Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Almost Cut Popular Feature During…

Summary

Fast traveling in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 caused development challenges but was saved by enhancing player engagement along the way.
Insomniac's design director found that fast travel was not the issue, but rather the overall game design needed adjustment.
Players are encouraged to explore the open world and pick up side quests rather than rely on the time-saving fast travel feature.

Fast traveling, one of the most impressive features of both the PlayStation 5 and Marvel's Spider-Man 2, was also a point of much discussion in development and almost cut as a result. While the PlayStation 5's processing speed allows for quicker gameplay, developers of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 worried that this might lead to less player engagement. The game's design director commented on this.

Developed by Insomniac, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is the PS5 sequel to web slingers Peter Parker and Miles Morales' individual game debuts. At this year's Game Developers Conference (GDC), developers from Insomniac commented on the game's production. One of the animation directors discussed a challenge his team faced when animating Spider-Man's fight with Sandman. This wasn't the only challenge that came during the game's development. One feature was almost removed completely.

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By J Brodie Shirey

Fast traveling in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 proved to be a nightmare for developers, according to Insomniac design director Josue Benavidez, speaking at GDC 2024. It was almost cut from the game. But, rather than do that, Benavidez says they chose to give players more reasons to "engage with the gameplay as they encountered it." Back in October, another Insomniac dev commented on fast traveling in the game just before its official release. While it demonstrates the power of the system, Benavidez says, "it totally broke our game. Because the map was fully revealed, you could go anywhere."

Insomniac Design Director Josue Benavidez On Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Fast Travel

"It totally broke our game. Because the map was fully revealed, you could go anywhere."
"The fast travel wasn't wrong. The game was wrong."
"We had a test where a player never opened their map. They just went to the top of a tall point and [looked out]."

Players may unlock fast traveling in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 by leveling up the districts in the open world. With the incredible processing speed of the PlayStation 5, the transportation is nearly instantaneous. Although this is convenient for players who would prefer not to swing or run from the meatpacking district to the upper west side, developers worried they might not explore as much. To rectify this, Benavidez decided, "The fast travel wasn't wrong. The game was wrong."

It turns out that the team at Insomniac may have caught onto something. While the fast travel option cuts a lot of time, it also cuts the option to pick up quick side quests and rewards along the way. Players have even been advised to not use fast travel at all for the sole purpose of experiencing the game as it was meant to be experienced. This mirrors the result of a usability test Insomniac conducted, where Benavidez says, "A player never opened their map. They just went to the top of a tall point."

The mechanic of fast traveling saves players a lot of time, although some may miss loading screens. While convenient, Insomniac did not want players to feel that it was a necessity. Benavidez also mentions how quickly Spider-Man can get around even without fast travel. The research and development appears to have paid off, as the fast travel feature of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is popular among players who also enjoy exploring its open world.

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