I reworked my starting area using level design principles. Here's a breakdown of every choice
Look at this map. At first glance it seems simple, maybe even random. But this is my reworked version of the starting area, improved with my Level Design knowledge and experience. Every road, mountain and tree is there for a reason.
Now let's look at some spots the player may notice.
A: The Statue (starting point)
This is where the game starts. The player begins with a short conversation in a separate map, and the only thing they can do there is walk out to the world map (this one).
The statue is the first and most important Landmark: a unique visual object the player uses to orient themselves. Use landmarks to keep your players from getting lost. This is a small island, but it's still useful, because the statue can be seen from anywhere on it.
B: The Destroyed Village (first goal)
The road that leaves the starting point turns west and ends at the destroyed village below. This is the Critical Path: the route the player must take to progress in the game.
The train tracks near the town also help guide the player's attention toward it.
Inside the village, the player discovers a secret left by a friend they haven't seen in years, telling them about the mine and about an island southeast of this one. In other words: they need to get to the boat now, and there's only one other path to take.
Even so, the player might want to go east first, since they can see another direct path and a boat at the end of it.
C: The Broken Bridge
The broken bridge shows the player that this is not the right path. For now it works as a Forced Detour: you show the short way, close it, and make the player take the long way. Later it will be fixed, and the player will be able to use it as a Shortcut, a faster path that opens after the player already took the long way around.
The player wants to cross it. They can see the boat and the village. But they understand they can't cross here, so they need to go the other way around, and the most obvious path is the route west and south.
Notice there's no invisible wall and no dialogue needed. The block explains itself, right where the player hits it.
D: The Boat Village
This is a Weenie (a term from Disney park design): a goal the player can see but not reach yet. It builds the desire to get there.
Actually, they can reach it. If they take the north path, nothing blocks them, and some players like taking less obvious routes to get somewhere "before they should". This is known as Sequence Breaking, and a little room for it is a nice reward for curious players.
Regular players will take the path south to the destroyed village and the mine.
E: The Collapsed Mine
The mine is also a landmark, but less obvious than the statue. It's here only to bring lore and story: the main character mentions the mine was fully working seven years ago, before they left the island.
This is Environmental Storytelling, telling the story through objects in the world instead of dialogue (even with some dialogue, the players don't need a story text to understand this mine has collapsed). And the tracks running from the mine to the village make it even more obvious that the player needs to go there.
F: The Northern Hut
A hint that there's something on the north path. It draws the eye and shows there's another way to reach the boat. The small, broken pieces of road leading toward it are Breadcrumbing: small cues that pull the player toward a place, one step at a time.
The Paths
p1 is the most obvious and the first path. It leads the player to the first objective.
p2 is also right there, a Fork splitting off from the first path, but it's soon blocked by the broken bridge, showing it isn't an option right now.
p3 is the least obvious path, but it's still a path. It has fewer sections of continuous road, which tells the player it's less used (environmental storytelling again). Less obvious, but still there for whoever looks.
Negative Space
These areas have nothing of real interest (for regular players, more on this later), but they are a source of EXP and farming, since enemies only appear outside the roads. That rule teaches the player that roads are safe, so keep it consistent through the whole game.
This is called Negative Space: empty, walkable areas. It's something we should use, because it lets the map breathe and keeps paths readable. But not too much, or the world feels empty and exploring feels like a waste of time.
Secrets
Regular players may never find these, but hardcore and exploration-focused players definitely will.
The environment gives clues that something is hidden. These clues are called Tells: shapes that form arrows (hills, trees, mountains, rivers), a narrow path, a gap in a treeline, or anything else in the landscape you can imagine. Never hide something with no tell at all, or nobody will find it, or players will start pressing the button on every single tile.
Wrapping up
A good starting area doesn't need to be big or complex. It needs to tell the player where to go, explain why they can't go somewhere else, and reward the ones who look a little closer.