Riddles

[Ragpuppy87]

My project takes place in an Egyptian pyramid.
At the end of each dungeon, excluding the final one, a sphinx awaits.
Interacting with the sphinx is entirely optional. The player can simply walk past and enter the boss chamber.

If they do talk to the sphinx it will ask the player a riddle. If the player guesses correctly they will get an amulet fragment. Collecting all 8 fragments from all the sphinxes assembles a very powerful accessory.
However if they guess wrong, a boss battle will ensue. The sphinx is a formidable foe. A pseudo-superboss of sorts. It's stats are set across all eight dungeons. They could easily get a game over even late in the game. If the player does manage to defeat the sphinx in combat, they will get the amulet fragment.

I want the player to almost feel like the sphinx is always a gamble.
I'm facing two issues with this.

First. The player can easily save before interacting with the sphinx. If they get the answer wrong they can just reset and guess again without facing the sphinx's wrath... Which is almost cheating. But then again the likely resulting game over from engaging the sphinx would put them in the same situation. Just guess again... I'm not sure if anything can be done about this one...

Second. The riddles themselves. I'm using three multi choice options.
The problem with this format is that being in plain sight the answer is often ridiculously obvious.

"Smile and I smile back. Drop me and I'm sure to crack."
A. Egg
B. Mirror
C. Baby

"Man walks over, man walks under. In times of war he burns asunder."
A. Mountain
B. Tree
C. Bridge

I do want the player to have to think somewhat. Otherwise the value of the amulet is lessened.
The internet is full of riddles and answers.
But coming up with 2 other wrong answers that aren't obvious is difficult...

I know there are plugins that allow keyboard input, but then you get into proper spelling and capitalization issues.
For the first riddle above the answer is obviously "Mirror." But suppose the player types in "mirror" or "MIRROR" or "mear" ( if they have atrocious spelling...) etc... Technically they are correct but it might not be recognized as such.
Telling the player to type it in an exact format could work I suppose...
But some answers may end up being too obscure this way.... I'm trying to find a happy medium.

I may be overthinking this mechanic at this point, but I'm open to suggestions.

Or if you happen to know a clever riddle I could use feel free to share.

 

[WaywardMartian]

If the riddle's answer is a single word, using the Name Input function to make the player type in the answer is an option to avoid multiple choice - just make sure you tell them which case to use or make branches that accept 'mirror', 'Mirror', and 'MIRROR', for instance ( though you're right - this doesn't help if they aren't sure how to spell it. )

You can disable the Save function on the sphinx's map to make save scumming inconvenient. Or someone had also come up with a 'switches stay switched even if you save or start a new game' plugin - I'll have to have a dig through my notes to find it. You could have a switch activate after the player answers so even if they go back to change their answer the sphinx knows they already tried and failed. Then you can turn the switch off after the fight or otherwise later so it doesn't carry over into a new game.

[ETA]: Found it - HimeWorks Sync Save Data

 

[Ragpuppy87]

If the riddle's answer is a single word, using the Name Input function to make the player type in the answer is an option to avoid multiple choice - just make sure you tell them which case to use or make branches that accept 'mirror', 'Mirror', and 'MIRROR', for instance ( though you're right - this doesn't help if they aren't sure how to spell it. )

You can disable the Save function on the sphinx's map to make save scumming inconvenient. Or someone had also come up with a 'switches stay switched even if you save or start a new game' plugin - I'll have to have a dig through my notes to find it. You could have a switch activate after the player answers so even if they go back to change their answer the sphinx knows they already tried and failed. Then you can turn the switch off after the fight or otherwise later so it doesn't carry over into a new game.

[ETA]: Found it - HimeWorks Sync Save Data

Hmm. These are good suggestions. I'll have to try them!

 

[Wavelength]

"Smile and I smile back. Drop me and I'm sure to crack."
C. Baby

Don't think I didn't give this consideration

I know there are plugins that allow keyboard input, but then you get into proper spelling and capitalization issues.
For the first riddle above the answer is obviously "Mirror." But suppose the player types in "mirror" or "MIRROR" or "mear" ( if they have atrocious spelling...) etc... Technically they are correct but it might not be recognized as such.
Telling the player to type it in an exact format could work I suppose...
But some answers may end up being too obscure this way.... I'm trying to find a happy medium.

I like when games allow free text entry, and also have some leeway for spelling and such. For example, if any four letters in "mirror" are in the proper order, the answer is considered correct ("meeror", "mirrors", and "mirer" would all be accepted). Of course, for such a riddle, you might also have to think through other correct answers that players could think up, such as "Ice". While ideal for satisfying gameplay, this takes a lot of work and creativity on your part.

A possible middle ground that allows for a lot of interactivity would be to build the riddle into gameplay. Use an item (like a "Sphinx Summon Orb") to signify that you've found your answer! So, for example, on your "Man walks over" riddle, if the player uses the Sphinx Orb while standing on (or below) a bridge, it will be Correct and the Sphinx will give you an amulet fragment when you summon her... and if you're standing anywhere else, it will be Incorrect and she'll fight you when you summon her!

 

[Ragpuppy87]

A possible middle ground that allows for a lot of interactivity would be to build the riddle into gameplay. Use an item (like a "Sphinx Summon Orb") to signify that you've found your answer! So, for example, on your "Man walks over" riddle, if the player uses the Sphinx Orb while standing on (or below) a bridge, it will be Correct and the Sphinx will give you an amulet fragment when you summon her... and if you're standing anywhere else, it will be Incorrect and she'll fight you when you summon her!

That's an interesting approach! I'd really have to stretch my creative muscles a bit more that way. It might be fun to experiment with riddles that have answers to applicable locations within the pyramid.

 

[WaywardMartian]

A possible middle ground that allows for a lot of interactivity would be to build the riddle into gameplay. Use an item (like a "Sphinx Summon Orb") to signify that you've found your answer! So, for example, on your "Man walks over" riddle, if the player uses the Sphinx Orb while standing on (or below) a bridge, it will be Correct and the Sphinx will give you an amulet fragment when you summon her... and if you're standing anywhere else, it will be Incorrect and she'll fight you when you summon her!

I like that idea and will probably borrow it sometime. I'd done a puzzle game once where riddles would be solved by objects - there'd be assorted items in the room to find, then you hand it over to the person asking the riddle. Though this also is basically multiple choice with extra running around ( I was proud of one where the answer was 'Nothing', so to solve the riddle you had to close the Select Item box without choosing anything, though. )

 

[kairi_key]

Or there's also the way DQ11 did it, where you need to equip that item and talk to the sphinx. But yeah, that would exclude the bridge question out, lol.

 

[Wavelength]

That's an interesting approach! I'd really have to stretch my creative muscles a bit more that way. It might be fun to experiment with riddles that have answers to applicable locations within the pyramid.

Yup - use your creativity to figure out intuitive ways for players to answer that aren't multiple choice. Make sure the rules are clear, or that the player would be able to figure out "how to answer", though. A riddle could have the answer "Gold" and would be expected to summon the sphinx near any object or fixture that is made of gold within the level. A monster could be the answer to a riddle, and the player would need to use the summon item while in combat with that monster, but that might be hard for players to figure out, and they might start looking (in vain) for an NPC character/object that looks like that monster, although if that character/object also exists, the summon-in-battle makes for a great "creative" secondary answer.

 

[caethyril]

Another alternative could be to make the response picture- rather than text-based, e.g. select one of X pictures from the wall fresco (Show Picture) to answer the riddle. Lets you get a bit more creative in terms of presentation.

 

[Kes]

Game Mechanics Design is not for feedback on individual projects, nor for implementation.

[move]Game Ideas and Prototypes[/move]