Jump to content

Photo

Don'ts for ZQuest


  • Please log in to reply
41 replies to this topic

#16 Jared

Jared

    Deified

  • Members
  • Real Name:Jared
  • Pronouns:He / Him
  • Location:New Hampshire

Posted 08 May 2018 - 02:18 PM

Don't try so hard to make the next breakthrough quest. Burnout is a real thing (not the racing series, like, actual burnout) and if you aren't careful, you'll find yourself stressing over the dumbest little details.


Stop vagueing me!
  • Anthus and Shane like this

#17 TheLegend_njf

TheLegend_njf

    Deified

  • Members
  • Real Name:Grant

Posted 08 May 2018 - 02:37 PM

DxZenpP.png


  • Anthus, Shane and Deedee like this

#18 Anthus

Anthus

    Lord of Liquids

  • Members
  • Location:Ohio

Posted 08 May 2018 - 02:58 PM

Stop vagueing me!

 

I was blatanting myself, actually. :P


  • Shane and Jared like this

#19 James24

James24

    Adept

  • Banned
  • Real Name:James
  • Location:Australia

Posted 08 May 2018 - 11:14 PM

Guys, I really hate to say it but there's a big, big elephant in the room that no one has addressed.  You all know Isaac Newton right?  Famous medieval scientist who came up with the 3 laws of motion.  Well I have my own 3 laws of quest making:
 
1.  Quest makers cater for their own tastes first and everyone else's second.
2.  The "everyone else second" part only happens if and only if it takes a very short time to implement.
3.  When the quest makers are paid lots of money by audiences, rule number 1 becomes "everyone else first and own tastes second" and rule number 2 becomes "everyone else first even if it takes nearly forever".
 
Quest makers can have all kinds of weird and strange tastes that the vast majority of players won't like.  And they aren't going to change things unless rule number 2 or 3 is met.  Nintendo follows rule number 3, but all free quest makers follow rule number 1 and occasionally rule number 2.

  • jerome, Octorockoncrack, Jenny and 3 others like this

#20 Chris

Chris

    The Sun Is in Your Hand!

  • Members
  • Location:Germany

Posted 09 May 2018 - 04:58 AM

That's easy to say in a forum with everyone overconfident and proud enough of his own work to shrug any negative comment off like nothing.

And if there is a thing I really want to do, it's the right-flip slash. :P

#21 klop422

klop422

    Guess I'm full of monsters and treasure

  • Members
  • Real Name:Not George
  • Location:Planet Earth

Posted 09 May 2018 - 06:02 PM

Something else that comes to mind:

When doing block puzzles, don't overcomplicate things. Put as much in as you need to, but don't put anything in that is completely irrelevant to the rest of the puzzle.

 

Actually, I think that could be applied to most puzzles. Having an extra unrelated thing within your puzzle is generally a waste of time.


Edited by klop422, 09 May 2018 - 06:04 PM.

  • Jared likes this

#22 TheLegend_njf

TheLegend_njf

    Deified

  • Members
  • Real Name:Grant

Posted 10 May 2018 - 05:44 AM

Something else that comes to mind:

When doing block puzzles, don't overcomplicate things. Put as much in as you need to, but don't put anything in that is completely irrelevant to the rest of the puzzle.

 

Actually, I think that could be applied to most puzzles. Having an extra unrelated thing within your puzzle is generally a waste of time.

 

LftnghV.png

... Good idea...


  • Yapollo, Jared, klop422 and 1 other like this

#23 Yapollo

Yapollo

    To Discover

  • Members
  • Location:Somewhere in the U.S.

Posted 13 May 2018 - 07:08 PM

LftnghV.png

... Good idea...

 

Wow. That, sir, is a puzzle. (It looks kind of fun in a complicated sort of way thought :) )

 

I would add to these fantastic points:

  • Do not be afraid to ask for help. We have a fantastic community here and a treasure trove of old posts of wisdom buried deep in the forums (maybe gold too - jury is still out on that). Sometimes one of our many PureZC aces has an answer right at the tips of their fingers, and they can either answer your questions in minutes (or have already answered it for someone in the past). And it is better than mindlessly beating your head against a keyboard for hours.
  • Do not try to do too much in one sitting. To mirror Anthus, it is easy to get burned out on a project, especially when real life gets in the way. If you have a busy schedule, set aside a window of time to tinker with the engine, and, when you start to get fatigued or upset, write down whatever idea you are working on in your word processor of choice (so you do not lose your ideas), and then step away for a bit and then come back refreshed. It will let you catch mistakes and it will keep you thinking fresh.

  • Anthus, Jared and Twilight Hero like this

#24 Architect Abdiel

Architect Abdiel

    Kingdom Builder

  • Members
  • Real Name:Michael
  • Location:Florida

Posted 16 May 2018 - 05:39 PM

DON'T listen to this thread.
  • Shane, Eddy, Yloh and 3 others like this

#25 Old-Skool

Old-Skool

    Hero of Time

  • Members
  • Location:Missouri

Posted 16 May 2018 - 06:48 PM

Don't delete old quests that you have stopped working on, ever. Anything original that you made for it will be lost, and you could have imported it into something new. 


  • Anthus, Shane, Eddy and 7 others like this

#26 klop422

klop422

    Guess I'm full of monsters and treasure

  • Members
  • Real Name:Not George
  • Location:Planet Earth

Posted 16 May 2018 - 07:07 PM

Don't delete old quests that you have stopped working on, ever. Anything original that you made for it will be lost, and you could have imported it into something new. 

Yeah, I had a couple ok dungeons in a barely-started quest I was doing, and I recently wanted to look back at them (one was an open field and I barely remember what I did with it), but realised I couldn't.

To be fair, I switched computers a couple times, but I should have kept that file.



#27 Yloh

Yloh

    My Face!!!

  • Members
  • Real Name:Michael
  • Location:Mike's Fun House

Posted 21 June 2018 - 11:49 AM

Maybe I should get everything people have said not to do and put them in my next quest. The title "This Quest was a Bad Idea".

 

One of my biggest lessons from quest design is learning how other people just don't think like you do. If you come up with a puzzle with hints, other people may not think, or even know where to think, of the possible solution. Even if the solution makes logical since, it is difficult to convey your way of thinking to others without giving out instructions.



#28 klop422

klop422

    Guess I'm full of monsters and treasure

  • Members
  • Real Name:Not George
  • Location:Planet Earth

Posted 21 June 2018 - 12:22 PM

Make the final dungeon exactly 10 block puzzles (combined with raft puzzles) before a peahat final boss.

 

Yeah, I made my brother play through my level 8, and two of my puzzles turned out really difficult, when they really weren't supposed to be. Really, the best thing one can do is not only test everything, but get someone else to play through everything. Ideally a variety of people.



#29 coolgamer012345

coolgamer012345

    🔸

  • Members
  • Location:Indiana, USA

Posted 21 June 2018 - 12:41 PM

Wouldn't using the 4-way ladder get around the ladder making you stuck and/or feeling clunky?



#30 Binx

Binx

    Formerly Lineas

  • Members
  • Real Name:Brian
  • Location:Lancaster, CA

Posted 21 June 2018 - 04:59 PM

Just as a note: The raft can work just fine, but if you're going to use it, A. Make sure there are no walkable water combos around the dock, that'll make getting onto the raft a nightmare. B. Make sure there's a reason for you to use it since most of the time flippers are just a preferable item e.g. I have deep water combos that can't be swum across, but thanks to the raft not caring if it's actually on a water combo, I can use it to reach places that can't be swum to. Or you could use it for rock-climbing gloves, or something similar. Just don't use it over flippers, and don't make it redundant.




0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users