I know this isn’t strictly related to patient gaming, but I think it fits the ethos of this community and I can’t think of a better choir to preach to.
The director of Dragon’s Dogma II made the following statement regarding limiting or removing fast travel
Just give it a try. Travel is boring? That’s not true. It’s only an issue because your game is boring. All you have to do is make travel fun
I think this is fairly compelling. Though I will say, I don’t think the answer is to limit fast travel. The real limitations developers should be placing should be on filler quests that have you traveling from point a to point b and then back with some slight pretext as to why you’re doing so. It’s not fast travel that’s the issue so much as mission design and the manners in which the player is compelled to cross the game world.
Metroidvanias are a great example of how to allow for fast travel while still making traveling around the game world compelling. The latest Metroid, Metroid Dread, was really fantastic in this aspect. You have this sense of progression and exploration even as you’re backtracking.
Would removing fast travel from Metroid Dread have made it any better? I don’t think so. The inclusion of fast travel feels thematic. You have to work for it so it feels like an achievement to unlock. It augments the game.
So in short, I agree with some of the sentiment expressed, with regards to lazy gameplay design being boring. I disagree with the opinion that fast travel necessarily is boring, or causes lazy desing.
I didn’t learn that Red Dead Redemption 2 had a fast travel system until after my first playthrough. I completed a second playthrough shortly after and still didn’t use it. Im glad the game had the feature still because I know not everyone has 5-10 minutes to ride everywhere or are not as interested in that aspect of the game. The world was plenty compelling for me, personally, to not use it. I liberally use fast travel in other games. Sometimes I want immersion, sometimes I want to progress the story. I don’t think it’s indictive of lazy design. I really appreciate the option when I have it.
It’s not just an immersive game that allows me to get lost riding on horseback, the game is absolutely beautiful. Sunsets across valleys or over mountain ranges, NPC encounters around every turn. RDR2 gave us a world that felt alive and it’s a game that fast traveling just didn’t seem necessary