Puzzle Pieces

Puzzle pieces games are determinate missing element games. The missing element is a single thing which, when found, serves as the key to the whole game. These games provide resolution for the user. Once the puzzle piece is found, the game is over, the environment is understood, and the user can go about their life. Unfortunately, this also generally means that the game doesn't help the user come to any conclusions about the greater meaning of life.

The easiest way to develop the missing puzzle-piece game is to create the whole environment with the missing element in place, then remove the element. It is possible to create a puzzle-piece through "black-box" operation, where the creator doesn't know the nature of the missing element, and merely creates all the elements around it, relying on their profiles to create a negative image of the missing element.

Formal functionalist design models

Black-box computer and project management systems

Guess the Game: Generators and Organisers of Depth