Devlog 3: Rafael Vargas: Puzzling Problems and Pressure Plate Solutions

Puzzling Problems and Pressure Plate Solutions

Author: Rafael Vargas

Posted on 09/26/2024

This week was all about tackling puzzles, which is one of the 3 core focuses of our level designs.  I initially wanted to implement a torch puzzle, where the player would light up a series of unlit torches to unlock the path moving forward.  However, I ran into difficulties setting up the puzzles logic, specifically, getting the torches to talk to the torch manager - which would ultimately unlock the door to progress.

This became more time-cosuming than expected, so I decided to pivot and focus on something similar but different: the pressure plate puzzle.  Similar to something you may find in older games like Tomb Raider.

The pressure plate puzzle provided a straightforward alternative, where the player must step on the pressure plate to unlock the next area.  I decided to take it up a notch, and instead of simply stepping on it, or pushing a boulder on top of the switch, the player has to use their magic for it.  One of the players spells, "Earth Shield" allows them to cast a barricade that not only acts as a platform, a projectile blocker, but also as a weight for the pressure plates.  I demonstrated this concept in the tutorial level where the player experiences a small bit of things to come in the levels to come.

The Problem: I spent a significant amount of time struggling with the torch puzzle mechanics.  In my head, it seemed simple enough, light a torch, set a counter, and when you light X amount of torches, you trigger an event.  I was able to light these torches, but none of them were triggering the necessary variables.  This was causing unexpected delays, and I realized that continuing down that firey path could have impacted the final level design.

The Solution:  Instead of spending more time on the torch puzzle concept, I decided to switch to a pressure plate puzzle, that I knew I could implement more efficiently.  I was able to set up the pressure plate, with its triggering box and turn on a collision event which would trigger the opening of the path.  I initially implemented it in level 1, and thought, maybe the player should understand what to do when faced with this large boulder.  This led to the creation of the tutorial level, and within it, a small tutorial showcasing these pressure plate puzzles.  Even though this path led to a creation of a tutorial level, I think I would have spent more time troubleshooting the torch puzzle.  In the end, I was pretty happy with the results, and one day, I will revisit that torch puzzle one day