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It does irk me how brainless puzzles in games have become. Two games that come to mind are Skyrim (where the puzzles you face are basically "rotate these stones

It does irk me how brainless puzzles in games have become. Two games that come to mind are Skyrim (where the puzzles you face are basically "rotate these stones until they match what is shown above them on the wall") and Drake's Fortune (upon encountering a puzzle, the protagonist immediately says "hmm, this looks familiar" and insists you open up your journal where he has been sketching the exact solution between gunfights).

crtasm 6y ago
Designed to ensure everyone can progress while still feeling like they/their character achieved something I guess, but yes certainly a lot of room for improvement. I didn't play much of Skyrim, were there no optional harder puzzles/investigations? Only briefly mentioned in the article, Return of the Obra Dinn is a must play.
- rgovostes 6y ago
  There are a few whodunnit quests (https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Blood_on_the_Ice https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Blood_on_the_Ice or https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Canvas_the_Castle https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Canvas_the_Castle) but they're not exactly difficult.
dllthomas 6y ago
Puzzles in The Outer Wilds were interesting, if you're not too allergic to a few specific bad sci fi tropes.
ramses0 6y ago
https://the-spoiler.com/RPG/Dynamix/betrayal.at.krondor.1.html https://the-spoiler.com/RPG/Dynamix/betrayal.at.krondor.1.ht... Buckets, barrels, baskets, cans; What must you fill with empty hands? ...not I18N-able, requires some thought, but really satisfying when you can get the answer.
- jtsiskin 6y ago
  I would have guessed “gloves”, but that’s i18n-able
  - rgovostes 6y ago
    The particular cadence and a near-rhyme of the riddle are hard to translate. An expression like "empty hands" may not work. You could get a confusing literal translation, or an uninteresting question stripped of its poetic quality.
    - dllthomas 6y ago
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Ton_beau_de_Marot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Ton_beau_de_Marot

crtasm 6y ago

Designed to ensure everyone can progress while still feeling like they/their character achieved something I guess, but yes certainly a lot of room for improvement. I didn't play much of Skyrim, were there no optional harder puzzles/investigations? Only briefly mentioned in the article, Return of the Obra Dinn is a must play.

rgovostes 6y ago
There are a few whodunnit quests (https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Blood_on_the_Ice https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Blood_on_the_Ice or https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Canvas_the_Castle https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Canvas_the_Castle) but they're not exactly difficult.

dllthomas 6y ago

Puzzles in The Outer Wilds were interesting, if you're not too allergic to a few specific bad sci fi tropes.

ramses0 6y ago

https://the-spoiler.com/RPG/Dynamix/betrayal.at.krondor.1.html https://the-spoiler.com/RPG/Dynamix/betrayal.at.krondor.1.ht... Buckets, barrels, baskets, cans; What must you fill with empty hands? ...not I18N-able, requires some thought, but really satisfying when you can get the answer.

jtsiskin 6y ago
I would have guessed “gloves”, but that’s i18n-able
- rgovostes 6y ago
  The particular cadence and a near-rhyme of the riddle are hard to translate. An expression like "empty hands" may not work. You could get a confusing literal translation, or an uninteresting question stripped of its poetic quality.
  - dllthomas 6y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Ton_beau_de_Marot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Ton_beau_de_Marot