Drake even says for the third time in this sequence of puzzles “It’s Sabaean script again,” (which is also written in his journal), which is a signal to the player that there is a solution in these symbols. The script on the floor is identical to the script on the grid, so you know that there is going to be an informational connection between them. The game also uses identical symbols on the wall totems and the grid, so you know that there will be some sort of informational connection between them. By placing a mechanism in the middle of the room, the game relies on the affordance of an interactable object in a blocked puzzle room. An affordance is something we attribute to an object given its design or context. By this point you’ve solved a few and you know that you’re not just going to sit here until something magical happens. There are three elements: The wall totems, the grid, and the symbols on the floor. In the center is a mechanism that lets you move the symbols on the grid. The second is the bottom right corner of a grid and the position of two of the symbols within the grid. The first is a diagram of an eagle and three Sabaen symbols.
Drake’s journal has two pieces of information in it. There are four totems at four corners of the room, (one eagle, one lion, one blank, and one totem is totally broken) and on the floor in front of each totem is a black square that lights up with a different symbol depending on where you stand. You walk into a room with a grid of Sabaean script on the wall and four symbols on the edges. The first wall totem he goes to here is the lion, which isn’t shown with the camera. Watch how it works, where he moves the phoenix, where he moves the horse. So if you want to figure it out yourself, please do. This video shows the solution to this fun little puzzle. This puzzle revolves around setup, affordances, and removal of information to make it both challenging and rewarding to figure out. I’ve started to sit down and do actual puzzle design for a few prototypes I’m working on, and I’m starting to learn at least one way to go about it. Drake calls it the “Game Show,” so I will too. The game hasn’t exactly blown my mind so far, but I came across this little puzzle and had to share it for today’s blog. As it’s important not to actually stress too much on sick days (video game industry, work life balance, etc.), I’m busy working through an item on the backlog: Uncharted 3.
Today I’m home with the flu, plugging away at E3 prep so I’m not totally unprepared and resting so I’m not totally diseased next week (lord knows it will happen after).