The player will be able to use their elemental powers to quickly traverse the world. The movement itself will have skill expression similar to a 3D platformer but not be as complex as Air strafing, B-hopping and other unique Source Engine quirks.
With this much control over movement, players will find it easier to go from one location to another allowing for more thorough exploration of the world and not feel like they are wasting time on side objectives. Which improves their freedom and in turn game pacing/flow.
1: With a large set of movement options players should not feel overwhelmed on what they can or should use.
2: I should see different players solve platforming puzzles in different ways. Indicating that this a diverse set of tools that rewards players who stick to the intended path as well as those who think outside the box.
3: As playtests and development goes along and players become more familiar with the tools there should be a noticeable decrease in the time it takes when deciding what moves to use. This would indicate good flow between moves.
For example when a brand new player starts Super Mario 64 they first must learn what tools they have and when to use them. There will be a lot of stopping and starting, but as the player becomes more comfortable with the moves and physics if they were to go back to Bob-omb Battlefield they traverse the terrain far faster and more efficiently.
For movement I want each element to be available at the same time. While combat will have stance switching between elements, each of the moves listed below can be used at any time with any stance (when the player has unlocked that element of course).
In terms of physical controls I want each button to have multiple uses due to context sensitive actions so I can give the players as many tools as possible while still leaving room for other mechanics like combat.
The player has movement abilities similar to a 3D platformer like Super Mario 64 & Odyssey. This means that the player can combo almost any move they have together to reach horizontal and vertical destinations.
This leads to the player coming up with unique ways of movement to traverse the world.
*(✅) means the mechanic in in the current prototype.