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How to start with designing levels for puzzle games?

Started by February 15, 2020 11:00 PM
2 comments, last by Sinci1 4 years, 9 months ago

Hello there, so I am a kind of a beginner game dev, even though I started making small browser games a few years ago, I only really started getting into game design and actually planning how to design the games I'm making, so I'm still learning about game design.

Well recently I started making a puzzle game, it's a 2D puzzle-"platformer" game where the main gimmick is that there are these platforms that you can control and move around, and they have a few properties like for example they can't collide, so if there's a platform in the way of another one the first platform can't go past it.

So I think the gimmick itself is pretty unique and has a lot of potential, however, for the past week I have been trying to figure out how to design the puzzle levels, I have no idea how to design puzzle levels so that they aren't just “Move here, do that, move there, and you're done” but that they actually get the player to think about how to solve the level and I have nothing, I don't know if there is a system where you can design puzzles which are difficult enough to be interesting but not frustrating, or if everyone is just randomly putting down level elements to make puzzles :p

So yeah, right now I am stuck on this part, and I have no idea where to go from here, I did find a few resources on desiging puzzle levels such as a GDC talk but it seems like said GDC talk is more about some advanced tips or something, although I will get to watching it.

So if you guys have any tips and tricks on how to design puzzle levels that are fun, please let me know! If it's necessary I could provide a mini-demo of the game with a few tutorial levels, although I don't want you guys to design the levels, but rather to hopefully be able to give some tips and tricks that will help me design good puzzle levels!

Thanks in advance :D

P.S: it's kind of late for me so I'm sorry if this message is a bit incoherent, if I didn't explain anything well please let me know!

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Hey! thanks for the feedback! And I really appreciate you taking the time to respond :D
However, I already have the code & collision and stuff like that, I'm making this game in unity so I already have what I need in terms of programming and making the level.
What I meant was more along the lines of designing a level on paper, stuff like tips and tricks to make a fun and engaging puzzle level, design wise, not really technology wise.
But still thanks for those resources, if I ever make a game outside of unity that features collision, that website you posted seems might useful!

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