RMMV Simple switch flipping puzzle idea

[JohnDoeNews]

So, I've been working on a very simple puzzle, in which you flip 1 switch, but 4 other switches flippingwhen you press one switch.

The goal is to have all switches flipped on at the same time, which is a lot harder than it sounds. The video below will explain it better.

But I do have a bit of a dilemma... This puzzle is way to small to be a game by itself. I do have 6 different difficulties, but for the 6th level, I already need 100 switches, and that makes it not a great minigame to put inside other games... So I would love to hear your thoughts on that: Would this be best as a very small stand alone game? Or do you think using 100 switches in an in-game mini game is not a problem?

Here is a little video explaining the puzzle: (I still have to dress it up, this is all just working on the system itself.)

 

[HexMozart88]

Can you add more to it to make it into a full game?

 

[Spaske]

Agreed, too small for a standalone, in a game as a minigame id hate it tbh (the 100 buttons) but usually i dont really like such kind of puzzles so maybe im the wrong person to say this
What i could tolerate or maybe even motivate me to solve it, instead of making it a minigame that must be finished for the story to progress, its a minigame on the side that you can solve but its not mandatory and ofc. there are good prices if you sovle it so different levels = higher level solved better prices.

 

[JohnDoeNews]

Can you add more to it to make it into a full game?

One thing I want to add is counting how many presses you need to solve the puzzle. Solving it in less presses means a higher score. Other than that, I wouldn't know what I can add... If you got any idea's then I am all ears.

Visual stuff not included. I can add things to make it prettier. That for sure. But what can I add to make this little puzzle into a full game?

Agreed, too small for a standalone, in a game as a minigame id hate it tbh (the 100 buttons) but usually i dont really like such kind of puzzles so maybe im the wrong person to say this
What i could tolerate or maybe even motivate me to solve it, instead of making it a minigame that must be finished for the story to progress, its a minigame on the side that you can solve but its not mandatory and ofc. there are good prices if you sovle it so different levels = higher level solved better prices.

Yeah, solving it to complete the story is not good indeed.* Haha. Therefor the puzzle is way to difficult. I mean, level 1 and 2 are pretty easy, but even I couldn't solve my puzzle on level 3 for many hours... I did it in the end, but I had no idea how. That is also why I didn't solve it in the video.

To be honest, if I would put it in a full game, I have no idea what game it will be put in. Probably not one I make myself, but I might share it with other devs who'd like to put it in a full game.

*To come back at that: "solving it to complete" part... If the main game is this, then solving it is the only wat to go to the next level, and the next level is just a new puzzle on a slightly more difficult grid.

 

[Spaske]

Visual stuff not included. I can add things to make it prettier. That for sure. But what can I add to make this little puzzle into a full game?

Well, the answer is actually pretty simple, more "different" minigames.
At least thats the only thing that comes to my mind, to drag this one out wouldnt be fun at all, and i think lvl 6 with 100 is a good ending. or otherwise you could go on to 100000. ^^
So more minigames is the answer, maybe making it progressive, like for every stage you get stars and to unlock minigame 2 you need 3 stars wich you get by finishing stage 2 in minigame 1... (1star from stage 1 and 2 from stage 2 ect..) for minigame 3 you need then 9 stars and so on... you choose how hard it should be... (similar to Mario 64).

 

[JohnDoeNews]

Well, the answer is actually pretty simple, more "different" minigames.
At least thats the only thing that comes to my mind, to drag this one out wouldnt be fun at all, and i think lvl 6 with 100 is a good ending. or otherwise you could go on to 100000. ^^
So more minigames is the answer, maybe making it progressive, like for every stage you get stars and to unlock minigame 2 you need 3 stars wich you get by finishing stage 2 in minigame 1... (1star from stage 1 and 2 from stage 2 ect..) for minigame 3 you need then 9 stars and so on... you choose how hard it should be... (similar to Mario 64).

Yeah, dragging this out beyond level 6 is not possible... At least not the way I've set it up.
More mini games would be possible indeed... So it would be a mini-game collectible.

That is not really adding things to this minigame, but adding this minigame to a bigger game. haha.

Thanks for thinking along, though. I'm not sure what I will do with this whole system just yet. Maybe I'll give it away if anyone is interested. Or maybe I will dress it up and embed it on my website as HTML game.

I kinda have this thing where I love making those systems, and as soon as the system works and all the bugs are out, I lose interest and I make something new.

 

[Spaske]

Yeah, dragging this out beyond level 6 is not possible... At least not the way I've set it up.
More mini games would be possible indeed... So it would be a mini-game collectible.

That is not really adding things to this minigame, but adding this minigame to a bigger game. haha.

Thanks for thinking along, though. I'm not sure what I will do with this whole system just yet. Maybe I'll give it away if anyone is interested. Or maybe I will dress it up and embed it on my website as HTML game.

I kinda have this thing where I love making those systems, and as soon as the system works and all the bugs are out, I lose interest and I make something new.

You can add a story:
"A fanatic villain who loves "minigames" holds you hostage and forces you to finish minigames or you die... " Sounds kinda like saw. haha
Jk ofc, best of luck with it, im sure you will find the best way to use / implement it.^^

 

[ShadowDragon]

instead of making squares and increase it there are other ways:

2 sides (left and right or up and down)

left is blank, right is solution (sometimes this takes time, specially
if the switch isn't a + but random + / + \ etc, so it makes it harder.

another way is to have different shapes (up to 50-76) and there
are TONS of shapes to use, outser square, inner square, rectangle,
hexagons etc.

with all of those you can make it more intresting than just flipping them.
adding maths, for each correct solution, 1 hit, 1 wrong, entire game reset

Another nice add, beat the puzzel is 5 hits, or 10 (lowest + 1 extra) see who
can beat it

 

[JohnDoeNews]

instead of making squares and increase it there are other ways:

2 sides (left and right or up and down)

left is blank, right is solution (sometimes this takes time, specially
if the switch isn't a + but random + / + \ etc, so it makes it harder.

another way is to have different shapes (up to 50-76) and there
are TONS of shapes to use, outser square, inner square, rectangle,
hexagons etc.

with all of those you can make it more intresting than just flipping them.
adding maths, for each correct solution, 1 hit, 1 wrong, entire game reset

Another nice add, beat the puzzel is 5 hits, or 10 (lowest + 1 extra) see who
can beat it

Thanks for thinking along.

With other shapes, that might work... Although I have to completely re-event the whole thing per shape. But that isn't the main issue. The real question for me then would be: Is the puzzle solvable? With square fields and crosses flipping, I am sure each puzzle can be solved.

I so also have math puzzles, and that makes puzzles more challenging for sure. I am not sure how I could add this to the current puzzle, though.

The limited hits, now that is a good point. I am actually working on counting the hits, and remember them per puzzle, so you can try to beat your own score. To use the absolute minimum, that would be the high score.

However... I can not make it reset when the minimum+1 is passed, simply because I have no idea what the minimum hits is. I know the absolute minimum for level 1 and level 2. (level 2 needs less hits then level 1. Funny right?) But level 3 and up... I can solve them, but I have no idea what the actual minimum would be.

Maybe an alternative approach would be: Once you go past your own high score, it auto-resets?

 

[Bex]

The Puzzle reminded me of a Codelock in Resident Evil 1 in the Guard House.
Taking from the previous Ideas, your mini Game would perfectly fit Doors to Rooms
in a Laboratory or Warehouse Setting, the Rooms would not be needed to be entered but if the Player takes the Time, they could find smal rewards like Items in that Rooms.

 

[JohnDoeNews]

The Puzzle reminded me of a Codelock in Resident Evil 1 in the Guard House.
Taking from the previous Ideas, your mini Game would perfectly fit Doors to Rooms
in a Laboratory or Warehouse Setting, the Rooms would not be needed to be entered but if the Player takes the Time, they could find smal rewards like Items in that Rooms.

Kinda like the terminal locks in fallout? Yeah that would be an idea. Only, the solution to the puzzles will always be the same.

Then again, there could be novice doors, apprentice doors, adept doors, expert doors, master doors and legendary doors... Or something like that. (Yes, the niveau's are straight from skyrim. Haha. i only added the legendary, because I have 6 levels, not 5.)

 

[ShadowDragon]

this can be used as well as an idea (but only the basics)

level 1: 3x3 switches (hits to be used 10), or count up
if hits < 10, hidden room A can be opened,
level 1a room has 3x3 as well, but has 2 colors, aim for 2nd color out of 3
if all color match 1, nothing happend same if they match color 3.
so if color is blue, yellow, red, color to compleet = yellow.

if completed that, a secret level for 1 is open but shaped, as previous, but
but 5x5 and leave out the center 4 ones so you have a 3x3 outline.
if color match 1st outline = blue
2nd line = yellow
middle line = red

level compleet =)

you can advanced it with shapes on level 2.

disadvance, you need to see what is the best value, that value + 2
as hits or if < than this to open the room.

using + to touch advance could be hard, but random
for + - and diagonal makes the game harder and intresting

you never know what adjustment will be there, but different color
can also very increase its difficulty

 

[JohnDoeNews]

Those are fun idea's, but how sure are you that those puzzles can be solved? That is a very important part of any puzzle: It much be possible to solve them.

With a + sign on a square field, I am 100% sure each puzzle can be solved, no matter the size. With other shapes I have no idea if the puzzle will have a solution or not. (Meaning I need to make the puzzle first, then try to solve it, and if I find out it is not possible, I did all thatfor nothing.) And I am too lazy to do things for nothing. Hahaha.

But uhm... I am going to let you in on a little secret. If I show you how I did what I did, you might understand how your idea's might overcomplicate things. (Don't get me wrong, the idea's are fun... Just complicated)

The reason why I can't proceed beyond level 6 (which is a 9x9 field) is because the X value and the Y value together make switch ID. So the switch on tile 0,1 has switch ID 1. The switch on 1,1 has switch ID 11. So, there can't be a switch on 0,10 cause that would use the same ID as switch on 1,0.

Knowing that, this is how I flip the 5 switches at once:


Super simple, sure... For a + shape in 2 colors. The win conditions purely checks if all 81 (9x9) switches are on or not.

Now... If I would add a 3rd color, I will have a problem. On and Off only covers 2 colors. How would I check the 3rd color?

 

[Spaske]

Those are fun idea's, but how sure are you that those puzzles can be solved? That is a very important part of any puzzle: It much be possible to solve them.

With a + sign on a square field, I am 100% sure each puzzle can be solved, no matter the size. With other shapes I have no idea if the puzzle will have a solution or not. (Meaning I need to make the puzzle first, then try to solve it, and if I find out it is not possible, I did all thatfor nothing.) And I am too lazy to do things for nothing. Hahaha.

But uhm... I am going to let you in on a little secret. If I show you how I did what I did, you might understand how your idea's might overcomplicate things. (Don't get me wrong, the idea's are fun... Just complicated)

The reason why I can't proceed beyond level 6 (which is a 9x9 field) is because the X value and the Y value together make switch ID. So the switch on tile 0,1 has switch ID 1. The switch on 1,1 has switch ID 11. So, there can't be a switch on 0,10 cause that would use the same ID as switch on 1,0.

Knowing that, this is how I flip the 5 switches at once:
View attachment 214556

Super simple, sure... For a + shape in 2 colors. The win conditions purely checks if all 81 (9x9) switches are on or not.

Now... If I would add a 3rd color, I will have a problem. On and Off only covers 2 colors. How would I check the 3rd color?

Couldnt you do a variable instead of switches? Then you could do as many colours as you wanted but this would mean to change it almost from scrap.

 

[JohnDoeNews]

Couldnt you do a variable instead of switches? Then you could do as many colours as you wanted but this would mean to change it almost from scrap.

Well... There lies the next problem. I don't only use switches, but also self-switches. I could do variables, but then I need to even each and every single button separately per level. While now I actually have 1 even and it is just copied 81 times (in the larges level) with yanfly's eventcopier.



I love how you guys like to think along, but I wasn't actually planning on building this out too much. I would either:
- Embed it as it is (only dressed up with nice graphics)
- Use it as a mini-game in another game

If I decide to make it a mini-game inside another game, it will probably not be my own game, since I am not planning on starting a new large project any time soon. So if used as a mini-game, I would give it away to another dev.

So, I really like that you guys like to think along on what else can be done with the puzzle. And please keep on doing it. Just know, that I will not be the one to put those ideas in.

If any of you are interested in the puzzle, and want to use it as a mini-game in your game, or want to see if you can convert this into a full game, then let me know. I am willing to share for credits. (Take notice that I use multiple yanfly plugins for this, which I will not include when sharing the puzzles. You need to own or buy them yourself.)

 

[ShadowDragon]

plus, diagonal, min lines can always solve it if you press the switch at random.
the way you do it is also WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY different than the way
I made the switches work with some scriptcalls and check adjustment.

but 3 colors is using variables, and specially to target the certain color
is harder, getting the solution of a mirrors image or should be mirrored
can be doable, , while you have selfswitches, you can do at least 3 colors,
SS A, SS B and SS C. if check if those switches are all SS B to compleet,
if SS A or SS C, it doesn't.

with selfSwitch from YEP, or another, you can make D, E, F, G, H, etc
but start of with 2 colors and shapes is always a nice start.

different color can be on a new common event.
I need to look where I got my puzzel that uses scriptcalls

 

[JohnDoeNews]

plus, diagonal, min lines can always solve it if you press the switch at random.
the way you do it is also WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY different than the way
I made the switches work with some scriptcalls and check adjustment.

but 3 colors is using variables, and specially to target the certain color
is harder, getting the solution of a mirrors image or should be mirrored
can be doable, , while you have selfswitches, you can do at least 3 colors,
SS A, SS B and SS C. if check if those switches are all SS B to compleet,
if SS A or SS C, it doesn't.

with selfSwitch from YEP, or another, you can make D, E, F, G, H, etc
but start of with 2 colors and shapes is always a nice start.

different color can be on a new common event.
I need to look where I got my puzzel that uses scriptcalls

I use script calls too. (You didn't think I check all the switches each in a new condition, did you? Haha.)

I don't think multiple colors is impossible, but it is way too much work for me. This is something I made in a few hours. I never planned to spend a whole lot of time on this project at all. I just wanted to see if I could do it, and I could. That is where I normally lose interest.