The Star Named EOS is a beautiful, deliberate puzzle game where most everything is "a meaningful clue"

Jul. 25, 2024

Interview | Game producer Weichen Lin talks good puzzles and photography

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Worth 1,000 words

The premise of the new game sees players inhabit the role of Dei, who shares a love of photography with his mother, as he attempts to recreate old photo compositions with the help of her letters in order to solve a family mystery that I won’t spoil here. I will say that I found the puzzles to be fascinating, and while the game’s story didn’t resonate with me in the same way as Behind the Frame, it certainly made for an interesting way to tell it.

Every memory worth preserving is carefully selected and cherished

“[Silver Lining Studio] game producer Jeremy [Chang] was deeply influenced by her grandfather during her childhood, sparking a strong interest in photography,” adds Lin. “The moment of developing film and receiving the printed photos connected ‘memories’ with ‘photographic prints’ for her, becoming the theme of our project centered around photography. Every memory worth preserving is carefully selected and cherished, which is why we believe preserving these emotions would be truly meaningful.”

“One of our core principles in development is figuring out how best to tell a story to effectively convey it to players,” says Lin when asked about the struggle of combining gameplay and narrative. “Therefore, we prioritize creating a complete narrative experience first and then decide on the gameplay mechanics to complement it.”

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For Behind the Frame, as an example, Lin says the team “believed that visual novel-style storytelling and interactive cutscenes would better clarify the artist’s story compared to complex controls.” As such, they went with “interactive elements and cutscenes as the backbone of the entire game.”

Given the game’s puzzles really worked for me, and broadly the same can be said for Behind the Frame with some minor caveats, I had to know: what is it that makes a good puzzle? What makes a puzzle bad? Is there a clear, defining difference between the two?

“When designing a puzzle, we consider its context and purpose,” says Lin. “We think about why the puzzle exists and why the obstacle needs to be overcome. Every element, even something as simple as a key, must serve as a meaningful clue.”

“Why is this here?”, “Who locked the door?”, and “What can be gained by unlocking it?” are questions that guide the team’s design process for each and every puzzle. “To include a puzzle in the game, its solution must enhance the player’s understanding of the story,” concludes Lin. “Conversely, if a puzzle lacks this depth, it may seem weak and unengaging.”

Rollin is the US Managing Editor at GamesRadar+. With over 16 years of online journalism experience, Rollin has helped provide coverage of gaming and entertainment for brands like IGN, Inverse, ComicBook.com, and more. While he has approximate knowledge of many things, his work often has a focus on RPGs and animation in addition to franchises like Pokemon and Dragon Age. In his spare time, Rollin likes to import Valkyria Chronicles merch and watch anime.

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