There is a very easy way to make a game longer: add steps. Find a key to find a note to find another key. It works on paper, and it's exactly what we want to avoid.
One rule
Every step in a puzzle has to change how the player feels or teach them something about the place. If a step does neither, it goes.
How we test it
For each puzzle we write down its steps and ask three questions:
- Does this step add tension, or just time?
- Would the player miss it if it were gone?
- Does it fit what is happening in the story at that moment?
If the answers are "time", "no" and "not really", we cut it or merge it with another step.
Keeping the good ideas
Not every extra idea is padding. Some suggestions survived because they made moments more tense, not longer. The difference is whether the player is thinking "what now?" or "what was that?".
We'll keep playtesting with people who have never seen the game, because the only real way to know if something drags is to watch someone else play it.