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>> Their puzzles are almost unsolvable in some cases, or can only be solved by combining every permutation of every verb with every noun in every place to get t
by spanktheuser 11y ago
>> Their puzzles are almost unsolvable in some cases, or can only be solved by combining every permutation of every verb with every noun in every place to get the right answer.
That's an interesting reaction. I spent my teenage years playing Infocom games and agree that some of the puzzles were quite difficult. But they always seemed logical and discoverable - the opposite of random. Several friends played as well, and I remember many a study hall spent noodling through solutions to various puzzles. Some took weeks, and the sense of pride we found when cracking something particularly vexing was immense.
I think there is a parallel in modern gaming: difficult raid bosses in MMORPGs. Solving the Babelfish problem in HHGTG = defeating Ragnaros for the first time in vanilla World of Warcraft.
- sixothree 11y agoTry going back and playing these games. I find they are quite difficult to wrap your head around. I played a large number of these games as a youth, including the notoriously hard A Ming Forever Voyaging. And I find I have a hard time enjoying them as an adult. Maybe I need to give it another go. Maybe it's the pace of the puzzles. I know I spent a long time solving individual puzzles in Spell Breaker and it took combined effort with another friend to make it through.
- ghaff 11y agoSurprised that you found AMFV to be notoriously hard. As I recall, it was less puzzle-oriented than most of Infocom's games. It may be my personal favorite precisely because it wasn't so much about working your way through difficult puzzles.