Summary of "What Makes a Good Puzzle?"

Summary of “What Makes a Good Puzzle?”

This video by Mark Brown from Game Maker’s Toolkit explores the art and craft of puzzle design in video games. Drawing from interviews with puzzle game creators, personal experimentation, and analysis of various puzzle games, Brown outlines key principles that contribute to effective and satisfying puzzles.

Main Ideas and Concepts

1. Mechanics: The Foundation of a Puzzle

Every puzzle game is built on a core set of mechanics — strict rules and limitations that define how the game world operates.
Good mechanics are clever and often unique, enabling a wide variety of puzzles and challenges.
Examples include:
- Cosmic Express: drawing train tracks with constraints.
- Snakebird: creatures whose movement and growth create complex interactions.
- Portal and The Talos Principle: use of temporary tools or external puzzle elements like light bridges, cubes, and jammers.
A clear goal is essential (e.g., exit door or collectible), and players should always understand what to do, not how to do it.

2. The Catch: Creating Logical Conflict

A good puzzle centers around a “catch” — a logical contradiction or conflict where two necessary conditions cannot be met simultaneously.
Example: a door that opens when a button is pressed, but the player cannot stand on the button and reach the door at the same time.
The catch forces players to think creatively and find workarounds (e.g., placing a box on the button).
The catch can involve sequencing, spatial positioning, or other constraints.

3. The Revelation: The Eureka Moment

The best puzzles include a revelation — a surprising but logical insight that resolves the catch.
This insight often requires thinking outside the box and understanding deeper consequences of the game’s rules.
Examples:
- The Talos Principle: connecting tripods through a door to maintain a beam.
- P B Winterbottom: using looping clones to solve a timing puzzle.
- Snakebird: understanding shape-changing and falling mechanics to avoid hazards.
The revelation should feel natural and satisfying, not like a cheap trick or arbitrary solution.
Poorly designed revelations can feel like obscure tricks, frustrating players.

4. The Assumption: Using Player Expectations

Puzzle designers often exploit common player assumptions to guide them into the catch.
This misdirection encourages players to build a mental model of the puzzle and then forces them to break that assumption to find the solution.
Benefits of using assumptions:
- Prevents players from being overwhelmed initially.
- Provides a starting point for experimentation.
- Ensures players experience failure, which heightens the eventual sense of accomplishment.
- Focuses attention on the core conflict of the puzzle.
Examples:
- Stephen’s Sausage Roll uses assumptions about movement and positioning to mislead players initially.
- Snakebird features an assumption about fruit collection order that leads to a clever solution.

5. Presentation: Clarity and Minimalism

Even the best puzzle ideas can fail if presented poorly.
Good puzzle presentation is minimalist, avoiding extraneous elements that cause confusion or frustration.
Clear feedback and visual cues help players understand the puzzle’s mechanics and current state.
Examples:
- Portal 2 uses lines connecting buttons and doors that change color when powered.
- Rise of the Tomb Raider positions elements to clearly show impossibility, encouraging players to reconsider their approach.
Comparing Portal 2 and The Turing Test shows how layout and design choices affect puzzle difficulty and player experience.

6. The Curve: Gradual Difficulty Progression

Puzzles should be ordered to gradually increase in difficulty, building on previously learned mechanics and insights.
Square Enix Montreal uses four criteria to gauge puzzle difficulty:
1. Number of possible solutions (more solutions = easier).
2. Number of steps required (too many steps = tedious).
3. Number of options available at each step.
4. Familiarity with required mechanics.
Heavy playtesting is essential to balance difficulty and ensure a smooth learning curve.

Methodology / Key Steps to Designing a Good Puzzle

Start with strong, clear mechanics that have interesting limitations.
Create a catch: a logical conflict that initially seems impossible to resolve.
Leverage player assumptions to guide them into the catch and build a mental model.
Design a revelation: a satisfying, logical insight that resolves the catch and expands player understanding.
Present the puzzle clearly and minimally, with visual feedback and cues to avoid confusion.
Arrange puzzles to form a learning curve, increasing difficulty and complexity gradually.
Playtest extensively to refine difficulty, clarity, and player experience.
Be prepared to iterate and cut ruthlessly to maintain focus and quality.

Conclusion

Mark Brown concludes that puzzle design is a complex, demanding craft requiring deep understanding of mechanics, player psychology, and presentation. The best puzzles combine mechanics, catch, assumption, and revelation in a clear and elegant way, creating moments of genuine discovery and satisfaction. While not every puzzle must follow this formula exactly, missing one or more of these elements often results in less engaging or frustrating puzzles.

Speakers and Sources Featured

Mark Brown – Host and narrator, Game Maker’s Toolkit
Stephen Lavelle – Creator of Stephen’s Sausage Roll
Jonathan Blow – Puzzle design philosophy referenced
Alan Hazelden – Indie puzzle maker (interviewed)
Pierre Mongrain and Etienne Jauvin – Developers at Square Enix Montreal (interviewed)
Various unnamed puzzle game developers and patrons who contributed insights