Puzzle Games. Grr!

[JuniorJr]

The most agrivating kinds of games are the ones that make you think. The point of a game is to have fun, and relax, and it isn't relaxing when your throwing your controller against you television. I got a game called Zack and Wiki for Christmas, and I swear if I find the people who made this game, I don't know what I'd do. You transform animals into items by ringing your magical yellow money. I don't know how they came up with that, but then once you get the items you have to go through a long tutorial on how to use it. Then once (and if) you beat the level a screen comes up and says "items collected" What's the point of that? You never use them again, and you only get about 2 per level. And I'm trying to beat the game, but it's impossible to see how long that could take, if I even have the means to finish it. That games all about thinking, or death. Anything, you name it. Planes falling on you, spikey pits of death, giant boulders, or getting eaten by cannibals. And those are the first 4 levels! The game never gets any harder, because it seems to start you out at the hardest difficulty from level 1. I don't know these games just make me want to scream!

 

[black lincon]

A few things; Zach and Wiki is not a puzzle game, it's an adventure game.

All games require strategic thought on some level, even Halo is a mental exercise on some level.

If you can't play puzzle games well don't complain about them just don't play them.

 

[TaborMallory]

This reminds me of a little kid in a video game store. The little kid was wailing on the puzzle games, saying they were nothing compared to any shoot-em-up. The cashier got fed up with the kid and started reading from an article on Wikipedia.

"A puzzle is a problem or enigma that challenges ingenuity. In a basic puzzle one is intended to piece together objects (puzzle pieces) in a logical way in order to come up with the desired shape, picture or solution. Puzzles are often contrived as a form of entertainment, but they can also stem from serious mathematical or logistical problems ? in such cases, their successful resolution can be a significant contribution to mathematical research."

The kid got pissed and left.

 

[JuniorJr]

Yes, and adventure game that pissed me off half way to sunday!

 

[HydraZulu]

I guess it's just not the right type of game for you. I somewhat agree with the opinion you have on puzzle games, but there are quite a few that do them right, and when they do, it adds to the gameplay in interesting ways, instead of just being another bothersome obstacle. Portal comes to mind. I beat that within a few hours of getting it, yet i still play it. Mostly it's to complete the challenge courses, i admit, but about 90% of the game is puzzles, and it's still tons of fun.

On a separate note, I can't point out bad formatting and pacing in a post without sounding like a hypocrite, so I'll just let you know to check your spelling.

 

[black lincon]

Yes, and adventure game that pissed me off half way to sunday!

So you denounce an entire genre of entertainment based on one bad experience?

 

[Xojins]

Uhh, Valve ran over your dog?

 

[JuniorJr]

absolutely, that's the kind of guy I am. If I get attacked by a giant badger I'm not going to go pet one at a zoo anymore, unless it's wearing a muzzle

 

[fallen1]

Portal comes to mind. I beat that within a few hours of getting it, yet i still play it. Mostly it's to complete the challenge courses, i admit, but about 90% of the game is puzzles, and it's still tons of fun.

I will have to agree and say that Portal is one of the few games that not only did it right, but made a game that was 100% amazing. It may be short, but there is just some many fun moments that sometimes you just want to load the game up and screw around. A game though that just throws a puzzle in for no reason and makes it an obstacle will never be fun. I hate some games like Devil May Cry 4 (and maybe the series as a whole) because the whole game is about puzzles, but I just think there was so much more they could have done with it.

 

[black lincon]

absolutely, that's the kind of guy I am. If I get attacked by a giant badger I'm not going to go pet one at a zoo anymore, unless it's wearing a muzzle

Where pray tell can I find a giant badger? But more on topic, you probably shouldn't do that, if I judged all RPG's assuming that they were going to the same as Mass Effect I wouldn't touch another RPG, however to my knowledge Zack and Wiki is a better adventure game meaning if you didn't like that you might actually not like adventure games, I would however suggest trying little flash puzzle games, even better are some of the puzzle games on the itouch/iphone if you have one.

trust me, try other games of the same type, every genre has its gems and it's piles of crap. your likes are going to affect the ways you view some of the borderline games but when you play a gem you can tell it shines in the light.

P.S. If you want to respond to people without them checking and assuming or using; @user, there's a button on the bottom right of every post that allows you to copy the statement on your own post you'll figure out little things like that and ways to manipulate them over time but I thought I'd give you a little heads up on that feature.

 

[Novajam]

Puzzles get done is so many different ways in games, and so often they're either too easy, or require a strategy guide.

The only game I can think of that has done puzzles very well is Portal. The game places a strong emphasis on only a handful of basic techniques, however the are strong connotations between objects like cubes and buttons or connectors and pellets. The design of each chamber kept them fresh and fun, and made you think strategically about what sort of order you'll have to do things.

Okami has the Celestial Brush mechanic, which was great fun, and has the same connotations between brush techniques and world objects, but it's problems was that little jerk Issun piping up every two seconds to tell you what to do. Believe it or not, after 10 hours of playing, I know how to revive a guardian sapling; I don't need reminding. The game often pulled you around much in the same way a small child would their mother, stopping every so often to say "Draw this!" and you'd begrudgingly do it, 'cause you aren't going anywhere until you do.

The only other proper example I can think of is Mass Effect. Once in each major mission you'd have to stop and solve some silly puzzle. It was usually something really flat, like addition and subtraction. Better than another fetch quest though, I guess.

 

[geldonyetich]

Puzzle Games, Arr! [http://www.puzzlepirates.com/]

Anywho, yeah, some of the puzzles in Zack and Wiki require very much nonsensical solutions along with a cumbersome control system that may cause you to wander into death you saw coming quite awhile away.

But they're so cute.

 

[Lukeje]

Just use a guide. It'll help you get into the way of thinking that is required to play the game.
While it is bad form to denounce an entire genre because of one bad experience, I sympathise that point 'n' click games are not the easiest genre of games to get into. For a simpler introduction, I would recommend Professor Layton (much more of a puzzle game than Zack and Wiki) or the Strongbad games available from Telltale Games.