False Machine: WHAT IS FLOW CONTROL?? (AND WHY SHOULD I CARE?)
most dungeon design is a complex synthesis between ‘game-ish’ and diegetic elements, treating the adventure purely as a game, or seeing it as in inhabited world, you can make good adventures from either polarity of course and like I wouldn’t mind (or don’t think I would mind as I don’t really play computer games) if I were playing a Nintendo game, being channelled around a long and encountering a series of interconnected boutique situations, but the moment I feel even the hint of those walls close in around me in an adventure I basically shit myself with resentment.
Enjoyed this piece and follow-up over at False Machine. The surrounding conversation is good too. Especially liked this bit from Jacob Hurst’s response:
Show the locks before the keys. Ideally, let the players interact with the locks and experience fun or interesting “failures” to communicate to them that they’ve found a lock and are in need of a key. Couple this with a relatively open area to explore where there are other things to do/find that aren’t locked. These things can, and should, contribute to their progression.