It Goes In The Square HoleIt Goes In The Square HoleIt Goes In The Square Hole If left to their own, people will optimize systems. This includes taking out all the fun, if that's the most efficient path. Original thought is slow and expensive, and you should avoid it whenever possible. Human beings are biased towards not wasting energy trying to fix things that aren't broken. If I get a sword in the first level that can kill everything, why would I bother picking up a spear? Even in a video game, where people are paying for the privilege of b

If left to their own, people will optimize systems. This includes taking out all the fun, if that's the most efficient path.

Original thought is slow and expensive, and you should avoid it whenever possible. Human beings are biased towards not wasting energy trying to fix things that aren't broken. If I get a sword in the first level that can kill everything, why would I bother picking up a spear?

Even in a video game, where people are paying for the privilege of being given a problem to fix, they still tend to pick the solution that gets them to the end as fast as possible.

The goal of the designer is to ensure that the most enjoyable path is also the best one. There is no point designing fun and creative solutions that are, from a cost-benefit perspective, purely slower than brute forcing the same solution over and over again.

Players are like water. They are going down the hill as fast as they can, seeking the path of least resistance. But the player [also] wants anything other than a straight line. So my job as [the designer] is irrigating a path down that that lets the water always have taken the fastest route towards its goal, but at the end of it, the shape is the most convoluted and pleasing. You achieved the shape of a story while you were trying your hardest to go in a straight line. -- Brennan Lee-Mulligan, - Game Master's Round Table - 1:28:58

See Also