The principles of puzzle design – BSc Thesis
Title: The principles of puzzle design
Title in Swedish: Pusslets Principer
En analys av principer inom design av pussel i digitala spel
Authors: Martin Sundgren, Rickard Tidén
Institution: Stocholm University (SU), Department of Computer and Systems Sciences (DSV), Sweden
Date and language: Spring term 2022, Swedish
Type: Thesis at BSc level degree project 15 HP (sv: Självständigt arbete på grundnivå [kandidatexamen])
Key words: Puzzle, puzzle design, design principles, game design, design science
Advisor: Mirjam Palosaari Eladhari
Abstract
Game development has in a relatively short time, grown to be a rather large industry and a popular hobby. In the field of game development, design plays a large role, but it has proven difficult to answer the question of what good design is. Previous research describes game design as a field dominated by grey literature and personal opinions from active members of the industry rather than a focus on scientific research. Grey literature means texts that do not live up to the rigorous standards that are upheld by scientific texts. This study aims to compile and analyse the available knowledge on puzzle design in digital games, presented in existing game design literature. This is done to make the knowledge more accessible and to enable future analysis and evaluation. This study poses the following two research questions: Which principles of puzzle design exist in game- and puzzle design literature? and, how are these design principles described by the literature in question? The research questions are explored through a systematic literature review and a thematic synthesis which is a qualitative method of analysis.
Databases relevant to the study have been searched for material that will help answer the research question. The search for material resulted in an analysis of 18 different documents, consisting of books, articles, research papers and conference presentations. Through the thematic synthesis we have identified and created a number of themes and categories. In the result of this study we present 15 categories that represent the design principles of puzzle design discussed in this study. These design principles are divided into six themes that represent the purpose of the principle on a larger scale. The six themes are: Player Experience, Communication, Environment, Difficulty, Application and Cooperative puzzles.
This study identifies and describes the design principles found in the analysed litterature. During the analysis, the literature was discovered to lack descriptions of actual application of the design principles, which forces the reader to make their own interpretation of how to implement them. Because of this, based on the analysed material, a number of recommendations are presented as an example of how the design principles could be used in practice.