A rare trip has come up. An old friend is getting married, which has necessitated I travel to the other side of the world. So on that note, let's talk about "Fast Travel" in video games. One might be tempted to think it's an easy question:
"How soon should we have it?"
But actually, the design space for Fast Travel can be quite vast. Some games choose to not have it at all - then there's the question of the lore flavorings, how diegetic it will be, how many access points on the map, and so on.
Today, I'll talk about some observations of Fast Travel in other games and tease a bit of what we're planning for Star Iliad.
(Note: Chinese Translation of this devlog is available! Courtesy of Baojie)
Lore Flavorings
First, what's the "lore" behind Fast Travel? Will the player warp using teleporters, step into a magical mirror, or ride an epic steed?
(In Star Iliad, Botan rides a steed named Gort. Gort's also your doctor)
The more distinctive a game's setting, the greater the opportunity to make its fast travel memorable.
Two Metroidvanias immediately come to mind: Biogun and Moonlight Pulse. Both take place inside the body of another creature, and both fully embrace their premise.
In Moonlight Pulse, the player dives into the veins of a giant space turtle and swims alongside other blood cells. It's a cool bit of worldbuilding lore that reinforces just how tiny you are inside this colossal creature.
Meanwhile, Biogun has your commanding officer turn chauffeur. The doctor commander hoists you up with an injection needle and then re-inserts you somewhere else in the dog's body. It's a really fun animation that gives you a cool glimpse of the world outside.
(Poor dog has to endure two shots every time you fast travel)
Star Iliad takes place inside a giant space whale, so we have the opportunity to do something really memorable. Rest assured, we will not disappoint!
(An old scrapped idea. What if friendly Cyclop Miners ferried the player in their bagpack?)
How "Diegetic" is it?
When imagining fast traveling, you expect a menu and map to appear and you then select a node to travel to. Certainly, this is the most convenient form of fast travel.
However, some games do away with menus, and the fast travel occurs "in-game" - the fast travel is "diegetic".
Axiom Verge is a great example. To travel between regions, you ride the giant floating head Oracca through a long horizontal tunnel connecting the game's major biomes. It doesn't happen in a cutscene, you experience the ride directly, manually mounting and dismounting, checking the map every now and then to make sure you've reached your stop.
(maybe not the most convenient, but certainly the most memorable!)
The aforementioned Moonlight Pulse is another great example. Swimming through the turtle's veins happens entirely in real time, without a single loading screen. This is made possible by the game's seamless streaming technology, giving you the sense that you're traversing one continuous, living creature rather than hopping between disconnected levels. It's a brilliant blend of technical wizardry and creative vision.
Diegetic fast travel embraces total immersion - but perhaps at the cost of speed and convenience.
(Phoenotopia's "fast travel" is to hop through these teleporters. I confess it was only like this because I didn't want to go through the trouble of creating menus)
Should Fast Travel Exist?
Let's rewind a bit. Should fast travel exist at all?
Interestingly, Super Metroid, one of the defining games of the genre, has no fast travel whatsoever. Instead, efficient traversal comes from gradually acquiring new movement abilities and uncovering shortcut elevators and hidden passages.
I'd even argue that this absence creates opportunities for the player to feel empowered. Revisiting earlier areas as a fully upgraded bounty hunter and breezing past enemies that once gave you trouble is a deeply satisfying experience.
(Backtracking... boring filler or rewarding power trip?)
Dark Souls takes a different approach. It withholds fast travel until roughly the halfway point of the game. During those opening hours, every journey must be made on foot, forcing the player to engage and re-engage with the world. The result is a world that feels immense and where every expedition carries weight.
(Everyone breathes a sigh of relief when they discover the elevator back to Firelink Shrine!)
Both games demonstrate that withholding fast travel can encourage players to form a much deeper relationship with the world. But it IS a gamble. If the game world isn't enjoyable to traverse, backtracking may quickly become a chore. In that sense, fast travel can mask weaknesses in a world's layout.
Nodes on the Map
Say we've committed to supporting fast travel, another question immediately follows:
How many fast travel nodes should there be?
In Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Link eventually learns six warp songs. Each one transports him to a different region of Hyrule. The songs get him into the general vicinity, but there will still be a bit of a trek to reach the final destination. This leaves room for Epona to shine, making horseback travel an important part of exploring Hyrule.
At the opposite end of the spectrum are games like Blade Chimera, where nearly every room on the map is selectable as a warp point.
For my own tastes, I found this a bit too powerful. If I was in danger, I could warp back to town, heal up, and then immediately warp back to where I'd left off. It was incredibly convenient but it might've made the world feel a bit small.
So, I believe there is an ideal balance to hit. Too many fast travel nodes risk players not really engaging with the game world. And too few risks backtracking becoming a chore.
Closing Thoughts
And there is still yet more to discuss. Questions like should it cost anything? Should fast travel be allowed from anywhere or only from select locations? Are fast travel nodes also save points? Is fast travel upgradeable? And even, how many fast travel modes are there?
(Hollow Knight Silk Song features Pneumo Tube & Bell Beast modes of fast travel - one was not the limit!)
Fast travel quietly does a lot of heavy lifting. It shapes how players perceive the size of a world, how often they revisit old places, and even how memorable the journey itself becomes.
Every game arrives at its own answer to the fast travel question. I suspect developers will keep finding new twists for years to come. We certainly will aspire to do so with Star Iliad!
Next update will be at the end of September. Thanks for reading!