Some video games let you do hard optional stuff early on. It’s reasonably common and there are several reasons for it.
Baba does this but also is nice enough to communicate about it (you don’t just have to figure it all out yourself). Roughly, there are 3 levels of difficulty per zone.
Suppose a zone has 10 regular levels and 5 extra levels, and you need to complete 5 levels to move on to the next zone.
Then then the 3 groups of levels are:
1-5: this is the easiest group. you might beat all of them now.
6-10: these are harder on average. they probably won’t all be hard. they give you some additional options for finishing the zone in case you don’t beat some of the 1-5 levels.
Extra 5 levels: these may be really hard. They’re fully optional.
The game designer is probably trying to make 1-5 be easier than any levels in later zones. But some 6-10 levels in this zone are likely harder than some 1-5 in some later zones. And the extra levels could easily be harder than level 10 from a zone that’s 5+ later.
You aren’t doing the levels in the approximate order of difficulty decided by the game designer. They gave you access to an optional challenge early, which they know is a hard level, and you’re getting stuck on that.
That sounds reasonable to me. So far I’ve seen the spike in difficulty in Zone 1 - Extra 2, and that makes me think some earlier levels are harder than later levels.
Ok, I don’t want to do an optional challenge and get stuck like that. I see how some of these early levels could be harder than later levels. I’ll come back when I have more knowledge.
It’s been going ok. I have 132 dandelions and 8 flowers. Doing the levels and trying to focus on learning seems to help beat them. I like that I can come back to a hard level later and pick up something new.
I’ve been trying to talk to myself more while figuring out the levels. The way it works is I ask myself a question and then I let myself think on my own some possible solutions. If nothing happens I ask myself again sometimes more specifically like, “I need two keys for these two doors AND be able to have the KEY IS PUSH rule on.”
I havent thought of myself as being a puzzle solver type, but this game is making me interested in doing that stuff.
I played a few more levels (still around 150 completed). Here’s what I wrote down in order to figure out zone 2, extra 3:
To win you need to do one of these:
remove 2 tiles of water (to get out). this seems to require turning all 3 objects into the same type
write “X is you” horizontally
push “X is you and” down onto “win” from above
1 seems impossible because you can’t turn anything into the thing that’s currently you. when it says “X is you” you can’t write “Y is X” with only one “is”.
2 seems impossible because you can’t change the “is you” to horizontal in one move even if you control multiple units. you can only move in one direction in one turn, but rearranging requires a horizontal push and a vertical push.
3 seems impossible because there’s only 5 vertical space above the water. with 7 i could win. i can have 2 keys 1 baba and move “key/baba is you” over sideways. but once it’s in position, i don’t have space for “key is you and open”. well, i have 5 spaces, but so it fits in the right column, but there are two issues. i need to fit the key below it to run into the water, and i need a space above to push it down after breaking the water. i can’t break the water first because i need all 3 units to move the “X is you” sideways. the “is you” tiles have to both move at the same time.
rules available:
flag/key/baba is you [and open]
flag/key/baba is flag/key/baba (transform something that isn’t you into something else that isn’t you)
X [and Y] is open (stuff that isn’t you)
flag/key/baba is you and flag/key/baba (turn yourself into something else and lose immediately)
using 1 of each object, you can do “flag and baba is you” and then push the “is you” over to make “key is you”. you can move “is you” sideways keeping 3 separate objects. but i don’t see how that helps.
to break water, i need to be multiple objects and have them be open. i can’t be two different things at once and have the open property, so i need to have two of the same thing and make it open. then i can break one piece of water and have 2 different objects left.
to write something with “win” without getting it out, i need to come from the top or left.
i need to write “X is win” or “X is you and win”
i could write “key is flag and win” and “baba is you” at the same time.
i could write “key is open and win” and “baba is you” together. that’ll work!!!
Be on the other side of the lava when the second point happens cuz all the lava is defeat
I can literally be the hand and Baba and maneuver both so the hand opens the door and Baba pushes IS DEFEAT up to complete the DOOR IS SHUT RULE. But that makes me stuck behind some lava as Baba.
It seems I gotta utilize MOVE, ON, WALL, IS, AND PUSH.
Rules I can make:
Hand/Hand/Wall is Move
Hand/Baba(or both) is You
Door is Shut/Lava is Defeat
Wall on Hand is Push/Move
Baba/Wall/Hand is Push or Move
For beliefs, I gotta be on the top side of where the door is so I don’t have to traverse any lava when it’s defeat.
I don’t see how me turning baba into a hand will help me. I’m gonna try that. No it didn’t work
The way I’m seeing it is I gotta have a third member that moves the IS DEFEAT up so I end up being safe on the door side of the level.
Maybe the wall, on, is, and push will help with that. There’s a reason why there’s four walls and not just one. I want to have the wall move up to push the IS DEFEAT, but that looks impossible without some way of reorienting it up when it’s against two walls.
How do I make the Door is Shut rule and be safe from the lava at the same time? I’m gonna think for 5 more mins and move on to another level.
I know I can’t turn the wall into a hand or Baba but I can make it do something for me. Maybe the amount of wall is important cuz of it’s length. I can have it move logic for me if I put the is move rule on it.
I think I’m getting somewhere, but for now I’ll leave it here.
It was a little hard to use the writing to help me figure stuff out on the level cuz I’m used to using my head, but I like that you have something to look back on that’s documented. I think I’ll try it again another time.
To win I gotta be on the other side of the mishroom when it is defeat.
The mushroom and heart cant be pushed.
To also win I gotta have something push the both mushroom and love to the right and make love is win.
obv i cant be two places at once. Doesnt seem like i can be the bug or belt. i can change baba into a belt or bug but I cant have the IS YOU rule apply to them.
Rules I can make:
Baba is Shift(helps me push the belt and bug out of their places)
Bug/Belt is Shift( or both at the same time)
Bug/Belt is Push (or both at the same time)
Baba is Push
Seems when two things are Shift that makes one push the other while riding the other. You move the distance of two blocks from that.
My beliefs are that you gotta use the bug and the belt and the rules available to push them to make the love is win rule.
I think since this is 5-12 i dont want to spend too much time on it. ill give my self 5 more mins and see if I learn anything else new. if not ill move on.
i want to see what happens if i can arrange the rules someway so that the bug and belt do something useful for me.
Ah that was so cool so I ended up placing the bug and belt on top of each other and made them both the IS SHIFT rule and started zooming like a car across the level. i think i can figure out the level from here
That was interesting using writing to help figure what I was doing. It didnt require much thinking cuz I could look back at what Iwrote so I dont have to rethink it and forget.
While I dont see the connection right away on how writing helped me solve the level, I like that I was able to beat a level this time while writing.
Is solving problems in real life like solving levels in Baba is You? Like when you get stuck on a problem in real life you can come back to it later when you know more. Instead of solving more levels to learn more in Baba is You you can make new experiences, talk with people to get their perspectives, and keep improving on the skills you already have.
If that’s how it kind of is in real life then that’s cool cuz every problem is a level in Baba is You that you gotta solve.
When I do sets of math exercises I put the ones can’t do in a reasonable amount of time (usually 15-20 min) on a list and come back to them after having done other exercises. The exercises are usually easier when I get back to them because I solved other exercises that were similar.
I didn’t always do this either. I used to get stuck on one exercise for a long time and then come back, still not get it and give up. After reading Elliots ideas on overreaching I tried this current method more. Life, Overreaching and Correcting Error · Elliot Temple
I read the article and I see how doing something similar can help with getting past the original task. Like, maybe you just need your mind off the original thing and try something fresh. That or maybe you can try something where you don’t make so many errors and build your skills there.
I saw your two trees. I see how you can focus on getting the numerator part of the problem down and you could work with less steps with the denominator part of the problem.
Sometimes just taking a break lets you solve the problem almost immediately when coming back to it. I think it’s probably because you’re subconsciously (or consciously as well) thinking about the problem in the break.
I have heard that some great thinkers use techniques to get into a more creative state of mind. They would hold a piece of metal while falling asleep in their chair, and when they were about to fall asleep that would make them drop the metal which would hit a pan to wake them up, and this would make them more creative for a short time.
I can’t remember where I heard this from, probably yt. I haven’t researched it or used it myself.
Here is an article I just found on the topic: https://www.inc.com/the-muse/albert-einstein-thomas-edison-your-half-asleep-brain-can-solve-problems-better.html
I see that like sometimes I think consciously about a Baba is You level and I end up thinking of an idea to use the next day.
Subconsciously, I think something for sure is happening cuz when I come back to a Baba is You level after a day of trying it, all the hard steps to keep track of like what rules I can make or what kind of blocks are there is more manageable.
I read it, and keeping track of some subconscious thoughts does sound useful. When I consciously think that something is a problem, I believe it kind of blocks some methods of thinking cuz just saying the word problem is intimidating to me.
I like the idea of writing down what you thought when youre half-asleep. That way you can document it and take it seriously and it could help you
Sometimes I can’t help but think (consciously) of the problem I just left, perhaps it happens more when I can think of possible solutions. If you leave a problem do you stop thinking of it? Does it happen more when you can’t think of possible solutions?
I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep like that. I think the better idea is to start working on a problem as soon as you wake up. I think it’s a good idea to start the day on the most important/difficult problem as fast as possible anyway.
I think the half-asleep technique seems a bit gimmicky, I haven’t checked if great thinkers actually did it. The purpose of the post was more about how some problem solving happens unconsciously.
Sometimes it’s easy for me to “get over it”, and think of the problem when I come back to it. Sometimes, no. I think when I take a problem more personally it’s hard to get it out of my mind. With Baba is You it’s easier cuz I think it’s just a game and games are supposed to be fun so I end up being ok. When I think a solution is on the tip of my tongue with the game I consciously try to think(away from the game) of solutions cuz I think I can figure something out.
Yeah, I like that more. When I think about it my sleep is very delicate and easy to mess up so I wouldn’t mess with my sleep trying to get new ideas out of it.
Oh, I see. I don’t know how to get that attitude or train of thought. To me important/difficult problem sounds like there’s going to be a chance of me failing and giving up. It sounds unpleasant, but also related to my perspective of things.
Ok, I see it now. I was thinking there was like a big idea when reading the article and post, and it was yeah that problem solving happens unconsciously.
1.)Since Dust and Win looks stuck up there, I gotta bring the moon to the star so some dust comes out of it and I win
2.)I don’t see a secondary way to win
1 seems hard to do cuz when I push the moon off the cloud so it lands on Baba, it falling seems to register first and it falls down to the ice or the other cloud.
I have to somehow use the extra IS and baba to my advantage.
Rules I can make:
Baba is Cloud
Baba is Stop
Dust is Cloud(Don’t see how that’ll help rn)
Cloud is Baba
Ok, I tried messing around with the Baba Is Stop rule and the moon fell right on Baba and stayed on him if I spaced both babas right.
I can’t move left or right after that cuz the other baba is on the side of the rules and can’t help move the moon with the baba on the side of the moon and clouds.
Baba is Stop rule sounds so useful, but I don’t know where to go from there like there is no other rule I can do when that is active.
I’m thinking if I do this level right it will involve me moving the extra IS back to DUST and WIN. That means I’ll be able to move left or right freely and not mess up the moon falling to a bad place. I’m thinking at that point the moon would had already reached the star and make dust and all I have to do is move the extra IS back to DUST and WIN.
Maybe I could work backwards from there like the IS has to be used somewhere useful. The fact that there are two babas sounds helpful like there would be no way for me to catch the moon after messing with the rules on one side.
I’m gonna try for 5 more mins.
Wait, maybe I could use the two babas and move the either the BABA IS YOU or the CLOUD IS STOP closer together utilizing the extra IS. Let me see.
An important problem doesn’t have to be difficult. The reason to do difficult things early in the morning is because that’s when you have the most energy. I think you should still do something manageable. I also think waking up and being excited to do something is a good state to be in, so I think how much you enjoy the problem also matters.
You can break up difficult problems into smaller easier problems. It can involve indirection. Doing similar but easier math exercises is an example of indirection, it’s not a lot of indirection, but you are starting another exercise instead of directly working on the same exercise.
What is your “perspective of things”?
Perhaps you only think of difficult things as problems. You solve many problems every day, like answering to posts on the forum. Perhaps recognizing more things as problems and recognizing that you solve them easily would help.
I’m not an expert on problem solving. I’m just writing my thoughts on things I think would be good to do. It helps me in thinking of ways I can improve myself.
