Open-ended discussion on creation and design

[Cranky Old Man]

I don't get why people think that hubs and spokes are so special. It's been around at least since Hexen back in '95, and while it's fun to backtrack to a familiar area to get a sense of orientation, I think that the environment and gameplay should shape any backtracking or hubs, and not the other way around. When you play Amnesia, and you go "Finally, we're back in the hub. Nothing happens in the hub, so I can rest here." then compare that to how an actual hub of an evil fortress would be. The monster is roaming around in the spokes, but if we just left him in area A, the hub doors are somehow preventing him from entering the hub, then how come he's suddenly in area B? Did he teleport? Are there more than one? (This goes for custom story monsters as well, if they have peaceful hubs.)
Most large buildings have some kind of hubs naturally - just don't force them into the game for the sake of having some "superior" sort of gameplay.