Adventure Design Patterns: Part One
I propose to read another article from Dan Schuler's blog about patterns that can be used in the development of adventure games. At one time, I came up with the idea of classifying riddles , but I only did a small review, and not a lengthy article. Naturally, I was surprised and pleased that the topic was raised by someone. Below is a description of the patterns themselves, the next post will be more detailed examples of their use, and this one has decided not to include them, due to too extensive translation. I also added a few explanatory illustrations and a few comments from myself.
“What we call chaos is just patterns that we have not been able to recognize. What we call accidents is just patterns that we cannot decipher. ”
- Chuck Palahniuk
How about an abstract approach to developing adventure? Or, at least, for riddles in adventure games - this can be useful!
The general idea of ​​the template, to which the riddles in adventure follow, can be formulated as follows: "The object or task that must be obtained or achieved." For example, to become a master ninja, save the world, save the princesses, get a hat next to the guy standing ...
')
The object or task is (usually) not reachable momentarily.
When you try to solve a problem or get the desired subject, it is explained why it is impossible to do it now: a ninja teacher lives in Japan, and you are in America; it is not known who bought nuclear weapons; in front of the tower, where the girl is imprisoned, a tall forest grows; the guy with the hat has a huge dog ...
A task or object can be divided into subtasks or sub-objects, and the final level of such a partition is a puzzle. My interest in the riddles is that they allow you to make the game more voluminous and exciting.
The most simple representation of the puzzle is as follows:
Problem -> Solution
Most of my examples are taken from the first part of Monkey Island. So, you have not played this game yet, then beware of spoilers. (I remind you that the game both parts of the classic game, as well as Broken Sword 1 and 2, recently appeared redrawn in the App Store: the first and the second . I highly recommend!)
Problem: You can not go to the kitchen, because the cook does not constantly let you.
Solution: Wait until the cook serves the pirates, and enter the kitchen.
We just want to get a rough, crude idea of ​​what we are going to formalize.
Problem: Guardian
Solution: Temporary
You can easily come up with several tasks that will fit the above scheme, which is why I think it's a good enough idea to try to isolate patterns. We can specify a formalized solution and clarify what is actually protected:
Problem: Guardian (locations)
Solution: Temporary
A temporary solution means that you have to do something in a given period of time — perhaps at night, or on Tuesday, or when someone is scattered. Next, we look at the types of problems and solutions that I have identified, and there will be a large list of examples for dessert.
Problems, of course, may go a little beyond the framework described.
There is something preventing you from performing the necessary actions. This something can be an obstacle to the location, it can be a protected thing, or not a game character (NPC).
A typical example is a troll guarding a bridge.
Unusual example: Bad breath from an NPC - and you don’t want to talk to him because of bad breath
per. Broken Sword 2: it is necessary to neutralize the dog before moving on
Your character wants something or he needs something, but he cannot directly get what he needs. It may be knowledge, money, training, ...
A typical example: a sword costs 300 gold coins.
For subsequent actions, the character requires a specific thing. This may be a password, belonging to a specific group, the need to wear certain clothes, ...
A typical example is a closed door that requires a key.
The item you need disappears before you can use it. For example, you need a golden key in the market of thieves - but it is constantly stolen when you come to the door or you need to transfer acid, but it constantly dissolves the container.
A typical example: ice melting in your pocket.
This is a situation that a player may not guess, potentially it is a very difficult task. For example, it may be the subject, direction or NPC, which is necessary for the player, but somewhere hidden. A file in a pie, a forest hut on the branches of a tree, a secret passage, a long-lost master who needs to have knowledge ... You may need a microscope, a telescope or something else that will help you to see hidden objects, or you just need to guess about the presence of a hidden thing / path .
A typical example is a file in a pie.
You can see, smell, hear, see evidence or rumors about something, but you cannot physically get it. This pattern correlates well with “something required.” The item may be too high or you cannot physically touch it. Suppose it is a mouse or a parachute on a tree, or a treasure chest under water, a monkey with a gold ring, an abandoned city, an island, a moon.
A typical example: a box on the top shelf that you cannot reach. The legendary golden city, the way to which you are not known.
Your character is trapped and you need to free him, for example, locked in a room, with cemented legs and drowning in water, I think you can easily come up with variations on this theme.
A typical example: thrown into prison.
If you stay where you are now and do nothing, you will die (or something terrible will happen to you). Suppose you are under water and will soon suffocate, got into a mess with a gang of bikers, the police are chasing you, an evil alien in front of you, the ground is cracking under the character, the bomb is about to explode ...
A typical example: a broken sword is an encounter with an assassin (the lane means the first Broken Sword, where you need to make a quick decision, there is also a similar situation in the second part, where you need to quickly slip away from Guido and Persov / Flap) , monkey island is a sinking Guybrush (trans. the first part of the series, Guybrush was thrown off the pier with cemented legs) .
per. Guybrush under the water! We urgently need to do something!
A problem may have more than one solution or you need to put together several pieces together.
The subject can be understood in a new light. For example, a pan can become a helmet, a bat can act as a boomerang. A thing can play the role of what you can yourself imagine or become what a character could imagine independently, having a certain set of knowledge and skills. The approximate sequence of actions should look like this: you need to look at the bat, then the character can say something like “Hey, but she’s something like a boomerang,” then the name of the item on the mysherang will obviously change and you can use the item as a boomerang.
A typical example: water as a mirror, a paper knife like a master key.
You need to combine, usually, two items from your inventory in order to get a more useful item. From poison and meat you can get "poisoned meat", from a piece of hair and glue - an imitation of burnt hair, gold paint and a toy badge - the police badge ...
A typical example: Poison and meat are “poisoned meat.”
In general, this solution can not be used, but when you add it pastime can be a little more fun. How to make a proposal to the tribe of the hills? How should each machine be adjusted or aligned with the others? What is the order of the three levers to be pressed? How to build a line of conversation?
A typical example: pull the three levers in the correct order to open the door.
The direct use of the object on some other object, the use of things for its specific purpose. Apply the key to the door, give the fish to the hungry troll, transfer the money to the seller of the goods.
A typical example: Give money to the seller in general for the goods.
This solution is very close to the “obvious use of the object,” but here we specify objects that can change to another state. For example, break a glass to get a cutting surface, burn firewood to get charcoal, cook raw rat meat, open the box and see what's inside ...
A typical example: eat a cake for a file. Open and inspect the handbag.
Attention, this solution can be really extremely difficult! It implies that a character must take a certain action at a certain time - go to the kitchen when the cook is not at the door, sacrifice the virgin at the full moon, spit when the wind blows in your face, throw a bomb when the gas escapes ... In all the rest of the situation a similar action will have no effect.
A typical example: to enter a room when the owners are absent or rendered harmless.
per. The famous riddle with a goat
This is a fairly general understanding - you can see how the NPC pronounce the password, then you follow his example by uttering a similar code word. For example, also, you can notice how he enters some combination and use it further or physically follow him, seeing how he is going somewhere.
A typical example: follow an NPC to a secret location, such as a treasure chest.
Do the same thing more than once. At the first repetition, the action may not have an effect, but you can succeed by repeating it more than once. For example, a knock on a wooden door may lead to nothing when you first try, and when you repeat, you can already open the door. You can ask the NPC about something twice, in order to show your interest in the subject of conversation. Such solutions can be quite complex.
A typical example is to break something, break a glass after several blows of a hammer, knock down a tree with a saw.
Such a decision may be more difficult than a “temporary” one. The action can succeed only if the character is in a certain place. For example, hiding from a patrol, being in the shadows, knocks an apple, being on a hill, stands behind a man, pushing him into the quarry ...
Typical example: hide in the shadows.
The concept is different from the obvious use of the subject. With the usual use of the thing you throw, wait and cut the fish. With the bait, we just throw the bait, as the fish itself grabs it and jumps to you on the hook. In fact, you are "luring" the river. The bait allows you to indirectly solve the problem - we are trying to use the bait in order for something to interact with it, in the hope that it will help solve the problem. For example, throw a mad chipmunk in a cook, so you can pull off his work clothes, put cheese in a mousetrap, put a charming beauty near the road to divert the attention of the bouncer.
Typical example: cheese in a mousetrap to catch a mouse.
The solution requires knowledge of some aspects of the real world. Of course, this solution includes almost any puzzle, but I want to highlight exactly those situations where it is really critical. For example, it may be important in the preparation of a chemical compound lane. for example, in Kyandia 2: the hand of fate . Also, there may be riddles where it is necessary to use a magnet to move metal objects, to know that a strong magnet will help erase the video cassette, that salt frightens off evil ...
If the required knowledge is not too trivial or complex, then it can make the game too complicated.
A typical example: A balloon is usually filled with helium, which is lighter than air, which in turn can help you change your voice.
“What we call chaos is just patterns that we have not been able to recognize. What we call accidents is just patterns that we cannot decipher. ”
- Chuck Palahniuk
How about an abstract approach to developing adventure? Or, at least, for riddles in adventure games - this can be useful!
The general idea of ​​the template, to which the riddles in adventure follow, can be formulated as follows: "The object or task that must be obtained or achieved." For example, to become a master ninja, save the world, save the princesses, get a hat next to the guy standing ...
')
The object or task is (usually) not reachable momentarily.
When you try to solve a problem or get the desired subject, it is explained why it is impossible to do it now: a ninja teacher lives in Japan, and you are in America; it is not known who bought nuclear weapons; in front of the tower, where the girl is imprisoned, a tall forest grows; the guy with the hat has a huge dog ...
A task or object can be divided into subtasks or sub-objects, and the final level of such a partition is a puzzle. My interest in the riddles is that they allow you to make the game more voluminous and exciting.
Riddles
The most simple representation of the puzzle is as follows:
Problem -> Solution
Most of my examples are taken from the first part of Monkey Island. So, you have not played this game yet, then beware of spoilers. (I remind you that the game both parts of the classic game, as well as Broken Sword 1 and 2, recently appeared redrawn in the App Store: the first and the second . I highly recommend!)
Problem: You can not go to the kitchen, because the cook does not constantly let you.
Solution: Wait until the cook serves the pirates, and enter the kitchen.
We just want to get a rough, crude idea of ​​what we are going to formalize.
Problem: Guardian
Solution: Temporary
You can easily come up with several tasks that will fit the above scheme, which is why I think it's a good enough idea to try to isolate patterns. We can specify a formalized solution and clarify what is actually protected:
Problem: Guardian (locations)
Solution: Temporary
A temporary solution means that you have to do something in a given period of time — perhaps at night, or on Tuesday, or when someone is scattered. Next, we look at the types of problems and solutions that I have identified, and there will be a large list of examples for dessert.
Problems
Problems, of course, may go a little beyond the framework described.
Guardian
There is something preventing you from performing the necessary actions. This something can be an obstacle to the location, it can be a protected thing, or not a game character (NPC).
A typical example is a troll guarding a bridge.
Unusual example: Bad breath from an NPC - and you don’t want to talk to him because of bad breath
per. Broken Sword 2: it is necessary to neutralize the dog before moving on
Something is required (Want FOO)
Your character wants something or he needs something, but he cannot directly get what he needs. It may be knowledge, money, training, ...
A typical example: a sword costs 300 gold coins.
Need a key (Key Request)
For subsequent actions, the character requires a specific thing. This may be a password, belonging to a specific group, the need to wear certain clothes, ...
A typical example is a closed door that requires a key.
Temporal Item
The item you need disappears before you can use it. For example, you need a golden key in the market of thieves - but it is constantly stolen when you come to the door or you need to transfer acid, but it constantly dissolves the container.
A typical example: ice melting in your pocket.
Something Hidden (Hidden FOO)
This is a situation that a player may not guess, potentially it is a very difficult task. For example, it may be the subject, direction or NPC, which is necessary for the player, but somewhere hidden. A file in a pie, a forest hut on the branches of a tree, a secret passage, a long-lost master who needs to have knowledge ... You may need a microscope, a telescope or something else that will help you to see hidden objects, or you just need to guess about the presence of a hidden thing / path .
A typical example is a file in a pie.
Something is not achievable (FOO out of reach)
You can see, smell, hear, see evidence or rumors about something, but you cannot physically get it. This pattern correlates well with “something required.” The item may be too high or you cannot physically touch it. Suppose it is a mouse or a parachute on a tree, or a treasure chest under water, a monkey with a gold ring, an abandoned city, an island, a moon.
A typical example: a box on the top shelf that you cannot reach. The legendary golden city, the way to which you are not known.
Trapped
Your character is trapped and you need to free him, for example, locked in a room, with cemented legs and drowning in water, I think you can easily come up with variations on this theme.
A typical example: thrown into prison.
Approaching Danger
If you stay where you are now and do nothing, you will die (or something terrible will happen to you). Suppose you are under water and will soon suffocate, got into a mess with a gang of bikers, the police are chasing you, an evil alien in front of you, the ground is cracking under the character, the bomb is about to explode ...
A typical example: a broken sword is an encounter with an assassin (the lane means the first Broken Sword, where you need to make a quick decision, there is also a similar situation in the second part, where you need to quickly slip away from Guido and Persov / Flap) , monkey island is a sinking Guybrush (trans. the first part of the series, Guybrush was thrown off the pier with cemented legs) .
per. Guybrush under the water! We urgently need to do something!
Solutions
A problem may have more than one solution or you need to put together several pieces together.
New Item Application (New Item Perception)
The subject can be understood in a new light. For example, a pan can become a helmet, a bat can act as a boomerang. A thing can play the role of what you can yourself imagine or become what a character could imagine independently, having a certain set of knowledge and skills. The approximate sequence of actions should look like this: you need to look at the bat, then the character can say something like “Hey, but she’s something like a boomerang,” then the name of the item on the mysherang will obviously change and you can use the item as a boomerang.
A typical example: water as a mirror, a paper knife like a master key.
Combine Items
You need to combine, usually, two items from your inventory in order to get a more useful item. From poison and meat you can get "poisoned meat", from a piece of hair and glue - an imitation of burnt hair, gold paint and a toy badge - the police badge ...
A typical example: Poison and meat are “poisoned meat.”
Method tyke (Trial and Error)
In general, this solution can not be used, but when you add it pastime can be a little more fun. How to make a proposal to the tribe of the hills? How should each machine be adjusted or aligned with the others? What is the order of the three levers to be pressed? How to build a line of conversation?
A typical example: pull the three levers in the correct order to open the door.
Obvious Item Use
The direct use of the object on some other object, the use of things for its specific purpose. Apply the key to the door, give the fish to the hungry troll, transfer the money to the seller of the goods.
A typical example: Give money to the seller in general for the goods.
Change Item State
This solution is very close to the “obvious use of the object,” but here we specify objects that can change to another state. For example, break a glass to get a cutting surface, burn firewood to get charcoal, cook raw rat meat, open the box and see what's inside ...
A typical example: eat a cake for a file. Open and inspect the handbag.
Temporal (Temporal)
Attention, this solution can be really extremely difficult! It implies that a character must take a certain action at a certain time - go to the kitchen when the cook is not at the door, sacrifice the virgin at the full moon, spit when the wind blows in your face, throw a bomb when the gas escapes ... In all the rest of the situation a similar action will have no effect.
A typical example: to enter a room when the owners are absent or rendered harmless.
per. The famous riddle with a goat
Monkey see, monkey do (Monkey See Monkey Do)
This is a fairly general understanding - you can see how the NPC pronounce the password, then you follow his example by uttering a similar code word. For example, also, you can notice how he enters some combination and use it further or physically follow him, seeing how he is going somewhere.
A typical example: follow an NPC to a secret location, such as a treasure chest.
Repitition
Do the same thing more than once. At the first repetition, the action may not have an effect, but you can succeed by repeating it more than once. For example, a knock on a wooden door may lead to nothing when you first try, and when you repeat, you can already open the door. You can ask the NPC about something twice, in order to show your interest in the subject of conversation. Such solutions can be quite complex.
A typical example is to break something, break a glass after several blows of a hammer, knock down a tree with a saw.
Spatial
Such a decision may be more difficult than a “temporary” one. The action can succeed only if the character is in a certain place. For example, hiding from a patrol, being in the shadows, knocks an apple, being on a hill, stands behind a man, pushing him into the quarry ...
Typical example: hide in the shadows.
Bait (Bait Item Use)
The concept is different from the obvious use of the subject. With the usual use of the thing you throw, wait and cut the fish. With the bait, we just throw the bait, as the fish itself grabs it and jumps to you on the hook. In fact, you are "luring" the river. The bait allows you to indirectly solve the problem - we are trying to use the bait in order for something to interact with it, in the hope that it will help solve the problem. For example, throw a mad chipmunk in a cook, so you can pull off his work clothes, put cheese in a mousetrap, put a charming beauty near the road to divert the attention of the bouncer.
Typical example: cheese in a mousetrap to catch a mouse.
Real World Knowledge
The solution requires knowledge of some aspects of the real world. Of course, this solution includes almost any puzzle, but I want to highlight exactly those situations where it is really critical. For example, it may be important in the preparation of a chemical compound lane. for example, in Kyandia 2: the hand of fate . Also, there may be riddles where it is necessary to use a magnet to move metal objects, to know that a strong magnet will help erase the video cassette, that salt frightens off evil ...
If the required knowledge is not too trivial or complex, then it can make the game too complicated.
A typical example: A balloon is usually filled with helium, which is lighter than air, which in turn can help you change your voice.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/154729/
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