So, I released my first map a few weeks ago, and I'm pretty happy with the overall feedback.
I'm starting work on my next puzzle, but I'm a bit stuck.
Just how do you make a hard puzzle??

Whenever I start thinking of map puzzles/concepts/elements, it always turns out to be do this, then that, then this, then that- really quite obvious for the player to go somewhere and solve the puzzle.

There are a lot of great maps on here that require the person to actually think- and not just solve it by logic. I'd like to make a map like that. So, does anyone have any tips for helping me get around this?

Thanks for reading, and hope you can help me out!

Nacimota wrote:
It involves a certain level of creative thought, so I don't think you can just explain how to make hard puzzles. My only advice is think outside the box; experiment with designs that challenge the player's established ideas of how objects (like funnels, plates, buttons, etc) can be used.

Good reply!

DamnImOnFire wrote:
Just how do you make a hard puzzle??

I'd suggest you to read the following post. It was a reply by MarKiu when another person asked the same you have just asked here. It came up regarding hhis splendid map "Heaven's Gate" (I strongly recommend you to play it if you hanven't already: http://forums.thinking.withportals.com/downloads.php?view=detail&df_id=1629) ...I really liked his reply and and I really appreciated that he had this capability of describing the subject such that good! Seriously:

http://forums.thinking.withportals.com/post67838.html#p67838

Let's see if you can take some advantage of it!

I personally likee mush hard maps... I'm making some challenging puzzles as well for my mappack (I'm trying it not to be sooo hard as I want all kinds of player to have fun though), and I can tell you this: start from an original way of using some element (this is the most important part!), set the number of cubes for example that the player would need, then make them difficult to get! One important point is to play a lot to your own creation and send the maps to ppl: many different ways of solving something should appear; this can make you tweak them even a little bit more for avoiding unintented solutions; also you can think of new ways of doing the same thing but more difficult... or ppl can show you more difficult ways for doing something you thought was easier to do!

...whatever...

Creating a good map/puzzle takes a lot of time, so be patient and playtest your map a hell of a lot.

tips:

reuse elements
don't make the map paradoxical or have the elements enable eachother, thus making the map impossible.
use ledges and fizzlers
don't use conversion gel

hope that was helpful.

josepezdj wrote:
http://forums.thinking.withportals.com/post67838.html#p67838

Let's see if you can take some advantage of it!

Thanks for that post! I certainly shall.

Alrighty, back to the drawing board.