How to gate exploration without trapping players

1 The bottom line

Gate the world with abilities, knowledge and soft locks, show every lock before the key, and give each lock more than one answer. Then backtracking is a reward the player chooses, not a chore the game forces.

2 Key takeaways

Required bosses are a small slice of the total

Silksong (Act 2)12 required29 total

Elden Ring12 required150 total

• Keep the required path simple and put the depth in optional content. Casual players keep moving, and curious players get rewarded.
  • Silksong has 12 mandatory bosses at the end of Act 2 and 17 optional ones Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit30:50.
  • Elden Ring has over 150 bosses, but only 12 are needed to see the credits Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit6:06.
• Gate with weakness, money and knowledge, not only with items. These gates keep a sense of order without a physical wall.
  • Tunic's mountain door has no key, only knowledge found in scattered pages of the in-game manual Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit16:07.
  • A pitch-black Hollow Knight room hides a gate to Crystal Peak, and seeing it needs a Lumafly Lantern that costs 1,800 Geo Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit12:14.
• Show the blocked path before the player owns the tool. A remembered dead end tells the player where to return.
  • Metroid Prime's crashed frigate shaft shows where you want to go, but water holds you back until the Gravity Suit Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit3:30.
  • Super Metroid's early blocks that do not break show an icon of the power-up you need Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit3:36.
• Give critical progress more than one lock or route. A stuck player always has another way forward.
  • Hollow Knight's Mothwing Cloak has two critical locks into the Fungal Wastes, while Super Metroid has one Grapple Hook point Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit14:16.
  • Silksong's Clawline can be reached by beating Trobbio, or by finding the White Key and dropping through Whiteward Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit27:05.
• Make the return trip short and give it a reward. Players go back gladly when the trip is cheap and something new waits.
  • Hollow Knight's Forgotten Crossroads gate stays open once unlocked, so revisits skip the tricky platforming and gauntlets Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit30:16.
  • In Silksong, returning with the dash opens Hunter's March Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit42:33.

You made this decision off of your own back, and you’re rewarded with an upgrade.

Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit

2.1 Shape the map and pace how it opens

Limit what is open at once, and let the player learn the world before the reins come off.

• Keep the main path simple and make the depth optional.
  • Uncharted: The Lost Legacy offers optional treasure challenges that players can ignore, and Mark found they gave a breather between fast, linear chapters Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit7:50.
  • Almost every Zelda 1 overworld screen hides a secret, but only two are required, and both are hinted Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit4:42.
  • Dead Space 3 lets you do objectives out of order, and optional missions carry some of its more interesting story Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit6:01.
• Start with a guided stretch, then take the reins off.
  • Super Metroid keeps you in a small chunk of Zebes at first, then opens every old area after the loop back to Crateria Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit17:55.
  • Symphony of the Night gives about an hour of marching across the castle, so the map shows how wide the world is Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit2:52.
  • Silksong's Act 1 is tightly paced, Act 2 is loose, and Act 3 mixes both, so the game never stays on one note Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit1:02:28.
• Open the world in small pieces.
  • In Super Metroid a gate shuts behind you and a shaft you cannot climb cuts off early Brinstar and Crateria Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit7:59.
  • Metroid 1 opens most of Brinstar, part of Norfair and most of Kraid's lair after the first few power-ups, which is overwhelming Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit5:15.
  • After the Leap Stone and Mist, Symphony shows many places to check but only one real route forward Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit11:46.
• Split a big world into zones the player can hold in memory.
  • Metroid Prime 2 sends you through Agon Wastes, Torvus Bog and Sanctuary Fortress one at a time, each with its own items, keys and boss Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit3:24.
  • Elden Ring chains Limgrave, Liurnia, Altus Plateau and Mt. Gelmir dot-to-dot, so you cannot reach Gelmir without crossing the two before it Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit3:53.
  • Zelda 1's overworld is only 16 screens wide and 8 high, but winding paths, dead ends and chokepoints make it feel bigger Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit5:27.

2.2 Pick gates that are not walls

Danger, cost and knowledge can turn players away while the way stays technically open.

• Make a route reachable but costly.
  • Zelda 1 has only two screens and two dungeons that are truly unreachable at the start. Screens of tough enemies like centaurs do the rest Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit5:50.
  • Breath of the Wild uses tough enemies, steep walls and harsh climates so players do not see the whole map in one go Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit6:28.
  • Because parts of the world are withheld, Breath of the Wild still reveals new towns and biomes late in the game Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit6:28.
• Lock areas behind what the player knows.
  • In Zelda 1 you reach the western area with the dungeon four ladder or by knowing the Lost Woods path, which a woman sells for rupees Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit6:19.
  • A Metroid-style world does not need items. Toki Tori 2 opens new areas as players learn the game's mechanics Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit6:54.
  • A knowledge lock can be cracked at any time. Some players decoded Fez's language by pattern analysis before the Rosetta stone appeared Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit17:52.
• Let players meet late-game danger early, so failure becomes a goal.
  • A low-level Dark Souls player who walks into the Catacombs or New Londo Ruins gets wrecked, and spends the next ten hours planning a return Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit5:55.
  • Elden Ring lets you mark a too-strong boss on the map, explore elsewhere and return with more power Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit11:02.
  • Mark lost to a Lynel early in Breath of the Wild, came back 50 hours later with better gear and more hearts, and destroyed it Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit6:07.
• Never hide the critical path behind obscure secrets.
  • Metroid 1 puts random bomb-only walls on the critical path, so progress becomes poking at walls Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit4:37.
  • Later Metroid games keep bomb-through walls for secrets and optional upgrades Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit4:37.
  • In Metroid 1 the ice beam means bombing a floor in a random tunnel and falling into lava that does not hurt you Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit4:37.

2.3 Show the lock before the player has the key

A memorable dead end is what makes a player decide to come back.

• Let the player see the goal they cannot reach.
  • Metroid Prime's hot rooms in Magmoor Caverns drain your health fast, so the Varia Suit has an obvious place to be used Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit3:42.
  • Super Metroid's early space pirates confirm that the way forward is behind you Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit3:36.
  • Metroid Prime 3 tells you an item may be on a previously visited world, which Prime 2 did not Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit13:08.
• Place the dead end just before the item that sets up the next one.
  • Metroid Prime's missile door leads to an energy tank and a hole too small to squeeze through, which sets up the Morph Ball Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit4:28.
  • A half pipe right after the Boost Ball teaches the item and recalls the half pipes in Chozo Ruins and Tallon Overworld Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit3:57.
  • Symphony's clock room has no strong link to double jumping and opens only briefly, so many players miss it. Super Metroid shows a high ledge you cannot yet reach Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit6:53.
• Say which ability a blocked spot needs.
  • Super Metroid locks the door behind you in the run room. Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet lets you scan an obstacle. Blasphemous II ties each ability to one obstacle type Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit20:00.
  • In Banjo-Tooie, two sleeping guards in Mayahem Temple needed only a gentle stick tilt, yet players assumed a later ability was required Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit19:46.
  • Banjo-Tooie's jiggy tips page could flag each jiggy as accessible or not, so players know when to stop trying Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit20:45.
  • Metroid Prime's Phazon quarantine room makes players hunt for a Phazon-resistant item, but the answer is the X-Ray Visor. Invisible platforms cannot be memorable Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit5:41.
• Gate the entrance with the item, and keep each item usable in its own area.
  • A Link Between Worlds blocks the Tower of Hera's door with pegs, so you fetch the hammer first. Zelda 1 can stop you mid-dungeon for lack of the stepladder Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit3:18.
  • Prime 2 needs the Boost Ball from Torvus Bog back at the Great Temple, and the Spider Ball from Sanctuary Fortress back in Torvus Bog Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit3:47.
  • A structure is a promise. Prime 2 mostly keeps you in one zone, so a mandatory return to an old one breaks the player's mental model Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit4:49.

2.4 Give every lock more than one answer

Extra routes keep a stuck player moving and let a clever player skip ahead.

• Give crucial progress two ways through.
  • Metroid 1 can reach Kraid by two routes, accepts the high jump or the ice beam in some places, and hides the ice beam in two spots Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit6:04.
  • Team Cherry adds a connection between adjacent areas if it makes sense in the world and does not strand players. Deepnest links to the Queen's Gardens this way Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit28:41.
  • Elden Ring has a semi-secret path around Stormveil Castle and Godrick. Fia's quest lets you enter Leyndell without fighting the Draconic Tree Sentinel Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit5:51.
• Offer several leads and several solutions.
  • In The Forgotten City you can enter Malleolus's villa by jumping in the pool, climbing the vines or bribing the guard Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit9:16.
  • Link quests so progress in one helps another. Mark plotted every quest and found nearly all were linked Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit9:38.
  • The Intruder lead helps four others through the traitor clue, saving Fabia and the assassin's bow Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit9:38.
• Let goals fall in any order, and expect to pay for it.
  • Silksong's Threefold Melody has three pieces testing different skills, found in any order. Map icons show the general location Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit25:41.
  • Entering Leyndell needs only two of five Great Runes, so the other five bosses can be skipped Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit6:06.
  • A Link Between Worlds lets you do seven dungeons in nearly any order. The cost is that every dungeon must work whenever the player arrives Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit3:27.
  • In Uncharted: The Lost Legacy's Western Ghats, the tower puzzles get easier or harder by climb order, and the cutscenes play in a fixed order with swapped backgrounds Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit6:33.

2.5 Make the return trip cheap and worth it

Backtracking feels like a reward when the player chooses it, the trip is short and something new waits.

• Let the player decide to go back from their own memory.
  • Remembering a superheated Norfair room, getting the Varia Suit and finding a missile tank feels great. A Chozo statue pointing you back feels like busy work Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit11:48.
  • In A Link to the Past the big key sends you rushing back to a chest you saw earlier Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit2:04.
  • Skyward Sword's Skyview Temple is a dungeon you must revisit, but nothing interesting is in it, so it feels like padding Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit13:49.
• Shorten the trip and keep every path reversible.
  • Metroid Dread puts a teleporter beside the key's area that drops you next to the lock, so the zig-zag becomes a short hop Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit8:54.
  • After the grapple beam, Super Metroid's rooms bend back on themselves and return you to the Norfair elevator Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit14:01.
  • A Metroidvania must always allow backtracking. Ori's collapsing platforms are sand, so the player can dig through and return Chris McEntee, Moon Studios6:34.
  • Samus Returns uses teleport stations, and AM2R unlocks a distribution centre with pipes back to earlier places Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit4:49.
  • Symphony's wolf form upgrades and fast travel rooms cut the tedium of crossing old rooms again Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit7:59.
  • Zelda 2 turns a dungeon into ruins once you have the item and the boss is dead, which saves wasted trips Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit8:36.
• Give every return a payoff.
  • A new power-up should reopen many old dead ends. In Metroid 1 the missiles open the long beam, Tourian's entrance and the bombs, but Zero Mission opens only the path to the bombs Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit9:08.
  • Bring old bosses back as normal enemies. Dark Souls lets you take down Capra Demons in two hits and the Taurus Demon in four Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit14:16.
  • Banjo-Kazooie's Click Clock Wood changes across four seasons, so you plant a seed in spring, water it in summer and get a jiggy in autumn Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit6:35.
  • Counterpoint: Prime 2's nine Sky Temple Keys stop the drive toward the final boss, and many are invisible until the Dark Visor Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit9:50.
  • The Defiled Shrine looks empty on the first visit, so exploring it is not rewarded Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit10:29.

2.6 Where designers disagree

Fast travel, difficulty steering and sequence breaking each help some games and hurt others.

• Limit fast travel, or hand it out.
  • Hollow Knight gives Stag stations to only nine of fifteen areas, so players still plot routes on the map Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit31:33.
  • Without warping, going deeper into Dark Souls' Catacombs or Blighttown creates isolation and homesickness Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit7:55.
  • Once the Lordvessel unlocks warping, the second half of Dark Souls feels like disconnected levels Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit12:57.
  • Ori softens a forced dead end by placing fast travel wells as close to the Windtorn Ruins temple as possible. Playtests showed it did not break the experience Chris McEntee, Moon Studios13:28.
• Steer players with enemy strength, or tune for any order.
  • Elden Ring fixes each zone's difficulty, so Caelid's basic enemies kill players arriving early from Limgrave. That constrains the sense of freedom Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit10:24.
  • Ori's act two did not want to force a path even softly, so Luma Pools are doable whenever you pick them Chris McEntee, Moon Studios12:42.
  • Elden Ring's gating is soft, so you can sneak in, grab items and fast travel out Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit10:24.
• Accept sequence breaking, or gate the story sparingly.
  • Prey's Gloo lets players climb the Arboretum shaft to Alex's office early. It also allows clipping through walls to finish in under 7 minutes Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit5:11.
  • Ori's team accepts that a player may skip the intended answer to the sand worm, as long as the alternative stays a real challenge Chris McEntee, Moon Studios12:18.
  • Some story beats ruin a setup if found out of order, so The Forgotten City gates them, each justified in the narrative Nick Pearce, The Forgotten City11:51.
  • Nick Pearce used gates sparingly because they run at cross-purposes to open design. For example, you cannot name the culprit to Sentius before identifying several suspects Nick Pearce, The Forgotten City11:51.