Pass One Of Act 2 Puzzles
Mar 11, 2015
Time for some more puzzle dependency charts. Forget Instagram and Snapchat, it's time to start sharing your puzzle dependency chart with all your friends. It's the thing all the kids are talking about.
Here is a first pass at the puzzles for act 2. There are still some puzzles we haven't figured out, so this will get a little beefier in the next few weeks, but all the core chains are there. There are a couple of puzzles that start in act 1 and don't get finished until act 2, so that's why there are some unconnected nodes.
There are a few more puzzle chains that happen in the factory, so the bubble at the end will get more complex, and still contain a similar feel of parallelism.
This also doesn't include the character specific puzzle chains that only relate to the character stories, since many of those are optional unless you're solving the epilogues.
I'm keeping the puzzle charts for the three acts separate right now, just so they are easier to edit and manage. Once act 3 is designed and charted, I'll move everything into one big chart. It's going to make my head hurt when that happens.
A couple of things came out of this latest brainstorm session.
The first was the length of the three acts. Should act 2 be the longest/biggest, or should that be act 1? It feels like act 2 should be longer than act 1, just for pacing reasons. Right now it feels like act 1 is bigger. That might be misleading due to the character focused puzzle chains not being part of the chart, and they will add playtime during act 2, although it is "optional".
Act 3 should be the shortest. Players will know what they need to do by the end of act 2, so act 3 should be a nice fast paced conclusion, and you don't want it to drag on. Being back on Mêlée Island with LeChuck was the act 3 of Monkey Island.
It's hard to tell the true length just based on puzzle charts, but it's a good indication. We won't know for sure until we start playing it, then we can adjust as needed. Add a puzzle here and there, or snip a few away.
The second thing was realizing that this story is really about the two detectives, Ray and Reyes. They are the main characters. Ransome, Delores and Franklin, although fully playable, are really supporting characters. They have great b-stories, but the game is about the detectives. There are lots of puzzles where you need to be one of the other three characters, but you will probably spend most of the time playing Ray or Reyes. They both have very different motivations and personalities and one isn't more important or more of a lead than the other.
This is a good thing, it feels like it's giving the theme of the story more focus, but still giving players choice and alternate avenues of exportation.
- Ron
Yes, Act 2 should be longer, me thinks.
This is getting reaaaaally interesting. :D
I also think that Act 2 should be the longest.
Act 1 should allow for getting into the game and all the characters quickly.
Act 2 should really be the meat of the game. Puzzling, getting stuck and all that stuff.
Act 3 should be as you said: heading towards the end fast paced
btw: nice to meet you, Ray and Reyes
Every time I replay it, once I reach the last Act I feel unmotivated 'cause it's so easy and short.
Finding so linear and easy always leave me a sense of "void".
I think if the game begins with some mysteries you shouldn't keep the player in the dark about the causes for a long period, because every storyline needs a thrilling framework from the very first (like rescuing Sandy in Maniac Mansion).
People talk about Dark Souls being hard, and I just don't get it. Get off my lawn! You didn't have to play MI2 without a walkthrough! (I spent 3 months on Scabb Island). Dark Souls is no harder than Zelda '86. Just lots of pattern recognition, trial and error, and patience.
Upon reflection, I do think this is a bit of an audience expection or 'theatre of the mind' thing. That is, I don't think it is entirely rational. Monkey Island 2 overall satisfied in length. But the size of Acts I and II just led me to feel like Act III was going to be bigger than it was. So when the game didn't meet that expectation, I felt cheated.
I think the idea of act size being Act II > Act I > Act III sounds right. Act III should feel very singular in purpose. But this doesn't mean there can't be a few multi-step puzzles across a mix of new and old locations all running in parrallel for the player to achive that purpose.
IMHO if Act III is too much smaller than Acts I & II you should expect a decent percentage of players finishing the game feeling irritated. Rational or not that reaction might be.
One of my favorite story techniques is, at the end of Act 2, you make like you're moving into the quick conclusion and then throw in a Clever Plot Twist(tm) and reveal an Act 3 that is similar in length to Act 1. IME there is no greater joy than believing you're coming to the end of a great game only to realize that you still have much more ahead (I'm looking at you FF6).
I think if you divide the plot in three acts it is clear that act 3 is essentially the finale.
In my opinion the length of a conclusion is less important than the elaboration. It must not seem crude or disconnected, but it should be a satisfying reward for the player's achievements and quicken the appetite for a possible sequel. Ideally peppered with some humor.
But act 2 is not less important than act 3 inasmuch as act 2 is the corpus.
I don't think I felt that way about Monkey Island. From what I remember, Act 3 had a definite "showdown" feel to it, so I didn't expect it to last long. But I remember being really disappointed about the end of the original Broken Sword game. I spent an eternity puzzling my way into the catacombs of the Templars. A few quick time events later, the credits were rolling, and I though "wait -- that was it?"
I totally agree. Length is not a problem if the player can feel he's reaching the end. I remember playing MI2 and I KNEW the end was near, and grew impatient as I tried to solve what I thought would have been the last few puzzles. That was a great feeling.
And, you should definitely go out and get Monkey Island 2 Special Edition! You can play it on an iPad, iPhone, PlayStation 3, or on Xbox Live Arcade.
I second, that the second act should be the largest / longest / ... (you name it)
But I also see two "dead ends" in the chart; and idea what willl become of those?
I've noticed in your puzzle dependency charts that it seems like you'll occasionally have redundant dependencies, where a node will connect both directly and indirectly to another node. For example, in the chart used in this post, the node that starts the puzzle chain that includes "Look up phone number in any phone book" connects to the node above "Enter Factory" both directly and indirectly through the puzzle chain. It seems like the direct connection isn't necessary, since that node would need to be completed anyway in order to begin the chain. I'm not trying to be pedantic here, but I'm wondering if there's some significance or meaning in that relationship that I'm missing here.
Anyway, I just recently stumbled upon this blog, and it's been a thrill reading through the archives and getting caught up. I look forward to following along with your progress. Best of luck!
That makes sense then. So it's not just a flowchart of the game's logic (and I know you've said repeatedly it's not a flowchart), but also a modeling of the physical interactions (dare I say it, dependencies) among objects. That makes it a little clearer then.
Thanks!