A Beginner’s Guide to Puzzle Design: Creating an applied guide for effective puzzle design in videogames

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dc.contributor.authorPrinz, Erik
dc.contributor.co-supervisorFlusk, Timothy
dc.contributor.supervisorReid, Kieran
dc.date.accessioned2024-08-02T20:36:20Z
dc.date.available2024-08-02T20:36:20Z
dc.date.issued2023-06
dc.departmentDepartment of Digital Arts
dc.descriptionA research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, in Digital Arts, to the Faculty of Humanities, Wits School of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023.
dc.description.abstractWhile a vast collection of information exploring effective puzzle design exists, it is riddled with conflicting opinions and inconsistent formats, making it arduous to engage with. This research aims to curate this collection, organizing its knowledge into an applied guide for puzzle design in videogames. This will be accomplished through an amalgamation of design principles offered by selected works of oundational literature, and the insights contained within the design philosophies of three industry professionals (Jonathan Blow, Kim Swift, and Arvi ‘Hempuli’ Teikari). The synthesis of these two families of information will be aided by the simultaneous development of a puzzle platforming videogame. Through a process of iteration and playtesting, this game will be used to assess the value and accuracy of the developing guide. With careful consideration of useful structures present in the foundational literature, the plethora of existing information can be reformatted to be user-friendly and appliable by novel puzzle designers.
dc.description.submitterMM2024
dc.facultyFaculty of Humanities
dc.identifierhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5820-9593
dc.identifier.citationPrinz, Erika. (2023). A Beginner’s Guide to Puzzle Design: Creating an applied guide for effective puzzle design in videogames. [Master's dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg]. WIReDSapce. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/39949
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10539/39949
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherUniversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
dc.rights©2023 University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
dc.rights.holderUniversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
dc.schoolWits School of Arts
dc.subjectPuzzle
dc.subjectPuzzle Design
dc.subjectPuzzle Game
dc.subjectGame Design
dc.subjectVideogames
dc.subjectVideo Games
dc.subjectPlatformer
dc.subjectGuide
dc.subjectGuide Design
dc.subjectPlaytest
dc.subjectPlaytesting
dc.subjectUCTD
dc.subject.otherSDG-9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
dc.titleA Beginner’s Guide to Puzzle Design: Creating an applied guide for effective puzzle design in videogames
dc.typeDissertation
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