Labyrinths and Mazes have such a deep profound history through our human experience, which I think would be very nice to see dungeons in Diablo 4, or in general isometric ARPGs to instill some profound sense of myth and storytelling with dungeon designs like the dark underground labyrinth at Knossos on the Aegean island of Crete where an imprisoned Minotaur lived commissioned by King Minos.
What I think is missing in games today is the sense of wonder and exploration. An Interface and Minimap telling you exactly where to go takes away this awe, with a quest list telling players where exactly to go. Even though this assists new users with the experience it also takes some of it away for others. So I’m thinking maybe some dungeons should offer a more difficult experience not just with enemies, but also with how it is layed out.
I want to suggest to developers at Blizzard to possibly in future expansions to look at immense labyrinth designs which inside of them do not offer guidance through an interface but instead forces users to solve the puzzle on their own. Ofcourse uncovering the maze on the map can help. But for example small puzzles that one has to figure out on their own, like lighting 4 candles at a required time (without a timer). Holding off hoards while an NPC reads a manuscript, etc etc. Leading to different centers facing different minotaurs. Sometimes different exits, and more intense battles and number of enemies around the corner. Check point areas, limited potions, and mythical npc creatures that are not human to converse with to get hints on the labyrinth. When Tracing back steps to find a better path certain wall symbols change colors/images like as if eyes are looking at you and the dungeon is alive breathing.
What it felt like during the beta is that there is a large number of small/medium dungeons, but nothing really stood out to give a viseral experience of being lost and in search of discovery. There isn’t really much a feeling of exploration with how much is assisted by the design. Instead less is more, meaning not as many different dungeons, but instead larger more complex looking ones with certain limitations to the interface. Where in the correct center is good loot.