To properly visualize the software dependency chart, one should understand that good game design encourages one to tie puzzle completion into the narrative. It allows the player to move the plot forward with their actions. The below diagram is from The Day of the Tentacle game. "Get Vinegar" and "Get the Gold" have disconnected graphs above them, meaning that they have no ancestor nodes in common. When writing the narrative around "Get Vinegar," the designer must be careful not to reference any plot points or information revealed outside of that puzzle hierarchy. The only puzzles that have been solved are in the ancestor graph above, "Get the Vinegar." Therefore, when integrating puzzles and narrative, pay attention to the ancestors in the inverted dependency graph above the puzzle in question. Create a software dependency chart using EdrawMax or EdrawMax Online.
