For decades, game developers have grappled with a seemingly mundane element: the ladder. What appears to be a simple vertical traversal tool has historically posed significant design hurdles, leading to everything from outright rejection to ingenious reinterpretations. Arkane Austin, before its closure, famously had a design philosophy plastered on its walls that read, "Fuck ladders." This sentiment stemmed from the complex array of considerations required to implement them effectively.
Harvey Smith, former studio head at Arkane, recalled how the studio initially tried to circumvent ladders with functionally similar hanging chains in Dishonored, though this did not necessarily reduce development effort. The evolution of game design has seen control methods become more homogeneous and level design embrace accepted norms. Implementing a functional ladder in a modern game requires answering a host of questions: How should the player's hands and feet animate? Can they use weapons while climbing? What about sliding down or jumping off? How does combat or environmental damage affect them? Can AI characters navigate them as effectively as players?
These complexities were evident even in earlier titles. Early implementations, like those in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six on PlayStation, could be notoriously buggy, sometimes leading to instant character death. Similarly, early Source Engine games featured ladders that players would awkwardly magnetize to, with imprecise controls leading to slips and falls. Liz England, a former lead designer at Ubisoft and Insomniac, noted the potential for players to become stuck in unique move states, leading to bugs where they could no longer interact with their weapons. England also highlighted the challenge of making essential interactive elements like doors and ladders visually distinct and understandable to players, citing an instance in Resistance 3 where a crucial ladder had to be painted bright yellow to be noticed by playtesters.
One common design choice to mitigate these issues is placing ladders in areas devoid of enemies, turning them into safe zones that minimize the need for complex combat interactions. Ladders also inherently break the flow of regular gameplay, locking the player into a restricted movement state. This often prompts designers to make the climbing animation as swift as possible to return players to more dynamic gameplay.
However, some developers have subverted these conventions. In Arc Raiders, a ladder on the side of a building only extends halfway down, forcing players to jump off to avoid a fatal fall, reinforcing a sense of constant alert. Hideo Kojima, a notable proponent of using interactive elements thematically, has consistently played with the concept of ladders.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater features an exceptionally long ladder sequence that lasts several minutes. This extended climb, occurring mid-game as players transition between environments, slows the pace and creates a palpable sense of duration and isolation, enhanced by the game's ambient sound design and music. Kojima further reinvented the ladder in Death Stranding, transforming it into a portable tool that connects disparate parts of the world and even links players together through shared structures. These ladders in Death Stranding can be placed at various angles, serving not only for climbing but also as bridges. Their unique physics allow players to walk freely on shallower inclines while magnetically adhering to steeper ones, demonstrating a highly intuitive yet innovative approach.
Ultimately, even a simple element like a ladder can be a powerful tool for reinforcing themes and evoking unique player experiences. While a three-minute climb might not translate to film, the player's active control over the character during such sequences imbues them with a different significance. These moments, where sound design, music, pacing, and mechanics converge, exemplify the potential for game design to leverage even the most commonplace elements to create memorable and meaningful interactions, reminding us that sometimes, a ladder is all that stands between us and a new experience.