What is it
PuzzleScript is an open-source HTML5 puzzle game engine. Open-source here means that it is completely free and all code is visible to anyone who wants to learn from it. HTML5 is what we used to call DHTML back in the day, and essentially means it’s made with JavaScript, and runs in a web browser. Puzzle game, meaning that the games produced are of the logical variety, as opposed to the action kind. And game engine means that the PuzzleScript libraries include all the logic you need to make a game. You don’t need to do any base-level coding, just design the levels and configure the libraries.
Visit the PuzzleScript site for more
Puzzlescript is JavaScript-based game engine that is very easy to use and is a great way to introduce people to programming. Just about everyone I know who is paid to write code got their start because they were motivated to create games.
Puzzlescript games are very blocky and retro-looking, which may not appeal to kids used to the cinematic look of modern video games, but that is part of the price of having such a simple engine.
[typical puzzlescipt game screenshot]
Many of the games are good, however. Most are of the “sokoban” push-the-blocks around type.
Some examples are “Flying Kick” by Aaron Steed and “Boxes and Balloons” by Ben Reilly and many others can be found in the official gallery
Some games include the concept of bullets but most do not and none could be described as violent. The nature of the engine means games end up being logical puzzles.
Puzzlescript code looks like this:
[Enemy | Wreck] -> restart [ > Player ] [ Ship ] -> [ > Player ] [ > Ship ] [ > Ship | Iceberg ] -> [ > Ship | > Iceberg ] Sfx1 [ Enemy | ... | Ship ] -> [ > Enemy | ... | Ship ]
So, rather than lots of intimidating jargon, the code uses names and simple punctuation to set the rules.
Puzzlescript is completely free, and creator Stephen Lavelle deserves a lot of credit for opening his creation to the world. Even better, games made with Puzzlescript have the code immediately available, so if you want to see how something is done, just look at the code someone else wrote. For example, all the code used in the Flying Kick game mentioned above is here, open in the code editor no less, so you could start modifying that game.
Any good instructional system has to reward curiosity, and the Puzzlescript engine does that very well.
Main Puzzlescript site
How to make a Puzzlescript game
Who is it for
Most of the games I’ve seen written in PuzzleScript have been made by young adults, but the interface is simple enough that adolescents could learn it.
What Kids Like
Kids like making things they enjoy. They see a funny video, they want to make a funny video. They see a cool stop-motion animation, they want to make a cool stop-motion animation. They see a computer game they like, they want to make a computer game they like.
PuzzleScript is simple enough that a kid can make something playable very quickly, and since every game made in PuzzleScript has its source available (click ‘hack this game’ below the game) they can easily learn how others have achieved the mechanics of their games.
Also, becasue HTML5 runs pretty much anywhere, publishing your game and sharing with others is very easy.
What Parents Like
JavaScript is a great way to introduce kids to the concepts in programming, and PuzzleScript makes this much easier by skipping over the more boring and frustrating aspects of coding, thus keeping kids’ attention a bit longer – long enough to stay motivated and actually build something.
What the Critics Think
I have not seen any reviews of PuzzleScript. Because it is free, there are no advertising dollars that would lead to reviews.
Itch.io has lots of PuzzleScript games which is a sign that developers at least are taking it seriously.
Concerns/Flaws
If you look at examples of PuzzleScript games, you will see that they all have the same low-resolution look that may remind you of old Atari games. Kids today are used to photo-realistic graphics and the retro, old-school appearance of PuzzleScript may be a turn-off to some kids.
Who Made it
PuzzleScript is the work of Stephen Lavelle, who goes by the handle increpare. He is a prolific developer with many experimental projects on his site.
History
PuzzleScript began in 2013 and has been regularly updated since then. New games written in PuzzleScript are released all the time – every week if not every day
Where Can I Get it
Visit the PuzzleScript site for examples and full documentation. The coding interface is right in the browser window so nothing needs to be installed.
There is a Google Group where users compare notes, troubleshoot code, and share games they’ve made.
And there are books that can help walk your child through the process.
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If you just want to play the games, the official archive has plenty to choose from, although it is not at all an exhaustive list.
Some of my favorites are
Cratopia
https://www.puzzlescript.net/play.html?p=7114130
Heroes of Sokoban I, by Jonah Ostroff
https://www.puzzlescript.net/play.html?p=6860122
Heroes of Sokoban II: Monsters
https://www.puzzlescript.net/play.html?p=6910207
and Heroes of Sokoban III: The Bard and the Druid
https://www.puzzlescript.net/play.html?p=7072276