Hi all,

I'm trying to come up with ideas for puzzle-like elements to include in a FPS/horror game. The general idea is that the player is trapped in an area with one or two rooms, surrounded by enemies. They need to keep the enemies out by using things like security cameras, automated doors, automated weapons, etc. I want an air of scarcity and making do with what they have, e.g. limited power generation rate, limited wires/fuses/etc. The sort of attributes I'm looking for are:

• No mini-games, everything is simple FPS movement, timing, inventory and one button interaction.
• Complexity from system interactions, in the same way that the elements of Portal are simple but the puzzles are complex.
• Elements are electrical or mechanical, such as an airlock that has a fixed pattern of interaction, but you can pull the power on it while it's half way through cycling to leave it open an expose enemies to space.
• No single solution, but more trying to min/max a complex system.

I'm somewhat inspired by this video by the delightful Many a True Nerd of the game Tharsis, which is a complex dice-based space survival game. Simple elements, difficult decisions. However I don't see any direct applicability to my idea, perhaps there's some genre which is a better match?

Very specific requests I know, any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

JT

Can you clarify on "Everybody's Gone to the Rapture"? I was under the impression it didn't have puzzles per se...

What you're describing sounds similar to Five Nights at Freddy's, though I haven't played it myself (I find the horror elements obnoxious in those). Maybe check that game out for some ideas?

Also, I think horror fits. You want difficult decisions and within the horror genre it's easiest to set up situations where it's reduced risk vs. loss of life. E.g. A crew member is infected and you must choose to blast them into space or have the doctor on board try to treat them.