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[diegzumillo]

A while ago, while working on my apple game I came across this realization that the core mechanic of my game is just a really contrived maze.



That made me uncomfortable because mazes are boring. Or so I thought! Because I also realized navigation is the a very common feature of many games. So the thing is how to make mazes interesting? What challenges must be packaged with it? Doom has combat and keys, Metroid (and similar) has combat and a more clever system of keys intertwined with character upgrades.

This is where I ask for opinions. Is there anything else besides "combat and keys"? If not, why not? I get why keys work, it communicates directly with the maze by opening a new path. Why combat? It seems to be there to provide a completely different layer of gameplay, more minute to minute action, to keep your mind occupied while you move to the next dead end. What else could work?

[Pfotegeist]

ok. I like opening shortcuts, finding things, If the maze is new it will at least hold the illusion of a challenge. Probably don't want to get lost for real: being able to start over if I mess up.

[nova++]

A maze that's got multiple paths is a lot less annoying than a maze with only one path, for one thing. As Pfotegeist said, some way to open up shortcuts is fun, be it with keys and locks, or blowing up walls, or teleports, or whatever. Obstacles that can hurt you but you can't really fight, requiring more clever ways around.

Basically, hide the fact it's a maze in a coating of other types of gameplay 

But in honesty, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Think of how many FPS games can be boiled down to just combat and keys, for instance.

[diegzumillo]

Yeah, shortcuts. Basically anything that makes the path clearer and feels like a consequence of your actions is definitely rewarding. That makes sense.

I think combat is filler, in a good way. I don't want combat but there are other mechanics for this time scale of things (moment to moment). I was going for regular platforming, avoiding hazards and stuff like that, but I kind of want to get rid of that too. I've seen people play this demo so many times and it's clear dying on spikes, going back to the last checkpoint, repeat, gets old fast. It works on many games but here the meat of the game is puzzle and maze, repetition doesn't go well with it.

[Daid]

I think if you ask "Why is a classic maze boring?", you come to the same answer as "Why is my game not boring, even if it is down to the core a maze?"

Things that are lacking in a classic maze:
* Discovery. You know everything before hand, and it's all the same.
* Skill. No matter how far you get, there is no skill you learn, there is no progressively harder challenge you overcome.
* Meaningful decisions. On the micro level, you can go up/down/left/right. But taking a wrong turn only costs you a bit of time. You can go back and try the other direction for almost zero cost. Making the decision which direction to take mostly meaningless.


Looking at your devlog, I think you have these 3 pretty well covered. You have to discover the map, you have to learn new skills on how to use the main mechanic. And making a wrong turn can set you back.