Focus on gameplay
Puzzle Design Principles in Limbo
- Challenging problem-solving
- There’s a difference between pretending to solve a puzzle (doing a puzzle) vs. actually solving a puzzle (thinking through, arriving at conclusion, executing)
- Easy and quickly-understandable mechanics
- As few elements as possible and simple elements
- Discourage brute-force trial and error, it ends with the player not getting enough of a sense of achievement
- Don’t repeat puzzles, puzzles do not have replay value
- Solve complicated problems with simple explanation
- Do not challenge player through volume of STUFF
