Puzzle Design 1: RPG Puzzle Types  Howdy. This is the first part
of my new article series on puzzle design for RPGs. The goal of
this series is to encourage critical thought about puzzle design
as well as provide inspiration and motivation for the puzzles in
your RPGs.  Today, we are going to look at a few core types of
puzzles that are often found in RPGs. These might not be the
only types of puzzles that can be in a game, but these are broad
categories that cover a wide variety of puzzles, and this
article will serve as a starting point for a more in-depth look
at puzzle design.  Environmental Puzzles  The first type of
puzzle that I want to look at is the environmental puzzle. These
are the puzzles that require the player to make use of his
surroundings. The player enters a new room or area, and is
greeted by a challenge. More importantly, the area contains the
tools that the player needs in order to solve that challenge.
In order to solve an environmental puzzle, the player needs to
interact with his sur