1) Outline your puzzles general functionalities and objectives. 

The players find themselves in a room with five doors. The door they came in through; and four others. One of those doors is slightly bigger than the others and has a plaque next to it with a bunch of runes. The runes spell out the names of the four elements: AIR, EARTH, FIRE, WATER in symbols unknown to the players. Next to each set of runes are four slots.

 

At this stage, the players already have a plate with  an AIR symbol on it and should be able to place it next to the appropriate set of runes (it is the only 3-letter word). The players need to find the remaining plates and place them next to the appropriate set of runes. They should be able to deduce where each plate goes based on the repetition of certain symbols (A and R). To retrieve the plates they must go through the remaining doors and defeat the monsters holding them. Placing the plates in the right order opens the door to the exit and the next part of the dungeon.

 

2) Evaluate your puzzle design using the 9 puzzle principles; 

• Does the puzzle present the player with a clear goal or objective? Yes, the placement of the runes next to the door should be enough for the player to deduce the way of opening it.
• Does the puzzle present the player with a clear way to start solving the puzzle? I think so, because the players would have already have the AIR plate in their inventory at this point. If not, it could be made clearer by having the AIR plate in the same shape as the slot.
• Does the puzzle give the player an indication of their progress in solving the puzzle? Again, I think so. It could be made clearer by having a special sound when the plate is placed in the right slot, having the runes glow, or by opening the next door in the sequence.
• Does the puzzle give the player confidence that they can actually solve it? Yes, as the player finds more plates, they should be able to recognize more letters as the symbols repeat themselves (for example E and T).
• Is the puzzles difficulty successfully linked with the games flow? The puzzle in itself is not that hard. It's just meant to give the players a break of fighting monsters and stimulates them in a different way.
• Does the puzzle feature multiple parallel processes and minimize bottlenecks? Yes it does. It mixes puzzle solving, fighting and item collecting.
• Is the puzzle structured as a hierarchy of smaller puzzles and if so, does it work to extend player interest? Not in its current form, but the missing plates could each be locked in chests with different keys to unlock them to add an extra layer.
• Does the game give good hints to prevent player stagnation during the process of solving? Since the puzzle is not really difficult, I don't really think hints are necessary, but a little message on screen could be easily added to remind players of the task that needs to be completed.
• Is the completion of the puzzle rewarding to the player within the game? Yes, it provides the player with access to other areas of the dungeon. Also, experience points could be awarded for its completion.