Alright, let's see how it goes.
The candle falls down on the trampoline just to hit the hamster wheel that's connected to the conveyor belt next to it, now if it keeps the momentum juuuuuust right it might be able to get to the hamster wheel at the end of the platfo- oh yeah that's nice it's falling down on the other conveyer belt that's connected to set of gears, it's jumpingonthetrampolinenexttoitHOLYSHITIT'SGONNATOUCHTHEFIVEBALLOONSCOMEONCOMEONCOMEONCOMEONLET'SGOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
This is your usual The Incredible Machine puzzle.
Aren't Rube Goldberg machines fun ?
The ridiculously and overly complex system to perform a simple task has always been both a form of comic relief as well as a strangely captivating and addictive device.
Puzzle games almost entirely rely on an eureka effect, an example of clever game design and level design (assuming the said puzzle is based on an original mechanic) would usually be to keep the answer straightforward and easy to understand while simultaneously making the player scratch their head, it has to be complex, not complicated.
Why are you solving this puzzle ? To get to experience that eureka effect, the carrot and the stick, you know.
Not only does The Incredible Machine manage to succeed in all of the above, it also goes even further by making the actual problem-solving incredibly fun. It does not restrain in order to deliver a bigger dopamine shot, it builds up to it.
Whereas physics puzzles often leave room for experimentation, here, it is ABOUT experimentation, even though your machine might not actually get you to the answer, the simple fact of piecing it up little by little and testing is entertainment by itself, and is something the lead developer Kevin Ryan was very aware of by adding a free mode just to build things without any goal in mind.
Looking down at some YouTube comments, it's a game that seems to have been an important part of 90s kids' childhood (for quite obvious reasons) and is also one that amazed me the very same way over two decades later, now if that's not incredible.
The candle falls down on the trampoline just to hit the hamster wheel that's connected to the conveyor belt next to it, now if it keeps the momentum juuuuuust right it might be able to get to the hamster wheel at the end of the platfo- oh yeah that's nice it's falling down on the other conveyer belt that's connected to set of gears, it's jumpingonthetrampolinenexttoitHOLYSHITIT'SGONNATOUCHTHEFIVEBALLOONSCOMEONCOMEONCOMEONCOMEONLET'SGOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
This is your usual The Incredible Machine puzzle.
Aren't Rube Goldberg machines fun ?
The ridiculously and overly complex system to perform a simple task has always been both a form of comic relief as well as a strangely captivating and addictive device.
Puzzle games almost entirely rely on an eureka effect, an example of clever game design and level design (assuming the said puzzle is based on an original mechanic) would usually be to keep the answer straightforward and easy to understand while simultaneously making the player scratch their head, it has to be complex, not complicated.
Why are you solving this puzzle ? To get to experience that eureka effect, the carrot and the stick, you know.
Not only does The Incredible Machine manage to succeed in all of the above, it also goes even further by making the actual problem-solving incredibly fun. It does not restrain in order to deliver a bigger dopamine shot, it builds up to it.
Whereas physics puzzles often leave room for experimentation, here, it is ABOUT experimentation, even though your machine might not actually get you to the answer, the simple fact of piecing it up little by little and testing is entertainment by itself, and is something the lead developer Kevin Ryan was very aware of by adding a free mode just to build things without any goal in mind.
Looking down at some YouTube comments, it's a game that seems to have been an important part of 90s kids' childhood (for quite obvious reasons) and is also one that amazed me the very same way over two decades later, now if that's not incredible.
cowboyjosh
7 months ago