Blog: "Why Trial and Error will Doom Games"

[graykin]

I'm not sure there's really a solution. Invisible walls can always be filled with textures/visible objects, but multi-solution puzzles are a far more complex beast that would almost require some sort of AI to determine if what you're trying to do makes sense for the problem.

Either that, or the developers just need to be cognisant of every potential puzzle solution and plan accordingly. The pencil example mentioned by gbee would have been a simple one for the devs to plan for, but then what else could be used to open the door?

I mean, hell, you probably could have just used the screwdriver to remove the lock...or you could have bashed the door handle in with the pick-axe...or you could have saved a little bit of the "go-go juice" for the mining equipment and burned the door down (I think that door was made of wood)...or dynamite anyone?

There's a multitude of real-life solutions for all of these problems, but no single way to encapsulate them all. To reiterate the point you made, there's really no solution. It's all just grasping at straws, trying to keep it as intuitive as possible.