Game: Monument Valley
Mechanics: The mechanics of the game is relatively simple and intentionally intuitive, to create a sense of weightlessness. Through tapping and dragging and other simple finger-based actions, players can interact with various architectural structures and manipulate the surreal world to create a viable path for the central character, Princess Ida, to move around. By altering their perspectives, players can create new paths, reveal hidden passages, and overcome obstacles that seemed initially unpassable.
Dynamics: Because of the player’s input, they are able to explore the visually stunning world and seek solutions to intricate puzzles. The game taps into players’ spatial awareness and spatial problem-solving skills and challenges their ability to think outside of the box.
Aesthetics:
Discovery — The game draws players in with its beautiful environments, encouraging them to progress to new levels to explore unchartered territory, hence enabling the aesthetics of discovery for the players.
Narrative — There is an underlying narrative that the game follows, exploring Princess Ida’s journey in the magical world, reflecting themes of self-discovery and perspective.
According to the reading “Designing the Puzzle” by Bob Bates, Monument Valley can be classified as a kind of “building” or “gestalt” puzzle, where the focus is on players manipulating the spatial surroundings to solve problems.
It is a great puzzle as it taps into the following two factors mentioned in the reading.
- “Amplify a theme”: The puzzles in each level are surreal and mind- and space-bending, amplifying the fantastical and magical environments of the game. Players feel like they are in a different world.
- The ‘V-8″ response: While not immediately obvious at first glance, the solutions to the puzzles are ingenious and somewhat intuitive, prompting players to often have the “V-8” response after completing the puzzle.
Above: Rotating the central pillar of the building creates a magical optical illusion.
