On a whim, I fired up Braid today for the first time in many months. I had never been able to beat the game, and I am trying by bestest to never have to resort to YouTube to find solutions to the puzzles. Unfortuately, there was no save file left on my Xbox (weak) so I got to experience the whole game for the first time all over again.
Braid is beautiful.
It is a masterpiece of aesthetics, and music, and interesting, simple, clever gameplay. The story is told in snippets of books between levels, and the wording is such that it evokes an incredible emotional response in just a few lines of text. You connect with the hero, Tim, even though he doesn't say a single word. The game is only a few hours long, but there are so many "A-ha!" moments when you solve a puzzle all by yourself after 30 minutes of struggling. You actually feel proud of yourself for outsmarting this simple, sophisticated game - no - this experience.
On my first playthrough, there were always a few puzzle pieces I could never seem to reach. This second time, I felt much more self-assured. I already understood the mechanics of the game; I just needed to master it, to complete it. This time, I got closer. I completed level 4 and earned a nice, shiny, new achievement. But there are still a few puzzle pieces left... I am still stumped. I can't earn the beautiful Ico-esque ending I've read about in so many magazines, and heard about all over the Internet. I want so badly to know what happens myself, without reading spoilers, and without having to resort to finding solutions to the game on the Internet. Will this be another of life's great mysteries? Or will my searching mind stumble upon a solution in my sleep? I hope the latter. Maybe I just need to take a break from it for a few months again... but I can't. I'm hooked in its beautiful claws, and I don't want to be free again until I learn the truth.
Showing posts with label puzzle games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label puzzle games. Show all posts
Monday, June 8, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Puzzle Quest - The Hidden Addiction
When Puzzle Quest came out on DS, PSP, PC, Wii, PS2, PSN, and XBLA, I picked it up for $20. Yeah, it looked to be basically a Bejeweled clone, but it was a Bejeweled clone in which you could level up and cast spells and slay goblins! Awesome. I would play it on the toilet, where nobody would bother me, and I would often sit there until my legs fell asleep. "Just one more game," I would say to myself, "I wouldn't be able to stand up right now anyway, my feet are numb." Within days, I had already reached the last boss. It is not a short game. I was addicted. To a puzzle game. To a DS game! No way! But when I completed it, I put it away. Because it had an end point to the storyline, there was a time when it was eventually over. This is unlike other Tetris, or Lumines, or other puzzlers you can play ad nauseum. Does that hurt it as a brilliant game? I don't know...
When the year was up and I was looking over various Game of the Year awards in magazines and on the Internet, Puzzle Quest kept popping up as a final contender. I had played it (a lot) and yet had never considered it one of the greatest games of the year. This was pretty weird, because I don't want to play a bad game, no one does. Yet even though I sunk more time into it than just about any other game that year besides Oblivion, I discounted it subconsciously because of its simplicity and "casual" nature. A simple puzzle game can't be Game of the Year! But what makes Game of the Year? Is it addictiveness, a willingness to play it over all other games of its time? Because Puzzle Quest ensnared me completely, even with a simple, cliched fantasy plot and colorful yet unimpressive graphics that did their job and little else. Also, the music was just awful, and the loop was far too short for the amount of time an average person could sink into it. But I loved it. And I am hereby declaring it one of my favorite games of all time. Maybe Puzzle Kingdoms is good too...?
When the year was up and I was looking over various Game of the Year awards in magazines and on the Internet, Puzzle Quest kept popping up as a final contender. I had played it (a lot) and yet had never considered it one of the greatest games of the year. This was pretty weird, because I don't want to play a bad game, no one does. Yet even though I sunk more time into it than just about any other game that year besides Oblivion, I discounted it subconsciously because of its simplicity and "casual" nature. A simple puzzle game can't be Game of the Year! But what makes Game of the Year? Is it addictiveness, a willingness to play it over all other games of its time? Because Puzzle Quest ensnared me completely, even with a simple, cliched fantasy plot and colorful yet unimpressive graphics that did their job and little else. Also, the music was just awful, and the loop was far too short for the amount of time an average person could sink into it. But I loved it. And I am hereby declaring it one of my favorite games of all time. Maybe Puzzle Kingdoms is good too...?
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Part IX - What makes puzzle games so great?
Two things: accessibility and addictiveness.
Puzzle games, by there very nature, are simple. They have simple mechanics and a simple goal to work toward, even if that goal is "get as many points as you can." Some require fast reflexes, some require lateral thinking, and some require just a lot of practice and a little luck.
Anyone can enjoy Tetris. It's a classic for a reason, and it still tops many "Greatest Games of All Time" lists. It has catchy music, simple, tight mechanics, and there is no end point, giving it unlimited replayability. It brought handheld gaming to the public in a huge way because you could be an adult and not feel bad about being seen with it on the bus or subway. Kids loved Tetris, grandparents loved Tetris, hey, even girls loved Tetris. Imagine that. Girls. Today, 30-45 year-old moms send their kids to school then play a quick game of Bejeweled while they check their e-mail. Casual puzzle games are still video games, and they are basically the sole reason gen-x moms can be considered gamers. If mom can do, anyone can do it!
The other puzzle factor is addictiveness. All the best puzzle games have that "just one more match" quality. You feel like you can do better this time - all you needed was a blue block! - and pretty soon you realize it's 5 in the morning and you have to be up at 8 for work. RPG's keep track of how much life you've wasted in their fictional worlds. Puzzle games are sneakier... the developers know that when you're in the zone and every color matches just right or every piece falls perfectly into place, you don't notice how quickly your life is ripped away. Imagine how much time is wasted on Guitar Hero at four minutes a song. It adds up quick. Puzzle games are the same way.
But I wouldn't want to play a game that didn't give me a reason to come back for more. Puzzle games are eternal. Since the graphics are generally so simple, the bright colors hold up just as well in 2009 as they did in 1985. It's not Call of Duty. It's Tetris, or Puzzle Fighter, or Pokemon Puzzle League/Tetris Attack, or (my favorite bathroom time waster) Puzzle Quest. These games are eternal. How many games can say that? Very few. How many genres can claim that? Just one.
Puzzle games, by there very nature, are simple. They have simple mechanics and a simple goal to work toward, even if that goal is "get as many points as you can." Some require fast reflexes, some require lateral thinking, and some require just a lot of practice and a little luck.
Anyone can enjoy Tetris. It's a classic for a reason, and it still tops many "Greatest Games of All Time" lists. It has catchy music, simple, tight mechanics, and there is no end point, giving it unlimited replayability. It brought handheld gaming to the public in a huge way because you could be an adult and not feel bad about being seen with it on the bus or subway. Kids loved Tetris, grandparents loved Tetris, hey, even girls loved Tetris. Imagine that. Girls. Today, 30-45 year-old moms send their kids to school then play a quick game of Bejeweled while they check their e-mail. Casual puzzle games are still video games, and they are basically the sole reason gen-x moms can be considered gamers. If mom can do, anyone can do it!
The other puzzle factor is addictiveness. All the best puzzle games have that "just one more match" quality. You feel like you can do better this time - all you needed was a blue block! - and pretty soon you realize it's 5 in the morning and you have to be up at 8 for work. RPG's keep track of how much life you've wasted in their fictional worlds. Puzzle games are sneakier... the developers know that when you're in the zone and every color matches just right or every piece falls perfectly into place, you don't notice how quickly your life is ripped away. Imagine how much time is wasted on Guitar Hero at four minutes a song. It adds up quick. Puzzle games are the same way.
But I wouldn't want to play a game that didn't give me a reason to come back for more. Puzzle games are eternal. Since the graphics are generally so simple, the bright colors hold up just as well in 2009 as they did in 1985. It's not Call of Duty. It's Tetris, or Puzzle Fighter, or Pokemon Puzzle League/Tetris Attack, or (my favorite bathroom time waster) Puzzle Quest. These games are eternal. How many games can say that? Very few. How many genres can claim that? Just one.
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