Lara Croft GO
A turn-based puzzle game starring Lara Croft.
Where Lara Croft GO comes up1 episode or test
Lara Croft GO teaches through a decoy: the first lizard falls to a crumbling tile, then the same plan kills the player on the second lizard, where the tile must be pre-broken and the lizard taunted. Square Enix Montreal's GO games also rate puzzle difficulty with four criteria to order levels. Lesson: set up a wrong assumption, then break it, and rank levels by criteria.
- 1Beat first lizardLead it over a crumbling tile
- 2Assume the trick repeatsPlayer tries same method again
- 3Lara dies to second lizardThe same trick gets her killed
- 4Pre-break tile, taunt lizardThe real solution needs a new method
From Mark Brown on Lara Croft GO
What was said about Lara Croft GO
Lara Croft GO's first lizard is a decoy that sets up a wrong assumption. Players beat the first lizard by leading it over a crumbling tile. They then try the same trick on the second lizard and get Lara killed. There she must pre-break the tile and taunt the lizard so the fall drops her instead.
The first lizard is not part of the real solution, but it earns its place by teaching a method that works only once. Mark Brown's reading: "The first lizard is actually there, I think, to trick you into making the wrong assumption about how the puzzle works."
Square Enix Montreal orders GO puzzles using four difficulty criteria. More possible solutions make a puzzle easier. More required steps make it harder, though too many become tedious. More options at each moment add difficulty, and so do mechanics the player must already know.
The studio uses these criteria across its GO games, including Lara Croft GO and Deus Ex GO. Quote: "The number of possible solutions - the more there are, the easier the puzzle is."
What Makes a Good Puzzle?
The first lizard is a decoy: players beat it with a crumbling tile trick, then wrongly try it on the second lizard. There Lara must pre-break the tile and taunt the lizard so the fall drops her instead.
Lara Croft GO's first lizard is a decoy that sets up a wrong assumption. Players beat the first lizard by leading it over a crumbling tile. They then try the same trick on the second lizard and get Lara killed. There she must pre-break the tile and taunt the lizard so the fall drops her instead.
The first lizard is not part of the real solution, but it earns its place by teaching a method that works only once. Mark Brown's reading: "The first lizard is actually there, I think, to trick you into making the wrong assumption about how the puzzle works."
Square Enix Montreal orders GO puzzles using four difficulty criteria. More possible solutions make a puzzle easier. More required steps make it harder, though too many become tedious. More options at each moment add difficulty, and so do mechanics the player must already know.
The studio uses these criteria across its GO games, including Lara Croft GO and Deus Ex GO. Quote: "The number of possible solutions - the more there are, the easier the puzzle is."
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