The level begins constrained, with short sightlines and a narrow beach. Preventing the player from becoming overwhelmed by choice, the goal is to make it easy for the player to start moving and exploring.

The player is presented with exploration microdecisions to keep them engaged. I did not want the player to get bored by running in a straight line.

These decisions are often binary: go left vs go right. Go up vs go down.

They are not difficult, but they keep the player actively moving and reward them with a new landmark or environment.

The glide is required to platform up the cliff.

It can be unlocked by finding the spirit flower in the temple.

Once the player enters the temple, they cannot leave without unlocking and successfully using the glide.

Once the player is able to leave the temple, the cliff is clearly framed.

A rock formation provides the player with a clear ramp to glide onto the cliff.

I was inspired by Elden Ring's divine towers for this cliff platforming section.

The divine tower's circular design offers platforming challenges in bite sized pieces to the player - they can only see part of the puzzle, not the entire journey.

This keeps the player from becoming overwhelmed, allowing them to focus on individual challenges whilst still getting a sense of progress.

Originally, the cliff face was completely flat.

I iterated it to be jagged to achieve two things:

• Add variation to the climb

• Block line of sight, only allowing the player to see small sections of cliff so that they do not become overwhelmed.