The problem behind the solution

To get to what I mean with that enigmatic title, I should start with an example. A few days ago, with a fellow designer, we started working on the level design of a puzzle game. Because the project is in early development, we try and playtest different approaches. One of them is a large level with a lot of open space. Near the end, there is an empty corridor longer than the screen’s width.

Two out of five playtesters, while crossing that corridor, immediately asked for a sprint feature. Of course we expected that reaction: it takes just too much time to simply cross that level. But that’s why it’s a great example of the phenomenon I want to talk about. Is the scale of the level too big? Or the character too small? Maybe, but what players wanted, running through that corridor, was to press a button and sprint.

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