Fast travel or teleportation is a video game mechanic used in open world games that allows a player character to instantaneously travel between previously discovered locations (teleport waypoints or fast-travel points) without having to traverse that distance in real time. It is a type of warp that is specifically used to traverse the game's world rather than the inside of a level. Sometimes in-game time passes while fast-traveling, while in other cases the travel is simply implied or the player is teleported by magical or technological means. While typically used as a means of providing convenience to the player, fast travel has been criticized as detracting from games' design, as some worlds or quests are designed to incorporate it at the expense of depth, memorability or realism.