I think that both reasons you say are correct, and there’s a third one too. I think the start and end points are a promise from the game designer to the player that this is the path with the “best” experience. Maybe a player wouldn’t say that explicitly but I bet that’s part of it: they sit down and trust that the game is going to give them the best experience if they follow its goals.

I suppose I feel restricted while experiencing another designer’s concrete representation, because I’m always wanting to look down the paths they didn’t take. What could we have seen on this guided tour of Hedge-space if only you allowed me to turn right here instead of left?

You’re right that it’s common for players to try to find the fastest way to the end rather than doing this silly thing that I do… but what I can’t tell is why. Is it because these players aren’t interested in taking charge of their own expedition into the Hedge, or because they’ve played enough games that prevent them from exploring that they no longer feel empowered to do so?

(It is probably the former. Not everyone wants to be a game designer, and that’s that.)

I think game designers also generally have a more playful relationship to the game than a player, ironically. Players (in my experience) will try to find the fastest way to the end of the maze. As a game designer, then, it’s our job to not only explore the maze, but also to place the start and end points so the player will walk past all the best bits.