Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box is a 2007 Nintendo DS game developed by Level-5, which plays akin to a puzzle book. While it’s noted to be for a younger audience around the age of 10, its tricky puzzles and rustic English setting can be enjoyed by older age groups as well. It might be difficult to envision how a typical puzzle book could offer an overarching plot considering the first game in the series, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, does poorly implement puzzles into the plot, as admitted by Level-5’s CEO, Akihiro Hino. However, Pandora’s Box aptly utilizes different puzzles to represent the characters or situations that present them; builds in puzzles of differing lengths, which help build the environment; and even encourages the player to mindfully think like the namesake, Professor Layton, himself almost like how his assistant, Luke, is learning to do as well.
First, it must be established how brain teaser puzzles might be made into a video game. Professor Layton and his apprentice, Luke, are investigating the death of Layton’s mentor, Dr. Schrader, who was in possession of the now missing Elysian Box. As they travel town by town, smaller mysteries need to be solved first before the full picture can be realized. To investigate, Layton and Luke need to interrogate different people and search different locations. Even if the fact that each person you speak to offers you a puzzle is a bit comedic, subtle nods at who they are are embedded into either the puzzle or the reason they ask you to solve it. After giving information on a lost photograph, the shopkeep asks you help him with a puzzle in the newspaper, or a little girl boastfully shares a puzzle she learned from her mother to challenge the Professor before interview. Some places affect what puzzles show up; for example, at a cow show, a puzzle involving cows shows up, or—more relevant to the actual plot—a police officer’s path through the town needs to be redrawn from his recount as to find pieces of a lost photograph. Even these small details help integrate abstract puzzles into a collective narrative and setting.
Additionally, not every puzzle is equally relevant to progression or completed in a set order. In growing Layton’s character, he was given a bag which holds his memo of the plot but also various longer-standing, optional puzzles, which progress throughout the game. These include a pet hamster you encourage workout, a tea set which lets you brew different teas for characters throughout the game, and a camera. The camera is interesting for the fact you first build it from pieces found along your path and then can take pictures of locations and unlock spot the difference games. Both of these allowances offer the player to connect more with the environment at their own leisure. Having continuous puzzles acts as a sort of adhesive for what could be an otherwise ungrounded, puzzle-after-puzzle format. The player can more concretely connect with characters and scenes through these optional and prolonged puzzles.
Of course, building a game around solving brain teasers should adequately suit the main character the player takes the role of. This can be true of both the Professor and Luke considering the nature of classic puzzles. Solving mysteries can be made out to be dramatic, but Layton keeps a humble, gentlemanly disposition and calmly assesses situations. Puzzle books facilitate this well for the fact a mystery is presented, but to solve it you must sit still and think it through, just as Layton does in face of a murder mystery. Luke is also well represented by the format of a puzzle book because, while being young and eager, he deeply respects Layton and wants to learn from him. Considering the target audience is on the younger side, this characterization could be like that of a child who has boundless energy but patiently solves the problems of this game instead, engaged in a more thoughtful way.
Similarly, it’s important when designing puzzles to consider the audience who will solve it. This is especially important for the Professor Layton series since it must be localized from Japan to the UK and the US. Pandora’s Box—or Diabolical Box as it’s called in the US—was released 2 years after it’s Japanese release due to the development teams replacement of puzzles.
“…it is true that we had to replace some of the puzzles due to language and cultural issues. In the US version, we hope you will enjoy solving these new puzzles.” – Akihiro Hino, president and CEO of Level-5
Even among puzzles which reference board games, which players may not know the rules, detailed explanations are offered to aid in solving without bias. Level-5 ensures that these puzzles are suited to the places they are released and can be played by professors and children alike.
