Puzzle Design: Enhancing Gameplay through Speech Cooperation and AI Interaction

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The puzzles in our game are designed with three key elements in mind: speech, cooperation, and interaction with AI. They leverage the extensive knowledge provided by NLP models in a specialized context. For instance, GPT has the freedom to create its own riddles based on the game's themes or previous conversations.

The puzzle ideas outlined here provide a solid foundation based on Jane McGonigal’s goals, rules, and feedback systems, and Dan Schuller’s problem and solution method. GPT fleshes out these skeletons with detailed scenarios.

Puzzle Manager and Game Space

Creating a puzzle manager rather than a story beat manager presents challenges, particularly regarding the spatial aspects of a 3D game. Unlike games like Façade, which are confined to a single room, larger spaces require a fixed starting point for all puzzles. Each puzzle begins with two possible configurations for their start and end: either players start separately and come together, or they begin and end together.

Conversational Games and Personalization

The game incorporates conversational games like "Two Truths and a Lie" and "20 Questions" to enrich puzzle design. Gaya curates the puzzle sequence based on her affinity towards the players and their collaborative performance. The puzzles revolve around key interpersonal dynamics such as communication, trust, respect, empathy, and quality time. Cooperative mechanics like concurrency, parallelization, delegation, and asymmetric abilities foster teamwork and strategic thinking. Gaya also adds a layer of personalization by questioning players at intervals, drawing on social science methodologies.

Table of Puzzle Ideas

Below is a table of puzzle ideas that can be used in isolation or combination. Each puzzle follows this sequence: entering a new space, clarifying the goal, collaborating to solve the puzzles, with AI ready for guidance. Not all puzzles should be used, and only some will have specific instructions for personalization.

Stepping Stones

Players must use speech to create stepping stones for each other, which materialize based on the positivity of their words.

• ‍Goal: Cross to the other side/move ahead.
• ‍Rules (Gaya): Judge the positivity of the words (encouragement, gratitude, compliments).
• ‍Rules (Game Designer): Timing and appearance of stepping stones.
• ‍Feedback: Appearance of stepping stones based on sentiment analysis.
• ‍Thematic Relevance: Gratitude, appreciation, respect.

Lost Voice

One player loses their voice, and the other must negotiate with an AI agent to regain it. Different negotiation tactics can be used.

• ‍Goal: Regain voice to complete subsequent puzzles.‍
• Rules (Gaya): AI agent's identity, motive, and satisfactory resolution.‍
• Rules (Game Designer): AI agent types and negotiation tactics.‍
• Feedback: Gaya updates AI agent’s state based on negotiation ability.‍
• Thematic Relevance: Support, empathy.

Two Truths and a Lie

Players must evaluate statements from the deity to determine their truthfulness and step accordingly to cross a bridge.

• ‍Goal: Cross a chasm.‍
• Rules (Gaya): Statements and thematic criteria.‍
• Rules (Game Designer): Construction and destruction of a bridge.‍
• Feedback: Path unfolds with correct answers; wrong answers restart the player.‍
• Thematic Relevance: Trust, respect.‍
• Personalization: Questions related to players’ interests or professions.

Hot and Cold

Players move around a platform asking AI if they are "hot" or "cold" to locate sound sources, which provide a keyword.

• Goal: Locate sound sources on a platform to receive the keyword to proceed.
• Rules (Gaya): Provides location coordinates and "hot" or "cold" feedback.
• Rules (Game Designer): Provide player position to Gaya on each JSON request.‍
• Feedback: Sound clarity increases as players move closer.‍
• Thematic Relevance: Coordination.‍
• Personalization: Keyword.

Reverse Psychology

Players must use reverse psychology to navigate a room where anything they say is converted to its opposite meaning.

• ‍Goal: Navigate a room using reverse psychology.‍
• Rules (Gaya): Generate imagery and reverse player speech meaning.‍
• Feedback: Subtitles show speech conversion to its opposite meaning.‍
• Thematic Relevance: Support, empathy.‍
• Personalization: Room imagery based on player’s fears or undesirable locations.

I Spy with My A-eye

Players must find exits in a maze based on abstract descriptions given by the deity, matching them with images on doors.

• ‍Goal: Find exits in a maze based on abstract descriptions.‍
• Rules (Gaya): Provides abstract clues and generates images on maze doors.‍
• Rules (Game Designer): Implementation of maze generator.‍
• Feedback: Doors illuminate or open upon correct identification.‍
• Thematic Relevance: Cooperation.‍
• Personalization: Concepts based on players' interests.

Equilibrium

Players balance a scale sensitive to sound by speaking in turns to maintain balance.

• ‍Goal: Balance a scale by speaking in turns.‍
• Rules (Gaya): Asks questions requiring players to speak.‍
• Rules (Game Designer): Scale's balance affected by pitch and volume.‍
• Thematic Relevance: Coordination, patience.

A Garden for Us

Players give each other compliments to revitalize a garden of wilting lotuses.

• ‍Goal: Revitalize a garden by exchanging compliments.‍
• Rules (Gaya): Generate imagery and analyze player sentiment.‍
• Rules (Game Designer): Trigger flower spawning based on positive sentiment.‍
• Feedback: Sentiment analysis causes flower sprites to grow.‍
• Thematic Relevance: Appreciation.

The Whispering Waters

Players respond empathetically to whispers from the water to calm distressed characters and lower the water level.

• ‍Goal: Calm distressed characters to lower water level.‍
• Rules (Gaya): Whispered stories and calming criteria.‍
• Rules (Game Designer): Spatial positioning of voices.‍
• Feedback: Sentiment analysis quiets the voices.‍
• Thematic Relevance: Empathy.‍
• Personalization: Whispers relatable to players' experiences and wishes.

Misconceptions

Players correct distorted images of themselves by expressing true feelings to clear the distortions.

• ‍Goal: Correct distorted images by expressing true feelings.‍
• Rules (Gaya): Generated imagery using Unreal Render Targets.‍
• Rules (Game Designer): Distortion animations.‍
• Feedback: Keyword visible when distortions are cleared.‍
• Personalization: Distortions specific to players' insecurities.

Bridge the Gap

Players mediate a quarrel between two entities to repair a bridge and progress.

• ‍Goal: Mediate a quarrel to cross a bridge.‍
• Rules (Gaya): Mediate a problem between two quarreling entities.
• ‍Rules (Game Designer): AI agent types and negotiation tactics.‍
• Feedback: Mediation tactics and solutions evaluated.‍
• Thematic Relevance: Reconciliation, problem-solving.

Additional Puzzle Ideas

• ‍20 Questions: Players guess a keyword by asking yes or no questions to truth-telling and lying statues.‍
• Storytelling Relay: Players create a story using random images, judged by creativity and coherence.‍
• Room Net: An AI-generated room with hidden symbols, changing design with each entry.‍
• Reversal: Sentences are reversed for one player.‍
• Backtranslation Puzzle: Players translate a phrase into their shared language and back to English.‍
• Our Song: Players navigate based on lyrics from their favorite song.‍
• Roleplay: Players assume alternate identities to bypass an AI gatekeeper.‍
• Empath: One player gathers information to help the other placate a distraught AI entity.‍
• Guided Paths: One player guides the other based on directions.‍
• Collaborative Poetry: Players compose poetry or lyrics using voice input.‍
• Training Exercise: Players teach an AI character skills or behaviors.‍
• Wind Gusts: Players offer words of encouragement to navigate wind gusts.‍
• Compromise: Players rotate circular platforms to create a path.‍
• Open Communication: Players share stories or feelings to grow a circle of light.‍
• Distraction: One player distracts Gaya while the other sneaks past.

Personalization and Player Interaction

Gaya can ask players questions to draw out more information and personalize the puzzles. Questions are derived from social science studies, ensuring they are engaging and relevant. Examples include:

• Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?
• Would you like to become famous? In what way?
• Before making a phone call, do you rehearse what you are going to say?
• What would constitute a "perfect" day for you?
• Name three things you and your partner appear to have in common.
• Do you have a secret hunch about how you will die?
• For what in your life do you feel most grateful?
• If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be?

Step-by-Step Process for Puzzle Implementation

Each puzzle can be structured around a step-by-step system prompt. For example, the mediation puzzle “Bridge the Gap” involves:

1. Deciding the conflicting entities and their motivations.

2. Providing step-by-step mediation processes:

• Gaya introduces the scenario.
• Players convince the entities to let them help.
• Gather viewpoints and find common interest.
• Evaluate options and present a win-win solution.

Gaya (or other AI entities) judges whether players have met the criteria before moving to the next step. This step-by-step process can be finetuned or system prompted into the AI's GPT brain. An example of the system prompt with a step-by-step process can be found here.