I've always been fascinated by the concept of Rube Goldberg machines, i.e. complicated processes that accomplish simple tasks, or in this case, overly complicated levels designed to bring the player's character from the start to the end with next to zero interaction from the player.
Incredible Machines was a great game that used this principle; I wish I had played the sequel, Incredible Toons.
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"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably." [...] The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged. - Captain Jean-Luc Picard
B*tch, meet reality. Reality, meet b*tch. - Me