The information comes from journalist Stephen Totilo, who recorded on his personal website Game File several nuggets heard during GDC 2024. Among the many speakers present this year, we find Josue Benavidez, design director at Insomniac. Benavidez came to explain the issues around the instant rapid travel system of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 – a little technological marvel that allows you to drop off almost anywhere in New York in a pinch of seconds. This functionality, difficult to develop and optimize, almost went into the trash.
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The spider that climbs, that jumps
Indeed, fast travel undermined Insomniac's efforts to provide a living world. “[Cette mécanique] was so unsuitable that we had to consider removing it, or restricting its use after the end of the game.“The Californian studio took the opposite tack and decided to improve player movement instead, to try to make swinging so enjoyable (and effective) that no one would be too tempted to skip the web rides. Among the In applied solutions, Insomniac has chosen to place easily visible holographic mission markers on the horizon, or to place distinctive visual cues – like the Sandman dunes – to encourage exploration. also why there are lots of secret chests on the ledges of the Big Apple.
The decision may seem anecdotal without context, but it is interesting to note that AAA studios are increasingly thinking about the relevance of fast travel as a fun tool. On the one hand, bloated open worlds can be saved by these magical shortcuts; On the other hand, as Itsuno and Benavidez note, using fast travel as a crutch means the game isn't great to begin with, or at least doesn't justify its open-world nature, by offering a hollow and uninteresting diorama. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is full of optional conversations between civilians and little details that reward attentive players. Insomniac didn't really want to work on it for nothing… what if the solution was to turn away from the perpetual expansion of open worlds to offer more compact, more relevant environments?
Do not hesitate to consult the full article by Stephen Totilo since we learn a lot of other juicy anecdotes, such as the passion of Sven Vincke (Larian Studios) for the RTS and the meteoric progress of the Godot engine.