Tag: open-world
You Don’t Need To Make An Open-World Game
On the second episode of Spot On, GameSpot’s topical news show featuring managing editor Tamoor Hussain and senior producer Lucy James, we’re talking about open-world games. Specifially, whether publisher and developers need to be making them.
Open world games are a big investment from both developers and players, but have they evolved significantly enough to warrant these investments? Games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which was awarded a 10/10 in GameSpot’s review, meaningfully adds to the genre, but games like it are few and far in between. This begs the question, should games be smaller?
GameSpot has a number of new shows on YouTube for you to check out. If you haven’t already seen it, check out GameSpot’s History of Legend of Zelda video here. If video essays are more your speed, make sure to watch Kurt Locker, which is looking at the value of 6/10 games. You can check out No HUD, Experts React, How It Saved, and more on our YouTube channel.
You Don’t Need To Make An Open-World Game | Spot On
Breaking Down the Gameplay Reveal of Chrono Odyssey, a Next-Generation Open-World MMORPG
Grand Theft Auto 4 Is A Bizarre Relic Of A Bygone Era For Open-World Games
Grand Theft Auto IV is celebrating its 15-year anniversary today, April 29, 2023. Below, we look back at the series’ flawed but compelling attempt to break free from its glamorous kingpin empowerment fantasies.
At the time of its release, Grand Theft Auto IV’s faithful recreation of New York City was unlike anything that gaming had ever seen. Its grim aesthetics and grounded presentation signaled a new era for video game verisimilitude, where developers could make players feel as though they were really living in a virtual world.
Today, however, GTA IV is perhaps best-known for a more distinct sort of ambition: a sense that Rockstar was making a different take on the open-world crime game, one that questioned the very foundations of the genre. Though it didn’t fully succeed at that aim, it’s now a reminder that even blockbusters can challenge their players in a variety of ways, a lesson that today’s game developers would do well to remember.
Why There’s No Room For Suburbs In Open-World Games
Lazlow Jones, voice of GTA III’s Chatterbox FM and a longtime director, writer, and producer at Rockstar Games, agreed. But Rockstar itself made a gradual progression from the chaotic cities of GTA to the open natural worlds of Red Dead. Then the company brought the two together in GTA V. “When I was at Rockstar, we started off focusing on open world games set in urban areas because it gave us great density,” Lazlow began. “But over the years we expanded to rural environments while keeping them interesting and engaging.” […] Carly Kocurek, who teaches in the Game Design and Experiential Media program at Illinois Tech, says suburbs operate in the realm of “perceived beigeness” making it hard to imagine them as settings for the kinds of stories and worlds we see most often in open world games. To the extent that suburbia does show up strongly, these spaces often serve as a starting or transition point for a character, akin to maybe the first 10 minutes of a film, or the movie’s midpoint.
There are other design reasons why suburbs don’t feature prominently in video games and why sparse areas away from intriguing points of interest are often the first to get cut. “You’re really trying to compress a massive space in real life, into a virtual space which is actually really small. It’s like taking something and cutting it down by 10x,” explained Will Harris, who led the open world design team at Light Speed LA. Harris says that in world building, one of the first steps is thinking about defining features. What makes Chicago, for instance, feel different than Washington D.C.? Huge landmarks immediately orient us in a specific space and differentiate it from others. And woe unto you if you do try to architect suburbs in large numbers. Developers could try to build out distinct houses, began Erik Villarreal, an environmental artist at Visual Concepts/2K. “But this requires a developer to create homes that stand out from each other, which can be time consuming and tie up a lot of resources,” he said. Harris adds that there are only so many mechanics in sandbox gameplay and design. He calls the suburbs “interstitial spaces.” But the larger these spaces become, the more unwieldy, and the more quickly the player realizes that these spaces are superficial. We’ve all had the frustrating experience in gaming where we reach a certain part of a map, but then discover there’s nothing actually to do there. “So the Staten Island kit gets vaporized. We trim the fat.” Harris says.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Experience Driving Made Awesome With The Open-World Adventure of LEGO 2K Drive
Tchia review: a gorgeous open-world adventure bursting with heart
After playing a short snippet of Tchia back in January for a preview, I had complete faith that developers Awaceb would deliver on their promises for their open-world adventure. Tchia’s island is a marvel to behold. Not only is it gorgeous, but it’s bursting with things to do: sailing, climbing, totem carving, gliding, pearl diving, sharpshooting, tree hopping, treasure hunting – the list goes on and on.
Not only that, but there’s a 10-hour story to follow, quests to complete, and baddies to tussle with. It’s a lot, but Awaceb seem to take it all in their stride. Never once does Tchia feel like it’s bursting at the seams; its balance of activities, exploration and story make it feel perfectly whole. The game’s incredible scope doesn’t feel like the debut of a nine-person team, but astonishingly, it is. We’ve had a good run of Bestest Bests on RPS this month, and I’m more than happy to extend it because Tchia is an absolute triumph.
‘Redfall’ brings open-world vampire hunting to Xbox and PC on May 2nd
It’s arriving several months later than expected, but Arkane’s next big game is (relatively) close at hand. The studio has confirmed that Redfall will be available on May 2nd for Xbox Series X/S and Windows PCs, with launch day access through Game Pass. As before, the vampire-slaying shooter is an expansion of the formulas behind Dishonored and Prey — it’s a stealth-friendly game built with multiplayer and unpredictability in mind.
Like other Arkane titles, Redfall hinges on player choice. You can directly fight the vampires taking over the game’s namesake town, but you’ll also be rewarded if you take the stealthy approach or make clever uses of your gear. The open world concept isn’t strictly new (Prey had it), but the choice of characters and online play are. You can choose a hero that reflects your play style, and up to four people can take down the villains in co-op mode. Certain tactics only work when you’re playing as a team.
The free-ranging gameplay adds some variety, but you can also expect weapons with randomized stats and customization. Some mechanics will be familiar. You’ll find activities beyond the main story missions (such as rescuing survivors), skill trees and other systems that encourage doing more than the essentials.
It’s too soon to say if Redfall will maintain Arkane’s reputation. However, it’s evident the developer is happy to build on its better-known gameplay mechanics rather than take some chances like it did with Deathloop. If you tried Prey and wished your friends could join in, though, you might be happy.
Redfall release date confirmed with new open-world gameplay
We’ve got some new and extended gameplay of Redfall, the latest open-world game from Bethesda and Arkane Austin, alongside the Redfall release date at the Xbox Developer_Direct showcase, which saw many studios under Microsoft come together and reveal gameplay and news for their upcoming 2023 projects.
MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Redfall release date, Redfall open world more like Far Cry than L4D, Redfall not the end of Arkane’s immersive sims