Ok, for a very long time now I have wanted to make a puzzle map, but I don't know which way to approach it from. I have never made a decent puzzle map and I can never figure out how to make challenges or how to even begin. I am willing to forge with some one or just have tips on how I can start. Please this would be very helpful to me. I want to make a map that will challenge and confuse. So if you can forge with me or just post help that would be fantastic. My GT is: Darkfalcon 9314. Thank you for your time.
If you can handle a "tl;dr" then I can give you some advice on how to go about creating an individual puzzle in a puzzle map. Obviously a puzzle map is just a sequence of individual puzzles! One of the hardest parts of creating a puzzle map is coming up with unique ideas. To be honest, I've always just found my ideas by experimenting around in Forge, looking at objects that might have interesting properties, finding the limitations of how objects work, and maybe even trying to break those limitations. Other times I might discover an unintended affect of a certain object's feature. Example - Coming up with an interesting observation about an object/Creating a "Base Concept": I'll give an example from one of my puzzles in Halo 3. I was messing around with custom powerups, looking at how they worked and interacted with other objects - So in this case I was focusing on a custom powerup as my object to analyse. At one point I wondered what would happen if you had some traits from a custom powerup, and then picked up an ordinary powerup, like an overshield or active camo. I was curious to see how my overall traits would alter, would the traits from the custom powerup and the overshield combine? How would similar traits (i.e. shield multiplier) that conflict with each other react? What would take priority? that kind of thing. After testing, I discovered that if you picked up a custom powerup, and then picked up another powerup, like an overshield, the new powerup would completely override the old traits, nullifying the affects of the old powerup altogether. So basically, if you picked up a powerup that gave you really fast running speed, then picked up an overshield, you'd lose your fast running speed because the overshield has just overridden and nullified the affects of the custom powerup. Finding these interesting ways in which objects behave are what give you, what I call, a "Base Concept" for a challenge. A basic premise of how a particular challenge could operate. This doesn't mean you even have an individual puzzle yet, just a base concept that could possibly be turned into a puzzle. After your "Base Concept" you need to think of how it can be used in a challenge, essentially a reason "why" a player would need to use this base concept to solve a puzzle. To continue with my example: Example - Implementing a use for the "Base Concept": So, I knew that a custom powerup would be overridden by another powerup. I concluded that the movement speed and gravity traits were a good route to go down, because I could have a ledge that was high up and far away so that you could only jump to it by using the increased running speed and lower gravity of the custom powerup. I used an Active Camo as my powerup which would essentially "get in the way" of allowing the player to use his Custom Powerup to make the jump. The goal for the player now is to pick up the Custom Powerup, and avoid the Active Camo, so that he can keep his Custom Powerup traits and jump up to the ledge above. In this case my "Base Concept" is actually acting as an obstacle, a problem for the player. It's not that he wants to use the base concept I've introduced - a powerup being overridden by another powerup - but instead he wants to avoid it! So a Base Concept, when actually used to create a puzzle for a player, can go one of two ways: It can either be the thing that helps a player achieve his goal or, in my example above, it's the obstacle that's actually getting in the player's way! You see, a puzzle always needs three things: A goal for the player, an obstacle or problem trying to prevent the player achieving his goal, and a solution for the player to work out that solves his problem and gets him to his goal. Those are the 3 ingredients you should always be thinking about in any particular challenge. Let's continue with my example! Example - Crafting your 3 ingredients: I've actually already got 2 of my 3 ingredients already from my examples so far: -The Goal: Reach the ledge up above. -The Obstacle/Problem: There's a Custom Powerup that can get me up to the ledge, but I have to keep running past an Active Camo and losing my traits. This leaves the final ingredient: The Solution. I need to come up with a way for this problem to be solved. A really easy way to create a solution here could be to give the player an alternate path he can take once he has the Custom Powerup, so that he can avoid the Active Camo altogether and then jump up to the ledge. This is a bit too basic though for my liking, and would probably be way too obvious for the player to figure out. Instead I actually have another "Base Concept" that works perfectly as a solution for this challenge. Like I said, a Base Concept can either be a solution or an obstacle, in this case I have one that works as a solution to this obstacle! My other Base Concept is something I discovered about Halo 3 equipment and Powerups - That a powerup is actually considered a kind of equipment in the game, just with different properties. That's why there were tricks where you could like swap out your equipment with a powerup and then carry the powerup around with you (off-host only though, so no use in a puzzle map). What I did discover, which was useful, was that as you threw a piece of equipment you couldn't pick up other equipment, which includes powerups! And that's our solution - Throw a piece of equipment as you walk past the Active Camo, so that you don't pick it up, and you can keep the Custom Powerup traits. -The Solution: Give the player a regenerator (well, hide one somewhere for them to find), so that they can throw the regenerator as they walk past the Active Camo, keep the effects of the Custom Powerup, and jump up to the ledge above. So there you have it. You come up with your base concept, come up with a goal that requires the base concept (either as a solution or an obstacle) and then, if the base concept was the obstacle then come up with a solution or, if the base concept was the solution then come up with an obstacle that makes that solution a requirement. Oh, and then of course you have to make sure that players can't break your challenge, i.e. come up with their own solution to your goal+obstacle that circumvents your intended one, or skips out the puzzle altogether! Oh, and THEN come up with even more puzzles, using different concepts and ideas, and then string them all together into one whole puzzle map. So, to conclude, making a puzzle map is EAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASY (lol)