Puzzles in a randomly generated dungeon

[purestrain]

All of the puzzles have to be hand-made, they only feature random variations.

I prefer a puzzle (abstract: move a object into a existing pattern) where the missing piece is different each time. Either there are 4 marked stones in hall with 10 other and one is out of pattern, or the puzzle transforms to colored platforms which change when the player moves above them. Its essential the same.

Retrieve key puzzle: Either its a key in a chest which must be brought  to the door or its a chapter which has to be placed side by side to the throne of the skelleton king. Almost the same.

These were exactly two puzzles (pattern matching and object retrieval) with random variations. Could be even merged; retrieve a object and place it in the missing pattern.

[Etinarg]

I don't think randomly generated puzzles will ever be on the same level of quality as hand-made ones.

That's the same argument as in the discussion of handmade maps, and randomly generated maps. Still roguelikes decided for randomly generated maps and players like it.

The benefit of generated content is, that it can be generated newly for each game, while for hand-crafted content in games, there will be the point when the player has seen it all, and knows it all.

I agree though, that a good designer can make better maps than a good level generator. At least at the time being.

But this is another discussion.

[Z]

Pick Dungeon Crawl for example. The main gameplay is actually a puzzle itself. You have to survive the attack without dying or using up your one time resources. If you fail to solve the puzzle (either because it was impossible (which Crawl does not guarantee not to happen), or because you are not good enough), you can cheat by using up a potion of heal wounds or a mighty wand. If you are good enough at solving this puzzle, you will gain the one time resources faster than you use them up, and you will win the game. I play Air Elementalists in Crawl, and survival is a puzzle for them: to lead the monsters in such a way that their zap/lightning spell bounces and hits them several times. That's my view of Dungeon Crawl.

[Hi]

you can use the minimum number of moves to solve a puzzle as an estimate of difficulty.

[Anvilfolk]

I'd like to see someone make an algorithm to do that on a regular game of Crawl 

[Etinarg]

For Angband there are two (maybe only one these days) so called "Borgs". AI implementations which play the game. I have forgotten the name of the more successful one, though, yet it was (is?) able to win the game fairly regularly, and with different character classes.

Crawl is more complex than Angband, though ... but some day someone will give it a try, I'm sure, and make an AI which plays Crawl.