch along the shortest path to reach special doors that only opened while carrying a flame. Lighting previously unlit bonfires to create 'closer' starting points was the key.

Now here's where things got tricky, on the map there were super monsters which only moved when you moved, carrying a flame would change their behaviour, either opening or closing paths based on whether you had the flame or not (i.e. one FOE would always flee but chased you when carrying a flame). Sometimes you had to travel without the flame then open shortcuts from the other side.