The inspiration for this project came from the classic 3D puzzle adventure title The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I wanted to create a dungeon in this style with emphasis on creating functionally "educational" puzzles. This meant creating puzzles with the intention of teaching the player various gameplay concepts. This process required three steps:​

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1. Introduce a concept to the player in a way that they can't possibly get it wrong.

2. Reinforce the player's knowledge of the concept by creating a puzzle that is slightly more complex than the one in step 1

3. Create a puzzle that appears to have an obvious solution, but potentially misleads the player into the wrong solution. Whether or not the player actually falls for the trap, we know they will have a rock solid grasp on the concept we need them to understand to continue.

 

          The video below demonstrates the dungeon in full. 

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          Forest Dungeon is a part of a mod for Half-Life 2. This particular mission is situated at the beginning of the story. At this point, the player understands basic movement mechanics, and how to use a melee weapon.