Should checkpoints be visible when not activated?

[wjt]

Checkpoints are invisible until they are activated. Here, the only indication that there is something special about the area ahead is a patch of sand on the ground:

Walking onto it reveals a knitwitch:

We generally design our scenes with this pattern that a patch on the floor means something will happen. But I wonder whether there should be some more specific indicator that an area has an inactive knitwitch? e.g. the knitting needles pushed into the ground.

[felixwalberg]

I was thinking of the needles in the ground as well! The tutorial levels do a good job hinting at it with the floor, but there isn't a standard way for other StoryQuests to do this. Without anything visible in the checkpoint scene, you would have to make a change to the tilemap or level design itself, which could be more invasive if you want to sneak in a checkpoint in tight/variable spaces.

[manuq]

Yes I think that it would be a good feedback for the player. Also we generally make the checkpoints "mandatory" or areas which the player must enter to complete the level. But that's not usually the case in StoryQuests. For example there are StoryQuests that have a labyrinth with checkpoints.

[wjt]

Related: If you have two checkpoints in a level, the active one is the most recent one you have touched, not the furthest one reached. But if you activate checkpoint A, then B, then A again, there is no visual feedback that you have reactivated A. I wonder if activating B should visually deactivate A (just play the animation backwards then hide it!).

[wjt]

Screencast.From.2026-07-13.13-22-16.mp4

Something like this?

[manuq]

Yes! Usually they would be too far apart for caring about this. But is a nice touch :)