0:00:01.430,0:00:07.549 Hi, this is Mark Brown with Game Maker's Toolkit,[br]a series on video game design. 0:00:07.549,0:00:12.590 A few months back I played Broken Age - the[br]point and click adventure from Double Fine 0:00:12.590,0:00:17.340 that raised 3 million bucks on Kickstarter,[br]and became so bloated that it was released 0:00:17.340,0:00:20.240 in two halves, almost a year apart. 0:00:20.240,0:00:25.420 I generally enjoyed Broken Age's first half.[br]It's funny and charming, and I liked both 0:00:25.420,0:00:30.160 of the main characters. There's Vella, who[br]is an unwilling sacrificial offering to a 0:00:30.160,0:00:34.530 monster. And Shay, who wants to break free[br]of his mollycoddling parents. 0:00:34.530,0:00:38.899 But when the second half came out earlier[br]this year, I started to find puzzles that 0:00:38.899,0:00:41.570 had some seriously troubling design. 0:00:41.570,0:00:45.390 Like the puzzle where this grabby hand is[br]obsessed with boots: 0:00:46.180,0:00:50.620 VELLA: Wow! It really seems to like boots. 0:00:50.620,0:00:53.120 But doesn't seem to care about Vella's shoes: 0:00:53.520,0:00:57.120 VELLA: It doesn't seem interested in me, or my clothing. 0:00:57.120,0:01:02.190 Or the one where these girls say they need[br]food, but Vella just won't give them this 0:01:02.190,0:01:03.250 taco pill: 0:01:03.250,0:01:07.900 VELLA: I don't wanna touch that pill until I know[br]what it is. Could be space poison. 0:01:07.900,0:01:12.900 Or the puzzle that you solve by doing absolutely[br]nothing, or this baffling knot puzzle that's 0:01:12.900,0:01:14.450 more like a Rorschach test. 0:01:14.450,0:01:18.000 And then there's the puzzle that almost made[br]me quit me the game for good. 0:01:18.000,0:01:22.220 There's this bit where Vella needs to figure[br]out the right pattern to sew into this space 0:01:22.220,0:01:26.380 scarf. But the correct solution is not somewhere[br]else on the spaceship. 0:01:26.380,0:01:29.180 It's not in Vella's story at all - it's actually hidden 0:01:29.189,0:01:32.150 deep within Shay's story. 0:01:32.159,0:01:36.280 That's despite the fact that in act one, there[br]are zero puzzles that rely on information 0:01:36.280,0:01:40.549 gleaned from the other kid's story. And despite[br]the fact that you're never told to expect 0:01:40.549,0:01:44.520 such puzzles in act two. And despite the fact[br]that these two kids don't know each other 0:01:44.520,0:01:47.270 and can't communicate with one another in[br]any way. 0:01:47.270,0:01:51.590 Its unfair, unreasonable, and - I say - poorly[br]designed. 0:01:53.560,0:01:57.320 Which is par for the course with point and[br]click adventures, right? These games are filled 0:01:57.320,0:02:00.890 with pixel hunting and moon logic and impossible[br]conundrums. 0:02:00.890,0:02:05.470 Like the notorious puzzle in Gabriel Knight[br]3 where you have to use masking tape and maple 0:02:05.470,0:02:10.349 syrup to turn cat hair into a fake moustache,[br]so you can impersonate a guy who doesn't even 0:02:10.349,0:02:15.659 have a moustache. You have to draw some facial[br]hair on his stolen passport with a marker pen. 0:02:15.659,0:02:20.279 Yes, point and click adventures had stuff[br]like. Stuff that was indefensibly dumb. But 0:02:20.279,0:02:23.620 I don't think a few bad apples should doom[br]an entire genre. 0:02:23.620,0:02:27.680 Especially a genre that has given us[br]some of the best stories in gaming history, 0:02:27.680,0:02:32.090 and definitely some of the best jokes. A genre[br]that moves at a different pace to many others, 0:02:32.090,0:02:36.749 and offers more grounded, Macgyver-style puzzles[br]than the sort of abstract fare you find in 0:02:36.749,0:02:38.459 a game like Portal or Antichamber. 0:02:38.459,0:02:42.620 So, instead of always beating on stupid point[br]and click puzzles - which would be easy, because 0:02:42.620,0:02:47.609 there are a LOT of them - let's look at some[br]golden rules that can be used to make a good, 0:02:47.609,0:02:52.509 responsibly-designed puzzle. Maybe we can[br]help save this genre from the scrap heap. 0:02:54.900,0:02:58.209 Rule one is to provide clear goals. 0:02:58.209,0:03:01.760 Before you even get to the puzzles, players[br]need to know what they're doing. They should 0:03:01.760,0:03:06.699 always know what their short and long term[br]goals are, so they know which puzzles to solve, 0:03:06.699,0:03:08.999 and have the motivation to do so. 0:03:08.999,0:03:13.639 In bonkers comedy Day of the Tentacle, for[br]example, we know that our long term goal is 0:03:13.639,0:03:18.549 to get stranded time travelers Laverne and[br]Hoagie back to Bernard's time in the present. 0:03:18.549,0:03:20.689 BERNARD: Well, hurry up and bring them back. 0:03:20.689,0:03:28.129 DR. FRED: I will, as soon as I get a new diamond. Then[br]all your buddies have to do is plug in their 0:03:28.129,0:03:30.369 respective chrono-johns and... 0:03:30.369,0:03:32.540 BERNARD: Plug them in?! 0:03:32.549,0:03:34.889 Which means Laverne needs to get into the[br]basement 0:03:34.889,0:03:42.519 LAVERNE: I can see Doctor Fred's old lab, and his generator is still there. Gee I could really use that 0:03:42.519,0:03:43.989 power. 0:03:43.989,0:03:48.510 And we know this means getting into that grandfather[br]clock and past that purple tentacle, which 0:03:48.510,0:03:50.489 is our new short term goal. 0:03:50.489,0:03:54.619 This might seem obvious, but you'd be surprised[br]how many adventure games mess this up and 0:03:54.619,0:03:58.949 leave players directionless, trying to solve[br]puzzles for no good reason. 0:03:58.949,0:04:03.359 LucasArts would often give multiple goals[br]at the same time, so players can go work on 0:04:03.359,0:04:05.629 something else if they get stuck on one of[br]the puzzles. 0:04:05.629,0:04:09.809 MAUREEN: The front forks are wasted so you'll have[br]to get some new ones. And someone stole my 0:04:09.809,0:04:15.290 welding torch. And last but not least, I patched[br]up your ruptured gas tank but you're out of 0:04:15.290,0:04:16.750 fuel and I don't have any. 0:04:16.750,0:04:24.150 BLUE TENTACLE: Entrants will be judged in three categories: best smile, best hair, and best laugh. 0:04:24.150,0:04:27.970 SOPHIA: You'll need all three stones if you want to[br]find Atlantis. 0:04:27.970,0:04:32.510 BEN: Where am I supposed to find all this stuff?[br]MAUREEN: You can hack it, tough guy. 0:04:33.629,0:04:36.129 Rule two is signposting. 0:04:36.129,0:04:39.729 Once a player starts working on a puzzle,[br]the single most important thing an adventure 0:04:39.729,0:04:42.090 can do is provide clear signposting. 0:04:42.090,0:04:47.060 Anybody who says that adventure games are about[br]trying to guess what's in the designer's brain, 0:04:47.060,0:04:51.060 obviously isn't paying attention. The best[br]point and clicks are littered with clues that 0:04:51.060,0:04:55.490 tell you what to do, often by looking at objects[br]or talking to characters. 0:04:55.490,0:05:00.009 So in Day of the Tentacle, if we talk to this[br]purple tentacle we get a nice clue that tells 0:05:00.009,0:05:01.370 us how to bypass him. 0:05:01.370,0:05:06.910 'TACHE TENTACLE: But no one gets to this clock while I'm here. And unless I have to go chase down some 0:05:06.910,0:05:10.780 escaped humans, I'm glued to this spot. 0:05:10.789,0:05:14.900 And if we chat to the guard looking after[br]the human prisoners, he says: 0:05:14.900,0:05:21.240 GUARD TENTACLE: What are you doing for dinner? How about Club Tentacle? Ah, what am I saying, I can't afford 0:05:21.240,0:05:25.419 to take out the trash let alone a classy babe[br]like you. 0:05:25.419,0:05:28.979 So, maybe we should try to win the human contest,[br]then. 0:05:28.980,0:05:33.380 'TACHE TENTACLE: Why, the grand prize is dinner for two at Club Tentacle. 0:05:33.380,0:05:38.000 Signposting is like providing lots of little,[br]subtle goals for those who are listening and 0:05:38.000,0:05:39.479 looking carefully. 0:05:39.479,0:05:43.979 Too subtle and the clue can be missed, of[br]course. Too obvious and the player feels cheated. 0:05:43.979,0:05:48.780 But get it just right, and the player is set[br]up for that all-important 'a-ha!' moment. 0:05:48.780,0:05:52.540 That rush of blood to the brain when you[br]have a lead, and can start figuring stuff out. 0:05:52.919,0:05:57.259 Poor signposting leaves players not understanding[br]the point of the puzzle. When Manny looks 0:05:57.259,0:05:59.639 at this pneumatic message tube, he just says: 0:05:59.640,0:06:01.300 MANNY: It's locked. 0:06:01.310,0:06:05.030 Which might make you think you need a key[br]or to break the lock, when actually the solution 0:06:05.030,0:06:07.849 is to slide a card into this slot. 0:06:07.849,0:06:11.659 Trust me, even the most stupid puzzles, like[br]one about how it always rains whenever you 0:06:11.659,0:06:14.999 wash a car, can be saved with good signposting. 0:06:14.999,0:06:18.789 BERNARD: Some people think that washing one's vehicle will make it rain. 0:06:18.789,0:06:20.590 THIEF: Oh?[br]BERNARD: Uh huh. 0:06:20.590,0:06:22.860 THIEF: How about that? 0:06:22.860,0:06:24.550 Rule three is feedback. 0:06:24.550,0:06:27.919 A puzzle should help solve itself, letting[br]you know if you're on the right track and 0:06:27.919,0:06:30.120 rebuffing you if you're not. 0:06:30.120,0:06:34.139 If you try to do something that makes some[br]logical sense, it's utterly infuriating to 0:06:34.139,0:06:35.699 hear some generic line like 0:06:35.699,0:06:38.659 GABRIEL KNIGHT: Nope, those don't work together. 0:06:38.660,0:06:40.280 MANNY: I don't really wanna do that 0:06:40.289,0:06:45.249 So, instead, the player should get a explanation[br]of why that specific combination is flawed, 0:06:45.249,0:06:48.209 and hopefully a small nudge towards the real[br]solution. 0:06:48.209,0:06:50.840 LAVERNE: Stop chattering mummy. 0:06:50.840,0:06:55.740 LAVERNE: The judges will think you're chewing gum. Oh this will never work. 0:06:58.249,0:07:02.770 Follow those three golden rules and you should[br]end up with good puzzles. Puzzles where the 0:07:02.770,0:07:06.889 player knows what they need to do, and has[br]a good idea of how to solve it, and is helped 0:07:06.889,0:07:08.259 to come to the right answer. 0:07:08.259,0:07:12.069 Puzzles that, if you look them up, make you[br]say "oh, I should have figured that out" and 0:07:12.069,0:07:16.249 not "are you kidding me?!" Puzzles that feel[br]fair, and don't send the player rushing to 0:07:16.249,0:07:18.719 GameFAQs or the LucasArts hint line. 0:07:18.719,0:07:23.939 Of course, elevating a puzzle from good to[br]great is where the real creativity comes in. 0:07:23.939,0:07:28.449 Play Day of the Tentacle when that promised[br]remastered version comes out, and solve the 0:07:28.449,0:07:33.499 brilliant time-traveling puzzles that make[br]use of the three characters being spread across 0:07:33.499,0:07:36.819 400 years of history to see how it's done. 0:07:36.820,0:07:42.840 Tentacle is not perfect, of course. It requires[br]some real-world knowledge that not all players 0:07:42.849,0:07:47.069 have, it's got a tiny bit of pixel hunting,[br]and if you don't listen carefully you'll miss 0:07:47.069,0:07:51.099 the signposting altogether and can't always[br]hear it a second time. 0:07:51.099,0:07:55.849 But if LucasArts was making it today (or,[br]making any games today), there are lots of 0:07:55.849,0:07:59.610 modern conveniences that it could use to make[br]the experience even more palatable. 0:07:59.610,0:08:04.710 Many games today let you highlight all interactive[br]objects to avoid pixel hunting. Telltale's 0:08:04.710,0:08:08.949 early games have characters spill hints if[br]you fail to solve a puzzle in a certain amount 0:08:08.949,0:08:14.469 of time. Sci-fi noir Gemini Rue has multiple[br]solutions to some puzzles and robot odyssey 0:08:14.469,0:08:21.590 Machinarium gives away the answer, but only[br]if you can finish a mini game. 0:08:21.590,0:08:25.479 While many blame the death of the adventure[br]game on these harebrained puzzles, others 0:08:25.479,0:08:30.490 have claimed that it was the genre's inability[br]to evolve. 3D graphics only made the games 0:08:30.490,0:08:35.300 more clunky, and the addition of extra mechanics[br]was rarely successful. They just couldn't 0:08:35.300,0:08:37.979 keep pace with other genres, critics say. 0:08:37.979,0:08:42.860 But I think there's lots of room for innovation,[br]and reason to return to this genre. Adventure 0:08:42.860,0:08:47.720 game revivalist Wadjet Eye has games like[br]Resonance that turn your memories into inventory 0:08:47.720,0:08:51.699 objects, and Technobabylon which lets you[br]talk to electrical objects while you're in 0:08:51.699,0:08:53.310 a cyber trance. 0:08:53.310,0:08:58.899 And even before the genre kicked the bucket,[br]games like The Last Express toyed with real-time 0:08:58.899,0:09:03.959 adventuring, and Blade Runner encouraged multiple[br]playthroughs by randomly picking which characters 0:09:03.959,0:09:05.540 would be a replicant. 0:09:05.540,0:09:09.930 So there's plenty more for this genre to do,[br]and I for one hope it lives on. But it does 0:09:09.930,0:09:14.990 need smarter, more player-friendly design[br]to shake off that stigma of being the genre 0:09:14.990,0:09:20.000 of cat hair moustaches and nuisance goats.[br]Until then, it might never come back in any 0:09:20.000,0:09:23.160 meaningful way. And I think that would be a shame. 0:09:24.399,0:09:28.440 Thanks for watching! What's the worst puzzle[br]you've ever come across in a game? Tell us 0:09:28.440,0:09:33.399 why it sucked so bad in the comments down below.[br]Also, please like the episode, subscribe on 0:09:33.399,0:09:37.379 YouTube, and consider supporting me and my[br]ad-free videos, over on Patreon.