BACKTRACKING Back in the early days of Adventure Games, backtracking was almost seen as a design feature. Trekking through the forest, back through previously visited areas to get to a previously visited destination to do something you couldn't do before because you didn't have a specific item-well that was par for the course. The main reason for backtracking is that it artificially lengthens the game, because time being spent going through already created areas is 'free'. You have already created those assets, so you are extending the time the player spends in the world for no input on the side of the designer. CHEAP DESIGN TRICKS Now in the so called 'golden age' of AG's, where things like 'Walking Deads (where if you are missing one item, you cannot complete the game-but there is no way to obtain the item once you have passed an area), and highly obtuse ' I need to buy the hint book for this' puzzles were common place, backtracking was a design choice. But no more. Personally, I think that its a cheap trick, and something that has no place in a modern adventure game. People no longer have the luxury of spending 3 months on an Adventure Game, nor do can we, as game designers,

In my opinion, one of the most important things in building a really strong IP is to ensure that you don't just focus on one aspect of it. . If STAR WARS just had the movies, it wouldn't have been anywhere close to embedding itself in the consciousness of the world. The fact that it expanded to toys, novels, comics, animations, and games ensured that everyone, who had even a passing interest in the world, got to experience it. If you think about the larger, more successful gaming IP's, they have expanded into many different areas. I own toys from Bioshock, and Dead Space (2 of my absolute favorite universes), novels, comic books, and animated films. It forms a greater connection to the characters, the world, and their experiences in it. . But, as an indie, how do we take advantage of that? . Those companies have millions to spend on things. They can contract out novelists, artists, and entire companies to create extended media for them. The difference is that indies have access to a WEALTH of resources that other larger companies cant touch. OTHER INDIES. There are thousands of comic book artists, film makers, game makers, and musicians out there. People that create for the sheer passion of creation. And I know from personal experience, that artists