Late Night Thoughts: Human Resource Machine reconnected me to puzzle games

Growing up, I played a few educational games at school. I started off with the popular Math Blaster and Putt Putt games with small puzzles and challenges here and there. Looking back at it now, it helped develop a base of critical thinking that transferred over to my adulthood. Sure, the puzzles were easy and the stakes were about saving an animal in danger, but in my child mind state, nothing was more satisfying than reuniting a baby giraffe with its parents.

Human Resource Machine brought me back to this familiar feeling. That feeling of frustration but accomplishment after defeating another level. Puzzle games as an adult never felt very satisfying. I would solve them and be pushed along the way until there were no more. I either felt stumped or I built a level of frustration that I wanted to find the answer just to push along the story because the puzzle seemed poorly constructed or the payoff felt so lackluster.

In HRM, I wanted to feel that self-accomplishment because the puzzles were so interesting to me. The game is essentially teaching how to build assemblers on a very basic level, but wrapped up in a distinct art style and fun, witty dialogue from your overseeing manager. That is just enough for me to feel the frustration but not seek out the answers online. It’s the same feeling I felt playing games as a kid.

So I’ll be back soon with another post, but for now, I need to make more notes to separate my program into segments that makes it easy on the eyes, but efficient enough for me to show that this game can’t keep me down.

Hey, your blog here is interesting to read. Did you mean to say 'Human Resource Machine' in the title of your blog instead of 'Human Resource Management'? When I first saw the thread, I thought you were going to post about how a job in human resources somehow pointed the way to puzzle games.

What you did write is interesting because games that challenge you in some way you remember more, and I think too, you have a lot more respect for in terms of gameplay. I think there is some brain science somewhere that says challenges that you have to work through mean more in the longrun than anything you can just do quickly. To give a life example, when college comes around and we're thrust into classes that are challenging when senior high was a breeze is just one example where people are really stunned and confused. So the challenge is real, and that changes people.

I forgot to ask, but you are talking about the Wii U game of the same name, correct? Or am I just hoping you are? Keep up the blog series too. I think it's a good idea.

@ccffbb:

Firstly, thanks for pointing out my error. I edited it and should be good now.

Yea, I've gained quite a bit of respect for HRM. Its quite entertaining, but not a great game to play at night because it gets my brain working when it should be relaxing.

Thanks for the compliment. Its really cool to know at least one person is enjoying my work. For HRM, I'm referring to the game recently released on Steam. As for Putt Putt and Math Blaster, they were old PC games I played growing up as a kid.