So in the leak, the donkey ride level is very short, and the donkey itself just walks for a while, but in the end it doesn't go anywhere, to the point that you can't complete the level. This tells me it was extremely incomplete, but how was it planned to work?
I have 3 hypotheses:
1) the donkey was meant to work like a vehicle, so the player could control it, make it walk, run, stop, and so on, with its running speed being faster than Duke's running speed (otherwise Duke would just go on foot).
2) the level was supposed to toy with the expectations of the player, so it would start as an extremely slow ride that cannot be controlled, only for a "FOUR HOURS LATER" title card appearing after 30 seconds or so, and then Duke already being at his destination, making a comment about how boring it was
3) the ride was a joke at the expense of the player: long, slow, uncontrollable, boring, and justified with a strawman argument that conflates quiet time (where you choose not to take part in the action and instead you explore the level at your own pace, searching for interesting stuff) with railroading (where you are forced to do nothing but watch and wait).
Which one was it?
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