'I like to compare puzzles to mazes: there are a couple paths to the goals and there are a lot of dead ends,' he says.В 'It's the designerвЂ™s job to communicate to the player when they have hit a dead end,В and to encourage them forward when they are on a good path.' Once they've determined the form and layout of the puzzle, Wajcs and the Crystal Dynamics team set about disguising the obvious without ever overtly leading the player astray. 'But in my experience, verticality and asymmetry always help.' Making it clear when players have hit aВ dead end 'Is itВ interesting to explore?В Is it interesting to look at? Does the layout fit the puzzle like a glove, or is it squished and squashed in some places?'ДЄnother key element of the tomb design was ensuring that Lara had a variety of unique things to clamber around on.В 'Different things can make a layout compelling,' says Wajcs. Wajcs says there are several questions the team asked themselves to make sure that their level layout wasВ compelling. 'For me, the perfect puzzle exists at the intersection of economy of mechanics and compelling layout.' That goal, or as Wajcs calls it, Lara's 'Big Problem,' will inform everything else about the tomb. To ensure each tomb is filled with purpose, it's important to identify an overarching goal early on. Each object in the puzzle needs to contributeВ both to the solution and the playerвЂ™s understanding of the solution, and it's more economical for one object to do two things than to have two objects. 'For me, the perfect puzzle exists at the intersection of economy of mechanics and compelling layout ,' says Wajcs.В 'By 'economy of mechanics,' I mean that the puzzle is lean and mean, with only as many objects and mechanics as it truly needs. In order to do that, Wajcs and the rest of the design team tried to pinpoint what makes for a perfect puzzle experience for players.

They aimed to create levels that were giant, inviting, traversable puzzles. According to Crystal Dynamics' senior designer, Jeff Wajcs, one of the team's main priorities when approaching Rise was to put the 'tomb' back in Tomb Raider.

Rise of the tomb raider game