Before generative AI became the all-consuming omni-topic upon which we must all opine, everyone was weighing on the lighter-shaded talking point of developers using yellow paint as a directional tool. Games like Stellar Blade, Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth and Star Wars Outlaws reignited the debate about splashing liquid sunshine too liberally across platforms and obstacles to aid player navigation, with the debate spilling over into 2025 as critics called it out as lazy game design.Numerous game developers offered their perspectives on the issue. Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth’s director Naoki Hamaguchi stated there is “definitely a need for that kind of thing” in games, even if players don’t like it, while The Witcher 4’s lead designer believed the problem “isn’t necessarily the yellow paint”, but the context in which it was used, and that level designers needed to “properly weaponise the entire arsenal of your toolkit” to prevent players from realising that “‘oh, I’m being guided'”.Personally, I think it’s easy to criticise developers for whipping out the paintbrush when more subtly guided level design becomes trickier to achieve. But it’s a lot harder to come up with specific, workable alternatives. So I thought I’d give it a go, and suggest five ways to help players unstick themselves that don’t involve smearing the environment in Grandma’s Refrigerator.A Friendly Dog(Image credit: Lionhead)Fable 2 famously featured a canine companion who would dig out treasure, aid you in combat, and most importantly for our purpose, help lead the way to quest objectives. I propose that…
