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Ghost:
Threshold Example
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This piece of the final design shows just how tragically far the game had migrated from its starting vision, to the point where people were saying "Well, Myst wouldn't have done it that way..."
I ended up designing and cataloging many maps, rooms, puzzles and other design elements for a game that was very different than any of us had originally conceived. One of many such areas is shown in the example below.
Threshold
10. Get BioChip
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Puzzle Logic To get the BioChip it is necessary first to drop the laser security field that blocks access to the container. This field is illustrated by the diagonal dashed lines in the schematic. When the laser field has been dropped (Security Rotation #1), the player may open the hood of the container. The hood will rotate back (ala Jetsons) with a puff of vaporizing Nitrogen to reveal the chip on a small pedestal. The player may zoom-in on the open hood (just for coolness points, to get a close-up of the chip and its surroundings), and from that scene they can pick up the chip as an inventory object. |
It is presumed that the
laser field around the chip container has been dropped.
· Move
to Level 4, location 4, facing West.
· Click
on the hood.
·
Click on the revealed chip, the scene moves to a zoom-in.
·
Pick up the chip and place it in inventory.
Puzzle Clues
N/A.
There are a fair number of story points associated with this container
and the chip itself, however, that will be encountered via the Ghost as
the player works through this puzzle.
Scene Identification
Location
4. Level 4, Facing West, and Zoom-in: The laser field may be obscuring
the containment tank in which exists the chip.
The tank should be very modern, surrounded by ominous equipment
and machinery whose purpose is unclear.
The zoom-in occurs when the hood is open.
Final States
The hood on the container will always
close when the player leaves this scene, except when moving to the zoom-in
(the zoom-in only occurs if the hood is open).
As such, this puzzle appears the same from any position, but the
condition of the laser security field may vary, and must appear correctly
on or off when viewed from different scenes within the lab.
Objects
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Name, type,
description |
States |
Sound |
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Laser
Security Field. Clickable, Animating barrier. This
barrier may or may not be present depending on whether or not the
player has done the proper security rotation. |
Clickable,
On/Off. |
The
laser field has a particular sound when on which should be notably
absent when gone. |
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Hood. Clickable, Animating hood
which covers the BioChip container. |
Clickable,
Open/Closed, Animating (to switch states) |
The
equipment holding the chip should have an ambient that suggests
mechanical life. |
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BioChip. Inventory object. Can only be taken from the zoom-in scene
that becomes available once the hood is open. |
Inventory. |
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User Action |
Conditions |
Results |
State Changes |
SFX |
|
Enter Scene |
Security
field active |
The security field covers
the puzzle elements. They
cannot be accessed |
N/A |
Security field ambient is
heard |
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Security
field inactive |
The hood is closed. |
N/A |
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Click on Security Field |
Any. |
N/A, Cannot activate remainder
of puzzle |
N/A |
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Click on Hood |
Hood
open |
Zoom-in to hood chamber,
BioChip |
Switch scene |
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Hood
closed |
Hood opens via animation,
puff of vapor |
Hood opens via animation |
Hood opens, vapor |
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Leave Scene |
Any |
Hood closes when player leaves
scene |
Hood closes via animation |
Hood closes |
Design Index
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