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Video Script
Be Inadequate: Don’t always tell your player everything. Leave some bits out that make the player wonder and want to play more games. Never say to the player how to beat the puzzle, if they forget something that is their fault, if you say, oh you missed this thing then the player could feel like the game is linear and the decisions they make might not add up to much knowing that there is always a safety net to guide them. Putting players out of their comfort zones can be good and make the players experience things they will remember.
Example: in the game Gifobaz by Xaq, Salman the fish and yak were playing it and they forgot to check behind a rock for an essential coin they needed, instead they played the game how it was not intended to play and they still had a great playthrough. In the game you could even become a wheeler which was one of the npcs you met!
Let the player try anything and play along with it: This can often be hard for newer PCG creators. Some players might try to fly for example, you could just say, “A human can't fly, “Or you could say, “Ok so you get into flight position, your flapping your wings, your getting up there. You look down and realize you were only imagining flying.” This makes the player want to try more creative ways to beat the puzzle. Remember that the fun of PCGs is that you really can do whatever you want.
Puzzles should be engaging and not basic: I have seen too many puzzles where a player just picks up a sword and kills a guy in their way. Instead, make your players come up with plans and think. An example of this could be. Ok you are in a narrow room, there is a sword on the ground and a plant beast at the end of the hall blocking your way. The player can use the sword, but maybe they use it for a different purpose. Let's say there is a light, the player could throw the sword at the light causing it to shatter and making the room dark, they could then impersonate a giant man to scare the guy out of the way. Most times I don’t write down the puzzles and just let the player try anything. If it makes enough sense then I usually let it work.
Make the NPCs mean something: Whenever you make a PCG make sure to add some NPCs that the player can interact with. Don’t always make them evil otherwise, each PCG could feel like a murder rampage. Make the player learn the character's backstory, and make them appear in the sequels with new traits or features. This makes the player want to care about the characters, but they will only do that if the characters can somehow benefit them. Maybe the player meets a giant stone golem that can protect them, but he can't hear so the player has to make them learn a series of taps that indicted actions.
Add random stuff: Sometimes random items or abilities in games can be fun for the player to experiment with. One example of this is “The Waky Wand Of Randomness” One of my players found this random twig in a temple, they waved it around and a flower grew out of his head. Now this item can do one of many random things when the player uses it, but it can be too overpowered if you use it and just say save game to try it again. I deal with this by letting the player only use it once per screen, that way they always look forward to what the wand will do on the next screen. You can also just add a bunch of random clutter on the screen for the player to pick up and combine into funny items to use.
Sometimes its better to be short and sweet: now this last one is strictly my opinion, and I know some people may not agree. I love to play PCGs anywhere from 1-6 pages. I feel like this is a good length so the player does not get tired and when they finish the small game they can always look froward to a sequel explaining the rest. If you do decide to make and play long games though, I recommend splitting it up into parts or chapters. Like for example my game The 3 Keys is split up into 3 different chapters exploring three different planets. It lets the player pace themselves and not feel rushed.
Anyways guys that was my top 6 PCG Master tips, hope this helped you new PCG masters. I do plan on doing more tutorial vids in the future. Thanks again for watching and see you in the next PCG video!