In Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, MachineGames is focusing on puzzles as an important part of the experience. Many of them will be challenging, but the team doesn’t want you to pause the game to go watch a Youtube tutorial on how to solve the puzzle.
“We want these puzzles to be difficult. We don’t want to simplify them for a cinematic scene. You pull a lever and ancient mechanisms are activated, we want them to be real puzzles,” said Creative Director Jens Andersson to PCGamer.
MachineGames believes there is enough variety to keep you from getting tired of a specific type of puzzle, a balance they strive for to challenge players without blocking them. “Players should never get stuck in this game, if it happens it’s because we failed.”
This search for balance means not helping players too much in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, but also not leaving them stuck to the point where they have to pause the game and resort to the internet.
“We have a hint system, so you don’t have to go to Youtube to see the solution if you get stuck, that breaks immersion and is bad. We want to keep you in the game, but we know that skill levels vary. You can take a picture of the puzzle and Indy will help you, with a hint, and you can keep doing it if you want more information.”
It seems like an interesting way to approach hint systems, as it’s the player who decides whether to ask for another hint and how many hints they need to pass a puzzle in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
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