8 "Simple" Video Game Features That Took YEARS To Perfect

5. Flying - Anthem

Flying is Anthem's biggest success, but it took years of Bioware including and then ripping out the system before they managed to make it feel right. As per Jason Schreier's excellent deep dive into the title's development, the idea of traversal was something the team got caught up on for pretty much the entirety of the game's production, with flight always being an option, but one which worried many of the developers.

For one, there was the worry that flight would lead to players simply speeding through the environment and not paying attention to all of the detail the artists had packed into it. Likewise, the ability to cover so much ground would require the level designers to shift their work to accommodate a larger, more vertical world, which would have been exponentially more demanding.

Consequently, while the prototypes of flying mechanics were cool in concept, the team allegedly struggled to make them feel good to play with. As a result, the first demo the team showed EA didn't feature this traversal system, and was negatively received. Across the next few months the team plugged the flying back in, which wowed the higher-ups, and encouraged them to really put the time and effort required into perfecting it.