Patrick’s Parabox is simply too sensible for me. Granted, common Sokoban is commonly too sensible for me, however because of a quite simple idea, Patrick Traynor’s recursive containers are creating mazes inside mazes – tiles that transcend dimensions as my headache turns right into a full-blown migraine. While he’s not able to unleash his Paraboxes onto the general public, you’ll be able to catch his puzzles in a brand new trailer posted this week.
The preview construct I checked out (supplied by Traynor) begins predictably sufficient. Regular outdated block-puzzles, pushing cubes round a small maze. “Yup,” I believed. “That’s Sokoban.”
But you don’t win an IGF by merely copying a time-worn puzzle idea. So when you’re accustomed to the very fundamentals, Patrick introduces the star of the present – hole containers that, when pushed in opposition to a wall, will swallow you into their very own micro-puzzle.
The manner particular containers are launched is deftly dealt with. You’re lured into pushing these tiles into apparent dead-ends – solely you retain going, breaking your self out of a seemingly not possible state of affairs by looping round inside one in every of Patrick’s eponymous Paraboxes. Things shortly ramp up, too. Goals are positioned inside recursive rooms, forcing you to start out contemplating puzzles on two layers, then three, then 4 or extra.
It’s the kind of intuitive design area that led to Patrick’s Parabox winning the IGF’s Excellence in Design Award earlier this yr. It’s additionally the sorta factor that shortly goes manner, manner over my head. In the trailer, we finally see puzzles that loop inside themselves, pushing you outdoors the playspace by diving additional right into a degree’s recursive warehouse.
Even if the artwork isn’t fairly hitting me, there’s a beautiful, mellow soundscape framing your box-diving – one which evokes Holedown, even when it’s not fairly promoting those self same space-acid vibes. Patrick’s Parabox doesn’t presently have a launch date, however you’ll be able to observe its growth over on Steam.
