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What puzzle games can learn from Nicolas Cage

  • Speaker: Ludipe

Most puzzle games aspire to be something elegant, coherent, and concise. You only add the strictly necessary. Graphics must be extremely clean, even abstract. There can be a tiny touch of narrative, something that contextualizes the mechanics, but without taking the spotlight.

These creative principles are incredibly common in the puzzle community, and they have led to many amazing games. But that doesn't mean it's the only way to make a game. I'd argue there's value in pushing against these principles. I want to see more puzzle games that are weird, messy, and over the top. Just like Nicolas Cage.

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Mathematics for Puzzles 2

Mathematics for Puzzles 2

Ivan Koswara (chaotic_iak)

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This talk was presented at ThinkyCon 2025, a developer conference about all aspects of the creation of thinky games.

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