Elegant circles

"The size of your circle of competence is not very important; knowing its boundaries, however, is vital.” - Warren Buffett

The best puzzle-adventure games have something in common — they deliberately test the player's sense of competence. The journey of rising and lowering competence usually plays out in 6 steps.

1. Distant treasure

The player spots a boon in the distance: shimmering gold, a faraway door, a floating key. The discovery sets in motion a journey over unfamiliar terrain.

*Example: In Zelda: Breadth of the Wild, the player spots a glowing temple on a mountain. Though the path to reach it is perilous, the end goal, the proverbial "treasure," is obvious.*

2. Competent exploration

Sprinting, jumping, slashing, dodging — the player employs their known abilities with a sense of comfort and mastery, but their sense of competence is short-lived.

*Example: In Hollow Knight, the player can navigate fairly easily at first, but as they descend deeper into caves, the game's map purchasing mechanic becomes key.*

3. Insurmountable challenge

Jumps fall short. Slashes prove useless against more powerful shields. The player violently collides with the limits of their own capabilities.

*Example: In Super Mario 64, Mario cannot reach certain stars without the Wing Cap, Metal or Invisibility caps.*

4. Transcendence

The player discovers novel skills and abilities: an icey dagger, a supercharged leap, a cunning backflip. Overcoming the challenge, they return to competent exploration.

*Example: The protagonist of GTA San Andreas storms a military base toward the end-game after learning to wield advanced guns, aim properly, dodge, and wear body armor.*

5. Valley of disillusionment

The player suffers setbacks. Wielding a new weapon is not enough; they must learn to wield the weapon in multiple ways to survive the ever-expanding monster hordes.

*Example: In Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the player solves several puzzles by crafting train cars. Eventually they reach a broken track that requires a novel type of cart assembly.*

6. God complex

Emerging from the valley of disillusionment, the player experiences true feelings of power and mastery.

*Example: After earning millions in Stardew Valley, the player unlocks a horse and the ability to warp among locations, making travel effortless.*

Infinite loops

Even the God complex is temporary as novel treasures lure the player back to Earth, and the entire loop repeats. And it's not always one loop at a time. Games like Zelda, GTA, Hollow Knight and Stardew Valley offer concurrent challenges, skills & rewards.

As Warren Buffett said, knowing the limits of one's circle of competence is vital. Deliberately pushing the circle's boundaries is a hallmark of amazing puzzle-adventure games.