The game’s development started with the creation of the characters and watching system. The main designer and the other creative designers were initially unsure of which direction the game should take; months had been spent selecting a camera view and layout that would be appropriate. The original concept involved the game having fixed path much like a different sort of game, before the choice was developed to decide on a free-roaming 3D design. Although the majority of Super Mario 64 would end up featuring the free-roaming design, elements of the original fixed path concept would remain in certain parts of the game, particularly in the three Bowser encounters. One particular of the programmers of Super Mario 64, Giles Goddard, explained that these few linear elements survived as a method to force players into Bowser’s lair rather than to encourage exploration. [...]