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I would say - as much as it's important to have feedback, it's *also* important to be careful to not listen to all of the feedback all the time, it's a decision. That's how we get mess like helper character like Atreus spoiling all the puzzles in new God of War, because 1% of playtesters got stuck for too long, and devs tried to appeal to *every* player rather than the group they were originally targeting.

Here's an example: Boss Key in Zelda is something that players find okay. But your three switches aren't, even though they are functionally the same concept, it's mostly polish (story and assets) that are different. Maybe it'd be worthwhile to examine - why?

  • Maybe because keys have been a long-established mechanic in Zelda, even before boss keys have been a thing.
  • Maybe because they're generic - something like apparently magical switches opening a room sounds like a gimmick that would be specific to one dungeon, while keys seem more like common objects.
  • Maybe it's affordance to reality - the idea that not all keys will fit all locks is an obvious one with parallel in real life, while we do not really have context for magical switches.
  • Maybe it's about the mechanical differences actually - a Boss Key in Zelda gives you a clear 'end' point to the dungeon, an 'aha!' moment where you know you're at the very end and it's time to backtrack to finish things. You couldn't get that by splitting that moment into 3 points.
  • Or maybe that person doesn't actually like that mechanic in Zelda either - in which case, you'd have to make a tough decision if you should include that mechanic despite the feedback, because you don't want to compromise your vision of the game for a small minority of players who probably don't like 2D Zeldas anyway.

I wonder if the reaction would be different if instead of switches, boss door would still be opened by keys - but by three special keys (red, green and blue?) that you have to find throughout the dungeon (perhaps with a custom graphic for the boss dorr showing it clearly having three locks). Maybe even it'd allow you to have special areas openable only by these keys, rather than by generic disposable keys.

(+1)

Yeah obviously, you shouldn't listen to all feedbacks the same. This is what I meant by saying you need to listen to that opinion and see if it makes sense with what you are trying to do with your game, and how it would fit in your project. Our role as game creators is to gather these feedbacks and being able to sort them out, to keep the "good" (or at least our idea of what fits the project) and leave the rest. It is, after all, impossible to please everybody!

And yes, the original concept has a lot of merit and quite often, "it it ain't broke don't fix it"!

As I said, I found myself being a bit bored of the Boss Key mechanic when I played Echoes of Wisdom, pretty much for the same reasons as these two people: yes it is a moment where you know you need to head to the exit, but it has become quite stale over the years in my opinion. In the end, you get into a temple, you're looking for a big chest, you know what's in it, and you know you then need to wrap it up. It is not without merit (you pointed several very good reasons), but I feel like I can push a little beyond that with Knight George!