Post by LiminalDirectory in Undo Protocol jam comments

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As a developer who also submitted a sokoban puzzle game I just want to say how impressed I am. Your system is extremely novel and unique, and truly lead to some innovative and fun puzzles. I cannot stress this enough, this is a phenomenal game \( ^o^)/
however...

SPOILERS BELOW, DON'T READ ON IF YOU PLAN TO PLAY THE GAME YOURSELF
My only suggestion is in regards to level design. In level 7 for example, there's a lot of open space, two boxes, and a door. The solution I found is to have the two boxes collide against each other so neither is able to undo. This solution isn't explicitly taught in any of the other levels, which is unfortunate because it's a very cool mechanic that stems from the rules of the game, but I stumbled across it completely by accident. Seeing such a wide open space, I had assumed the solution would be similar to the solution of level 3, which was a false assumption brought on by the ambiguous level design. Which brings me back to the suggestion I was going to make: creating a puzzle with less space can make it easier for the player to see when they are doing something wrong. For a really good example of a sokoban game and puzzle design you can look at Patrick's Parabox (the game I drew inspiration from while making my entry for the jam). In Patrick's Parabox, mechanics and strategies are first introduced in smaller "training-wheels" levels, then the levels get larger and the puzzles stem from the player trying to figure out how to apply the mechanics they just learned.

That's just my idea on the topic, but if your puzzle design philosophy is different than mine, I completely understand. In the case that I'm just one person who struggled where no one else did, then I apologize for making you read all that. To reiterate one final time: your game is super duper awesome, I'm not trying to hate or anything, just trying to give some puzzle design advice :)

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ChippyKing9 hours ago

Thank you so much for the kind words!
Thank you also for how insightful your comment has been.

SPOILERS BELOW
The solution that i had intended to design was in fact the solution that you found. Sadly, this solution was not obvious, for the reason that you have mentioned. I suppose there were really two factors as to why it was left in the condition it was. The first was predominantly the time constraint, as that level was infact made a few hours before the jams eventual conclusion. The second was that i postponed changing the level due to conern that I would deliberately force the player into an unclear and unexplained solution. I also feared that the game's difficulty would become too great and my inability to create a smooth transition into what is, a trickier puzzle would only bring annoyance. As a solo dev, I had no playtesters, which left me second guessing the correct difficulty to leave the game in. For that reason, I left the level in a potentially incomplete state, whilst trying to think of a way to show the player they could trap boxes in the way you described. In short, I completely agree with all the points you made, and hope this has shed a little more clarity into the fact that leaving the level in that state was not a deliberate choice.

Your comment is the first to point this out, so congratulations for finding the rather hidden solution, and finishing the game. It means a lot to see someone finish your game, and have such kind words to say about it.

Finally, i want to thank you for sharing your philosophy. I will look into Patrick's Parabox. I am rather new to puzzle design, having mainly been a puzzle enjoyer rather than a designer, so these resources / case studies will greatly help.

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