Ghost of Yotei‘s developers had to “figure out ways” to get players excited to explore their new open world adventure without relying heavily on overt indicators like divisive yellow paint, because they “like having a clean screen” that doesn’t “muck up” their game.
Yellow paint is sometimes used in games to help guide players to things like interactive objects or climbable ledges – think of the Resident Evil 4 remake, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. However, its use tends to be a bit controversial – players don’t always enjoy feeling like a game is holding their hand, and an out-of-nowhere splash of color can sometimes clash with and detract from the environment you’re exploring.
In an interview with GamesRadar+, we ask Ghost of Yotei creative director Jason Connell about Sucker Punch’s alternatives to yellow paint in its latest open-world adventure. Notably, the game doesn’t have a mini-map, but it does use other indicators to guide players, such as fireflies and golden birds appearing, as well as white markers on climbable surfaces.
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“I certainly think it comes from the decision to be more diegetic, like, more inside the game world,” Connell begins, before explaining that it’s “actually one of the most challenging problems” for game designers and artists as “you gotta figure out ways in which you can get people excited about going to a place without putting a giant thing on the screen that says ‘go here,’ or, a giant map that says ‘go here,’ or a mini map.”
Connell continues: “We do like having a clean screen, because we like the game. It’s beautiful. You know, the art team spends five years making the most beautiful game we could possibly imagine. Why would we muck it up with all this stuff on the screen if we can figure out other ways to guide you?”
The creative director points to the fact that the series has “this romanticized view of Japan, and Japan is filled with wonderful love of nature and just nature in general.” Because of this, often, “nature ends up playing a big part of this, whether it’s following a wolf or a bird or the wind or flowers.”
Overall, Connell concludes that “it’s probably a fallout from not having things like mini maps, but I think we see that as an opportunity to immerse people, and pique their curiosity a little bit of how you might be able to find something.”
Be sure to check out our Ghost of Yotei review if you’re yet to dive into Sucker Punch’s new open world game, as well as our Ghost of Yotei tips to help get you started.