I get that, though it is worrying nonetheless given how the industry is defined by AAA to an extent - but here's hoping that'll change

Don't get me wrong, I'm still gonna keep at it - it's something I've been passionate about even before knowing what game design means, but can't help but feel like I'm willingly walking into the meat grinder lmao

Man, now I have to level PLD😩

Your rat's name is 'Third Seat of the Convocation of Fourteen, the Redeemer, Keeper of the Underworld and Overseer of Death'????

Super interested in joining game jams but have always found it hard to find teammates - drop the discord!

Here, the problem has a heavily insulated solution, leaving the players to complete only the last few steps which directly lead to the resolution.

This leads to the player feeling satisfied for coming to the solution themselves, without any frustration that may stem from the puzzle - 6/6

But the player themselves will recognise the illness as something they have encountered many times before, cured by an herb that is easy to obtain. The player then has to make porridge while adding the herb to make a cure for the grandmother, resolving the quest. 5/6

E.g: in TotK Kakariko village, a worried npc needs help making food for her ill grandmother. Talking with the npc reveals more information about the illness and that the grandmother can only eat porridge, the recipe of which is given. 4/6

However, the context given by the side quests is obvious enough such that the only thing the player has to do is put two and two together most of the time.

But the simple existence of both these factors make players feel involved in the resolution of the quest without feeling frustrated. - 3/

Speaking in terms of non-shrine puzzles which focus on the mechanics of abilities and physics of the game; side quests which you get from talking to npcs or exploring often require you to work out a 'puzzle' in the form of a rumor, song etc without explicitly telling you what to do. - 2/