Researching: Zoombinis

For this task we have picked our group members (mine consist of me, Jac and Will) and our genre of video games were given to us randomly: Puzzle

For the puzzle game to look further into we have chosen Zoombinis, a puzzle game released in 1996.

How is the Game structured?
The game is set as a map which the Zoombinis must travel through in order to reach their destination: Zoombiniville.In order to get the Zoombinis to their new home, you'll have to create them first.

Customizable features include Hair, Eyes, Nose and Feet. The names are randomly generated and do no effect the gameplay whatsoever.
These features (except the name) become key parts in most of the puzzles throughout the game. As the player progresses, the puzzles become more challenging.

Does it have levels?
The game has 4 levels, all of which are difficulty. Not so easy (Easy), Oh so hard (Normal), Very hard (Hard), Very very hard (Hardest difficulty)
Example of difficulty changes:

Left: Not so easy Mudball Wall
Right: Very Very hard Mudball Wall







The objective of  this puzzle is to hit the light grey slabs to fire up the number of Zoombinis that the dots list. However, should you run out of mud before hitting all the dotted slabs, remaining Zoombinis are left behind. Mudballs can be one of five colours and have one of five shapes (in harder difficulties the shapes colour can be one of five also).
In the left image, we can see the pattern that the player has revealed: Mudballs by colour are sorted by row while shapes are determined by column. With the information in the image we can then determine that:
Row 1, column 1 must be a Pink Star
Row 2, column 1 must be an Orange star
Row 3, column 3 must be a Green Triangle
etc Thus, solving the puzzle.
HOWEVER
In the hardest difficulty, the colour of the shape plays into the puzzle, thus making it far more challenging. The layout has also altered slightly, sorted into sections as well as rows and columns.

Do you have to follow a set path to complete the game?
For this question, I refer to the map below:

Upon reaching the first campsite the player may choose whether to go north or south. Whichever they choose, both paths offer different challenges but both meet up at the second campsite three challenges later. Other than this small choice, the path is set from start to finish.

How much freedom do you have to explore the game world?
 Zoombinis offers a practice mode. All this does is allows the player to select a level of difficulty and then any puzzle on the map. No other exploration of any sort can be found in this game.

What does the game look like?

The backgrounds in the game are well detailed with shading and lighting to top it all off while the characters (as well as anything that moves) are of a simple cartoon style.
 How do the visuals affect the player?
 These visuals make it easier for players to determine what they can interact with as well as what can interact with them in game.

Here, the bridges and Zoombinis are of the cartoon style, meaning they do a lot of movement. The cliffs and valley are well detailed meaning they are a fixed feature and do not interfere with gameplay other than visual appeal. The faces though, sneeze when a zoombini without the right feature crosses the wrong bridge, although by looking at the faces the player could guess they had something to do with the puzzle.