Critical path

The critical path (or "golden path") is "the minimum / main path to complete a single player level" (The Level Design Book: Flow). The Level Design Book adds a second meaning: it represents "an idealized player flow" that highlights the mandatory content "you want every player to experience" (The Level Design Book: Flow).

It is a planning tool and does not predict exactly how players will move. It tells the team which spaces every player will see, and therefore which spaces must read clearly, pace well and carry the story. Everything off it is optional: rewards, secrets, lookouts and breathing room. See layout and flow for how it fits with loops, hubs and circulation.

#Where it is used

• Layout drawings. "Single player [layout] drawings usually need some sort of labeled critical path" (The Level Design Book: Flow). If the drawing is too busy, The Level Design Book suggests marking just the start, the exits and labelled points of interest (The Level Design Book: Flow).
• Pacing. Marking gameplay beats along the path lets you "visualize single player [pacing] across the whole level" (The Level Design Book: Flow).
• Single-player, not multiplayer. Multiplayer maps are "often more non-linear and [do] not follow a single critical path", so designers analyse circulation and organise the map into lanes instead (The Level Design Book: Flow).

#What it means for artists

The critical path is where your wayfinding tools must work best: landmarks, light, breadcrumbs and clear sightlines. Optional spaces can be quieter and stranger. A practical habit is to walk the critical path in the blockout before any art pass and list every point where the route is unclear; those points get art attention first.

#Related terms

layout and flow, wayfinding, breadcrumbing, landmarks, blockout, choreography and scripted sequences.

#Further reading and watching