Last time, I discussed what I perceive as a problem in the way that most open world games (specifically, sandbox games) design their maps and use the space that the maps offer - or fail to use that space, to be more specific. So many open world maps end up feeling less like actually playing the game, and more like a convoluted mission-select and collectible checklist screens. This problem is especially bad in the Ubisoft model of design, and is also a problem (to a lesser extent) in Bethesda's open worlds. Due to the popularity of these developers' franchises, many other developers have been cloning these styles of games to one extent or the other, to the point at which Ubisoft's open world model seems to be the go-to template for any developer trying to make an open world game. These games aren't necessarily bad. They just aren't very good at making the space of their maps feel meaningful in its own right.
Many open world games have large, expansive maps that mostly feel empty and pointless,
as the player rushes through them simply to get to the next map marker or checklist item.
But now that I've established what I see as a problem, I want to focus on positive feedback. In this discussion, I'm going to look at a handful of games that should serve as inspirations for would-be open world developers. Ironically, some of these games aren't even open world games, but they still pose valuable lessons for how games that are open world could better use their game spaces. That isn't to say that the games discussed here are perfect. In fact, many of them have their own major flaws. But each of them has some element of design that utilizes the actual game map as a component of active play, rather than just a space in which game sequences exist. First, let's take a look at a game that was re-made recently, and use it as a "before and after" case study of map design...
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Tags:open world, map, traversal, travel, cartography, geography, narrative, ludonarrative, ludonarrative dissonance, quest, vehicle, driving, racing, exploration, wasteland, survival, resources, Ubisoft, Bethesda, Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid V: the Phantom Pain, Assassin's Creed, The Elder Scrolls, Skyrim, The Witcher 3, Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto V, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Shadow of Mordor, Fallout, Fallout: New Vegas, Wasteland 2, Mad Max, Miasmata, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Burnout: Paradise, Shadow of the Colossus, Dark Souls