Scripts Recollection

[Frontcannon]

The basic structure of a puzzle is having an item the player has to find and an area it is applied on. This could either lead to the solution of the puzzle or changing / improving the puzzle item in some way that leads to the solution.

Some examples:

Lever puzzles. These involve mostly some special combination to enable the player to advance (unlock a door, cut off steam flow). Unless the combination bases on a mathematical formula or the player has an effective hint, these become very boring after a short time. Can also work with candles and other things.

Physics-based puzzles. Most fun and logical for the player. Very difficult to pull off though, as they need custom animation / models / particles etc.
One simple way of making these is making something fall down off something.

Item-based puzzles. Basically cover the whole rest. The player needs an item which has to be improved in some way sometimes, or he has to combine several items to solve the puzzle. Examples include a key and a locked door, the padlock puzzle in Frictional's prison, gathering ingredients for a special mixture (or spare parts for repairing something) and many more.