Balance in puzzle and adventure games

The two games that where looked at in the last to posts are what you would call balanced. But why and what defines these genres balance?

Well an important thing for these games to be balanced is that the puzzles can be completed without the player already having to know the answer, otherwise the player would hit a brick wall and be unable to proceed. This includes if a puzzle is just straight up incompletable.

The next area goes for most games overall. In that the rules are set in stone, meaning that how the mechanics of the game won’t change rapidly while you’re trying to play. Keeping the game play fair throughout.

The level design for these games also have an impact on the balance of the game. if we look back at our adventure game, within the level there will be items and things to do, if the level design was poor then the player would be unable navigate the level, meaning that they would be unable require the items needed and in-turn unable to solve the puzzles to proceed.

With the last puzzle game, we looked at, the level itself played a huge roll in solving some of the puzzles. Now these puzzles that synchronize up with the world around the player necessary needed as they could have just had the normal puzzles but they do provide a break from then. The level itself really doesn’t play an important role in the balance of the game itself, other than making sure that that it is clear and posable to solve the puzzles that are oriented towards the world around the player.