Blog: "Puzzles in horror games. Part 2."

[Thomas]

The 2nd part in a series on puzzles in horror games is now up:

http://frictionalgames.blogspot.com/2009...art-2.html

This time the most common problems with puzzles are discussed.

[Sexbad]

There was one puzzle I hated in Overture. I absolutely hated it. It's the one where there was a mine cart blocked from its path by a chain. There were quite a few obvious solutions that were not correct. I needed to find wire cutters, but I had a hammer, pickaxe, and saw on hand. Any one of those, with a bit of work, could have been used to cut the chain. Another possible solution would have been simply to lift the chain up, at least if there was enough room for the cart to go under it.

[spukrian]

There was one puzzle I hated in Overture. I absolutely hated it. It's the one where there was a mine cart blocked from its path by a chain. There were quite a few obvious solutions that were not correct. I needed to find wire cutters, but I had a hammer, pickaxe, and saw on hand. Any one of those, with a bit of work, could have been used to cut the chain. Another possible solution would have been simply to lift the chain up, at least if there was enough room for the cart to go under it.

The only problem I had with that puzzle was that once the cart somehow missed the brick wall and thus I had to reload and do it again...

Yeah, multiple solutions to certain puzzles is nice.

EDIT: An example of "Obvious solution is not correct" that I just thought of:

In the caves after the library in Black Plague, you need to get to a lever that lowers a ladder.

The thing that you´re supposed to do is to make a seesaw... and I don´t know what else, since during the three(or is it four?) times I´ve finished Black Plague, I´ve never actually made a seesaw.

Instead I just use the wooden board to make a ramp to the lever. Or I just use the objects nearby to cause the sheet metal to fall down on the lever and thus activating it.