Thinking about the prevalence of sliding block puzzles. Not quite a list of sliding puzzles, but Giant Bomb’s block puzzle concept has a big list that shows that this concept is common.
I think the reason these puzzles exist in many games is because either:
- the team didn’t have time
- Either they wanted something more interesting or they realized too late they needed a puzzle.
- They might have designed something, but cut it down to a simple block puzzle for scope and tutorialization reasons.
- They might have realized that they needed some additional challenge on special chests to make them feel more consequential.
- Their designed puzzle was too hard
- Playtesting showed a more interesting puzzle was too difficult for their target audience. Action gamers may not enjoy a challenging puzzle because they just want to shoot.
- This falls back to the first point: they didn’t have time to do something more interesting.
- Playtesting reveals shocking truths about some players. You have them walk into an area, turn the camera to look at the roof, have them stand in front of a van that’s half the roof height, and they’ll jump on the van, drive the van around, destroy it, but never guess they should get onto the roof. Many people don’t come to action games to think, so when you add mental challenges you will lose them.
Sliding block puzzles are safe.
- They can usually be shuffled around randomly until they unlock
- There’s no fail state. You can always get back to the initial setup without any undo button.
- They’re familiar. Players know how they work.
But they’re boring and I think we should all do better!