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[XRA]

I like how all these games have their fitting stereotype in my head    I don't think any of them can be compared to each other, they are all very unique and provide more than just being a bare bones puzzle game.

[FK in the Coffee]

This thread is making me nervous. I'm working on a Flash game with the intent on creating something smart and atmospheric like these game you guys have mentioned. I'd like to think the people who play Flash games would like something like this as a change of pace from the norm - but maybe the audience just isn't that interested in smart or 'arty' games...

Then again it's probably not wise to generalize 'people who play flash games'. I feel like most internet users have played at least one flash game in their life right?

There are a few games that do break this norm.  Chronotron and The Company of Myself come to mind.  Most flash games are just looking to be simple and addicting, but I think atmosphere is something flash devs should be paying more attention to.

[stevesan]

I like how all these games have their fitting stereotype in my head    I don't think any of them can be compared to each other, they are all very unique and provide more than just being a bare bones puzzle game.

You're certainly right, but inevitably, people will compare and contrast and categorize. It's just how humans need to organize things for themselves. It's the essence of marketing really, and the whole idea of "positioning." Perhaps I should've posted this thread in the business forum instead

[forwardresent]

Personally I think it was the personality of the games that made them so special.

[C.D Buckmaster]

To me (being a huge Braid and Portal fan), it's because are both oozing with charm and personality.

Braid uses its mechanics as a metaphor for the frustrations of a lover, and it's environment provides a unique experience with its impressionism inspired artwork and endearing soundtrack.

Portal plays with the room by room gameplay of puzzle games by hinting towards a greater, darker backstory, through the increasingly suspicious remarks by Glados and the hidden rooms.

Their mechanics made them good games, but their charm made them great games.

[Glic2000]

The only place I've ever heard Spacechem mentioned is in these forums. 

[s0]

There was a thread for spacechem when it came out and paul eres mentions it occasionally (like in this thread)

[J-Snake]

Also: Hana no Puzzle is the best puzzle game of the current century.

You are wrong because my puzzle-game will be released next year.

[moi]

Are you talking about Trap them? Because when I hear about Trap Them I'm PUMPED UP.
I can't wait, next year is too far away. I want this game to revolutionnize me RIGHT NOW

[Danmark]

Braid and Portal are easier than typical puzzle games, in part because they involve no trial-and-error gameplay (or is it the other way around?). They're also more visceral than puzzle games tend to be, because in both cases, the player controls a single character in a world with realis(h)tic physics.

They're not necessarily better games for those reasons, just more broadly appealing.

[J-Snake]

An easy puzzle-game is a bad puzzle-game.

- J-Snake

[stevesan]

Braid and Portal are easier than typical puzzle games, in part because they involve no trial-and-error gameplay (or is it the other way around?). They're also more visceral than puzzle games tend to be, because in both cases, the player controls a single character in a world with realis(h)tic physics.

They're not necessarily better games for those reasons, just more broadly appealing.

I think the physicality and visceral-ness is important. It gives their mechanics immediate context, and thus they are more mind blowing. They're part puzzle-game and part fantasy fulfillment.

[stevesan]

Braid and Portal are easier than typical puzzle games, in part because they involve no trial-and-error gameplay (or is it the other way around?). They're also more visceral than puzzle games tend to be, because in both cases, the player controls a single character in a world with realis(h)tic physics.

They're not necessarily better games for those reasons, just more broadly appealing.

I think the physicality and visceral-ness is important. It gives their mechanics immediate context, and thus they are more mind blowing. They're part puzzle-game and part fantasy fulfillment.

Now that I think about it some more, yeah, the fantasy fulfillment part really makes them stand-out. You control a character in a physical world, but that character has some amazing "Wouldn't it be cool.." ability. This is in contrast to a lot of puzzle games that either 1) take place in an abstracted space, such as a gridded board, or 2) do not actually give you an amazing ability - just some ability (like block-pushing games. Push blocks around..sounds super exciting, right?). Video games have a unique ability to provide these physically-realized fantasies.

[PompiPompi]

For one thing, they are "action puzzles". They are not pure puzzles, they have an element of interaction that "pure" puzzles don't have. I think that alone make them more approachable to people who usually arn't that interested in puzzle games.
There is also the great unique polish\style.

But what makes them so special is their "first use" of a certain mechanic in a puzzle game. Many games have new mechanics, but their mechanics and gameplay are so unique and "never have seen before" that they stand out.
They are so rare, because it's extremly difficult to think of a new untapped mechanic like this. The more time pass, the harder it is to find new mechanics and things that havn't been done before. That is why I think they are so succesful.

[st33d]

They both have a very clever and difficult to program mechanic.

It's no doubt very inspiring to work with those tools when you put your level designer hat on.

[stevesan]

They both have a very clever and difficult to program mechanic.

It's no doubt very inspiring to work with those tools when you put your level designer hat on.

This is true as well. They're almost magical when you first see them, and even more so when you first play with them. Far more magical than block pushing puzzles and the such.

[J-Snake]

It seems just to be the turn-back-time-feature in Braid. I am a magician, I can do this too.