Geek Syndicate Issue 7 | Page 75

Geek Syndicate
Fast Travel In Video Games - Is it Worth it?
It’s a common trope in film and on television. The harassed parents driving their kids to some exciting destination, the little brats in the back seat enquiring every few minutes: “Are we there yet Dad? Are we there? Mum! Is this it?” Usually it culminates in the parents turning the radio up or serving the ultimatum, “Be quiet or we’ll turn around and go home!” In this instance, I think most sane people would be thankful for some kind of fast travel system, some way or means that transports you almost instantly from your home to your destination. However, when this idea is applied and inserted into video games, it can prove quite divisive. Some gamers love it and feel that it helps them enjoy the game. Some aren’t so keen and believe that it cheapens the experience – removing an element of immersion. I will admit that it is something I haven’t thought about too deeply. I know of, and use fast travel systems, but I seem to do so on a game by game basis. As I looked into the topic, a more pressing issue emerged, and that was whether fast travel covers up the flaws in weak games. My instinct said that it sounded feasible, and this article is a reflection of my thought process as I looked into it more deeply. Fast, or Instant Travel mechanics have become a mainstay of Open World games (Games in which a large world or area is portrayed, and the player is given freedom to explore and tackle various challenges at their own pace and whim). The feature is designed to cut out some of the monotony of traipsing across said large area multiple times, reducing the downtime between exciting clash number one and furious chase number two. Not all games implement fast travel in the same way. Some will offer some form of thematically appropriate travel, a horsedrawn carriage in a western game (Red Dead Redemption) or a train in a city based game (Grand Theft Auto IV). Others may just offer something more instant, such as a teleportation device or some magic spell that transports the player to their destination immediately. Both of these variations may have rules and limits,
Image © Bethesda Softworks, 2011 Getting from A to B ... To fast travel or take the scenic route? That’s the question that divides gamers!

75