DownGrader
Member
Recently I started to play Another Code: Two Memories for the DS. It's not the best adventure game out there, but it scratches my 90s point'n'click itch, and the story got me hooked. However, after few hours, I stumbled on something that nearly makes me hate the game with all my passion.
The sliding puzzle.
I understand every element of a puzzle sequence in the game. I have the goal, I remember the object I need to interact with to achieve it, and I need the tool to help me to interact. The problem is, the tool is locked behind the stupid sliding puzzle.
I hate them. I hated them as a plastic toys when I was a kid, I never learned to solve them and I don't understand how they are working. And game developers just keep putting them! Sliding puzzles are generic, break the flow of the game and serve no purpose aside making the games falsely longer. They are not even testing your wits - only the ability of solving sliding puzzles.
If you want to put a brainteaser or self-contained puzzle in the game - that's fine. Professor Layton games are built around self-contained puzzles, and they (both puzzles and games) are awesome! But by putting this generic abomination of a puzzle, you are basically saying "I'm too lazy to think about original and smart challenge for the player, let's just put an 8-puzzle here." Bonus shit points if you want to "make it harder" by randomly mixing the elements every time you try so there is no concrete solution.
There should be a modders' community which goal would be patching out every single mandatory sliding puzzle from every game, I don't care about optional ones (Zelda: The Wind Waker), they are optional for a reason. But no sliding puzzle should stop players from advancing throughout the game.
No other game mechanics an put me in the rage. "Sliding puzzles are a mistake, they are nothing but trash."
EDIT: I need to make clear that I don't hate all sliding puzzles in general, but only those when you need to make a picture or something - 8-puzzles or 15-puzzles.
The sliding puzzle.
I understand every element of a puzzle sequence in the game. I have the goal, I remember the object I need to interact with to achieve it, and I need the tool to help me to interact. The problem is, the tool is locked behind the stupid sliding puzzle.
I hate them. I hated them as a plastic toys when I was a kid, I never learned to solve them and I don't understand how they are working. And game developers just keep putting them! Sliding puzzles are generic, break the flow of the game and serve no purpose aside making the games falsely longer. They are not even testing your wits - only the ability of solving sliding puzzles.
If you want to put a brainteaser or self-contained puzzle in the game - that's fine. Professor Layton games are built around self-contained puzzles, and they (both puzzles and games) are awesome! But by putting this generic abomination of a puzzle, you are basically saying "I'm too lazy to think about original and smart challenge for the player, let's just put an 8-puzzle here." Bonus shit points if you want to "make it harder" by randomly mixing the elements every time you try so there is no concrete solution.
There should be a modders' community which goal would be patching out every single mandatory sliding puzzle from every game, I don't care about optional ones (Zelda: The Wind Waker), they are optional for a reason. But no sliding puzzle should stop players from advancing throughout the game.
No other game mechanics an put me in the rage. "Sliding puzzles are a mistake, they are nothing but trash."
EDIT: I need to make clear that I don't hate all sliding puzzles in general, but only those when you need to make a picture or something - 8-puzzles or 15-puzzles.
