Practical Game Design

Twist

After players showcase a sense of mastery, it’s time to confound their expectations. The twist is all about taking what players begin to take for granted, and twisting it in a fresh new way. This is often done by mixing the new mechanic with something that you've introduced previously or by exposing a property that players did not experience or expect. For example, in many Legend of Zelda games, players get a bow and arrow and use it to activate remote switches. Later on, it's unveiled that you set your arrows alight by shooting them over flaming braziers. This twist is all about discovering a new combination of two seemingly unconnected elements, and can be used to present a variety of spatial puzzles.

When it comes to our case-study, ...