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TIGSource ForumsDeveloperDesignzelda like navigation's flow puzzle theory
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gimymblert
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« on: July 16, 2015, 12:13:00 PM »



Last time I research about lock and key gameplay, something zelda is famous about (permanent key who open new area or small consumable key that open any locked door). We found out what was the basic rules so you never are block from carelessly placing keys. Both rule being sum up by the obvious "key to a locked an area must precede it in a reachable area" assuming area are organize in a tree with path being traverse in all direction, it's a tree because cycle degenerate with those traversal condition into duplicate path.

Another popular puzzle in zelda is flow control puzzle, either implemented explicitly (change what a path connect to as in the water dungeon in TP) or indirectly (time travel) but still functionally the same (you can only access one option at a time, you need to trigger between the two).

So I put a diagram above of all the case I found out: S being starting point, T the trigger to select a path (or selector), key represent action or item that open a lock, lock represent a passage blocked off and which need a key. Dotted line represent potential path, heavy line represent exit and plain line represent current path (the double dotted and plain is just a fail dotted). All graph represent the starting advised design pattern, 3rd graph is a synthesis of 1 and 2.

The resulting rules is simply that all area serviced by the trigger must have a possibility for the player to activate the graph else the player is blocked in that area (for example you activate the trigger and its now out of reach should not happen, considering that you never want the player blocked, however it can be used if for example it's a fail state in a puzzle or this is the last room with the exit and there is reason for not going back). It's useful to set up rules for procedural generation.

Is there pattern I missed? consideration I forgot?
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Mark Mayers
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« Reply #1 on: July 24, 2015, 10:00:13 AM »

Some Zelda dungeons have a 'meta-key' where you need x amount of a smaller keys to proceed.

One example is the 8th dungeon in Oracle of Ages.
iirc you have to collect 4 'stone plates' to get through an area.
I can't think of any other examples off of the top of my head, but I'm sure they exist.

The rotating circular 'X' objects in the Oracle games are also a good example of flow control.
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Mark Mayers
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« Reply #2 on: July 24, 2015, 10:02:16 AM »

Here's an example of the 'X thing' I'm talking about:



I didn't know how else to describe it, hahaha
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gimymblert
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« Reply #3 on: July 24, 2015, 10:31:23 AM »

I don't know what that x things is! How does that work?

But it remind me that those switchable block in zelda 3 dungeon could be seen as flow control.

Also let's not limit ourselves to zelda, all sort of of game have flow control, I want to have a general pattern ... which remind me that flow control triger can affect more than one path at a time :s I don't know how that impact the diagramming ...
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Mark Mayers
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« Reply #4 on: July 24, 2015, 01:40:37 PM »

I don't know what that x things is! How does that work?

But it remind me that those switchable block in zelda 3 dungeon could be seen as flow control.

Also let's not limit ourselves to zelda, all sort of of game have flow control, I want to have a general pattern ... which remind me that flow control triger can affect more than one path at a time :s I don't know how that impact the diagramming ...

If I remember correctly, once you go through it while blue, it rotates you counter-clockwise to the adjacent hallway.
After this, it turns red; if you go in it again it rotates you clockwise to the hallway you were in before.

So you are essentially funneled through a two hallway area, and cannot get to non-adjacent hallways.
However, entering at different areas of the 'X' allows you to get to different sections.

It leads to some interesting design with room flow.



, at the time where the player goes through one.
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