Fast travel
Instant relocation between discovered points — map markers, hub networks, or anywhere-to-anywhere. Fast travel is a respect-for-time mechanic: once traversal of known ground stops producing new decisions, forcing it is padding. But it is also the most dangerous convenience in open-world design, because distance is what makes a world feel like a place, and teleportation collapses geography into a menu. Designers manage the tension by pricing it (resources, gold), gating it (unlocks per region, or node networks like Hollow Knight's stag stations that preserve some walking), restricting it (not while overencumbered or in combat), or framing it diegetically (carriages, boats). Morrowind-style transport networks — where fast travel is itself a system to learn — earn particular affection. Key decisions: when it unlocks (too early and players never learn the world's layout), destination granularity, and whether travel can be interrupted. Pitfall: free anywhere-travel from hour one, which quietly deletes the open world you built.
- Dev effort: Small
- Timing: Real-time or turn-based
- Common in: open-world