Submissions by jackwilson tagged puzzle

'Diagnosis' is a puzzle game played on the PC, in which the player is a medical doctor in a popular hospital clinic. They must correctly diagnose patients and prescribe treatments. The catch is that the player only 5 minutes of in-game time, corresponding to 1 minute of real life time to do so. Each day at the clinic represents a level of the game, the player is given approximately 10 patients per level.

When diagnosing, the player has access to reported symptoms by the player, medical history, and a simplified 'dictionary' of illnesses. When prescribing treatments the player must ensure that it will not trigger any allergies or have a negative effect due to an aspect of the patient's history.

Each level increases the difficulty of each illness, and the number of possible complexities when prescribing treatments. At the end of each level, the player is given points corresponding to how many patients were treated well. These points can be invested in a skill-tree-like progression of new medicines and other treatments, which can be advantageous in future levels.


Image retrieved 27/08/2016 from http://mygenesismedical.com/

The Inventor is a puzzle game, in which the player plays a young inventor in a steampunk-style world. The player must complete inventions to be sold in the fictional world, and they watch as the inventor protagonist finds success!

The gameplay is based around placing, moving, and rotating certain pieces within the 2D game world. These pieces may be pipes, wheels, cogs or other steampunk-style machinery components. The win condition of each level varies, and could be spinning a wheel with water, or routing steam to an exit pipe. Oftentimes there will be multiple solutions to a level. Difficulty is created as the player is limited to certain numbers of each piece, and not all pieces will necessarily be available in each level.

Three acts are found in The Inventor's linear narrative, each act signifying a new section of the story. The first act covers the rising success of the protagonist's business, the second covers him being sabotaged by competition, and the third explores him finding success once again with the use of newly discovered steam power.


Image source 'xymonau', retrieved 11/08/2016 from http://www.rgbstock.com/bigphoto/nDdKQHa/Maze+of+Pipes+2

'You think what!?' is a mobile puzzle/trivia game in which players are unfairly criticised for their opinions. The core mechanic of 'You think what!?' is the ranking of various items in a particular category. The player must form a ranking based on their opinions, which is compared against an extremely elitist one. These categories could include computer software, games, fonts (!), cuisines, clothing brands - the only limitation being that they must be very subjective.

The game flow begins with a title screen, followed by a display of categories and subcategories, which are unlocked as the player gains score in each. These are shown as circles, which after being tapped on, are brought towards the camera, and sub-circles are shown inside representing the subcategories. If the player taps on a category for which they have no unlocked subcategories, a list of 4-5 items in that category is shown for the player to rank by tapping and dragging.

After completing their ranking the player may tap a proceed button, if their ranking matches the 'correct' one, the subcategories are unlocked. If it does not, then the game will show a message critiquing (in overly formal language) the player for their ranking, explaining why particular items are better than others. After tapping this message, the player is taken back to a different set of item within that category!


Image source CSA Images/Snapstock, retrieved 9/08/2016 from http://www.gettyimages.co.nz/detail/illustration/monocle-royalty-free-illustration/97218532

Spacer is a puzzle game played in the first person, alike to the Portal series. The player is given not a portal gun however, but a 'space capturer'. The 'space capturer' takes a 3D space in front of the player, captures it into a 2D surface, and a wall is created in its place. This surface can be then placed on a wall, at which point the captured space is moved to the position of the wall.

The objective of the game is to reach the exit, which is initially inaccessible. The player must capture specific areas that may for instance include a staircase or an elevator. When placing these in the correct location, the exit can be reached.

An interesting use of this 'space capturer' is when it captures a space horizontally, but is placed such that the space becomes vertical. This could be used if the exit is below or above the player. At all times, the exit is highlighted through walls so that the player knows where to head.


Image source M. C. Escher, retrieved 1/08/2016 from https://fineartebooks.wordpress.com/2012/04/19/when-art-intersects-with-mathematics-constantin-brancusi-m-c-escher-and-cristian-todie/