Ways to make complex puzzles

[Edwin Chung]

Can someone give some insights into how I should make complicated and fun puzzles?

I believe that I can make straighforward puzzles only.

Or I should ask
how the the complex puzzles should be?

[garirry]

That's a question that is very difficult to answer.

The way it works for me is that I just randomly pick random puzzle elements in my head and try to make something out of it. That's as much as I can explain because I don't understand it myself that well

I'd say you just need a lot of practice.

[StinkyFTW]

One way is to do a combo of floinf/blink/pop

Another way is to do a combo of chompers and gates!

[garirry]

One way is to do a combo of floinf/blink/pop

Another way is to do a combo of chompers and gates!

That doesn't answer his question

[Edwin Chung]

Guys I think of an idea.
In a hub,what if we obtain a key in a previous level and need to use them in the upcoming levels?

I think it would be too hard,but that fits my objective

[|Cookie|]

I personally use many methods in making puzzles, but one of my favorites is the 7th point from the RTW Level Editor Help.

7. Work Backwards
Many problems can be solved by working backwards (How do I open this door? I need to get to this point! What do I need to get to this point? A box! Where can I get a box? And so on.). The same process can be used to design very effective puzzles. Place a single Rainbow Coin surrounded by water. You'll need boxes to cross the water. Place the boxes inside a locked room. How will you get the player to open that door? And so on.

I also usually use a method that's the opposite of the "Work Backwards" method, I work from the beginning, I empty an area from a wlv and decide on an action such as "Popping a button" or "Blinking to this place" etc... And then I add the necessary elements to complete that action, I repeat these steps until I think the adventure is ready.

Of course, these two methods will not always work and I recommend to not rely on them all the time, it's all up to your imagination in the end. The more you make adventures, the more knowledge you'll gain, the better your puzzles will become.

Another thing I recommend is to play other adventures made by other people, try to see what makes them good or bad, learn from their mistakes, and try to avoid them in your adventures.

And the most important thing, which is basically the 10th point of the RTW level editor help (which I really recommend you to read it):
TEST! TEST! TEST! It's never enough to test your adventure, try to break it, think of it from the point view of a player, think of what could the player be thinking of at each section of the puzzle, try to see if the puzzle is really fair or not, will the player enjoy it or not? A plain maze in the dark is not fun at all and might get really annoying and might end up wasting the player's time. Try to make things interesting in your puzzle, not boring. A puzzle doesn't want to defeat its player, it wants the player to succeed and to have fun.

Guys I think of an idea.
In a hub,what if we obtain a key in a previous level and need to use them in the upcoming levels?

It really depends on how you do it, it could either make a very nice puzzle or just an unfair adventure, just be careful if you used it.

Good luck, and most importantly, have fun making puzzles!

[cloudrac3r]

In RTW Editor:
My strategy is like garirry's: I close my eyes and click the next page arrow, then see what it stops on. Then I do it again. Say I got Push Cannons and Shadow Stinkers, I would try to think how the two could be related: the Shadow Stinker has to push the push cannon to fire at some boxes, but there are spikes or electricity on some tiles so I have to make sure neither player stands on those at the wrong time.
Or say I get something boring like Buttons and Water, I could do a classic box-pushing puzzle onto a button. Or I would try to make a mini-puzzle, something which is not a puzzle, but could itself be an element of a puzzle like a device which pushes a box into water after a certain time elapses, freeing an enemy.
OR try putting things so at the start of the level, you would have Stinky in a Box Factory, or a box on a timer button in a closed room. Then try seeing how that could become a puzzle.
I can't get WA1 editor to work unfortunately, so no more tips for you!