Open world is this generation's equivalent to last gen's military shooter obsession

[llsaidknockyouout]

I think each time new console technology comes out, more things can be done. 80's and early 90's had platformers because it was the best possible genre that could come out of 2D gaming. Late 90's on, with the advent of 3D, shooters got much better and platformers got much trickier to make. The addition of realistic HD graphics and online play solidified shooters as the main genre. Today, with consoles able to handle large worlds without loading times, open world is the next big thing. Next gen, it will probably be MMO's once consoles are able to handle 100 person multiplayer.

OPEN WORLD IS NOT FOR EVERY GAME.

Lots of games seem to be trying to tackle it on, but it's worth noting that open isn't inherently better than linear.

Open world games suffer from inherent problems that can only be mitigated with exemplary game design. Just because a game CAN have an open world doesn't mean it should.

1) Lack of a progressive narrative if you can play in any order
2) Missions just basically become fetch quests.
3) Levels are made to experience in general, rather than tailor made for a specific moment.
4) Backtracking. Ugh.
5) Large open empty spaces. Eww.
6) The story has no sense of urgency if you can just goof around in the overworld.

 

[pookie101]

if i had to sit through the 1000000th platformer to be released that year back in the 80's its only fair you guys put up with openworld games that i like

 

[Saelune]

I like open world. Much better than this moba and arena shooter fixation we currently have. Fuck Overwatch, Battleborn, Smite, Paragon, Gigantic and the tons of games that haven't come out yet but will follow. Sure some games shouldn't be open world (MGSV) but I like exploring and not feeling pressured in games. When I first got into Morrowind, open world was a novelty I rarely experienced, but there are worse things than open world that has infested even wider range of games. (Mcrotransactions)

 

[llsaidknockyouout]

Dedicated overworld games that do it right are fine ^

I'm talking about "Let's just go open world because it's trendy". MGS5 for example. Yes, the missions opened up but the overworld was terrible and traversing through it was so repetitive.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

Yeah, I think it's totally official that this is becoming a thing.

We should be careful not to overdo it like we did with the sepia toned military shooters. :s I like open world when it's done right and I don't want to see open world get totally overplayed and punted to the curb for a decade.

 

[DefunctTheory]

True, but it seems that as far as over used genre's go, it's one of the better ones. Even when an open world is done poorly, there's still a chance that the game will liven up once you traverse it and get into an actual 'level.'

When you go uber generic with a military shooter, that's it. You dun fucked up from the get go, unless you really, really knocked it out of the park.

 

[llsaidknockyouout]

Open world can definitely be boring.

Eventually you get tired of screwing around, traveling from marker to marker and doing fetch quests, and you get bored.

 

[Zenja]

Open world can definitely be boring.

Eventually you get tired of screwing around, traveling from marker to marker and doing fetch quests, and you get bored.

I think mileage may vary here on tastes. MMOs have survived for years off of the premise of multiplayer open world. If you build a beautiful world, I personally don't tire of exploring it. Maybe we will see more worlds like in Guild Wars 2 or even Morrowind (in its day).

Plus, as pookie101 said, we had to sit through games where you jump from platform to platform for over 10 years. Last gen I had to sit through shooters and even watch as Xcom, one of my favorite strategy titles, got mutilated into a shooter and get told "you can't judge it until you play it".

 

[Ryallen]

Yahtzee already said this. Not to imply that you can't add anything, but I've been under the assumption that people already kinda knew about this. Saying it now is kind of a moot point.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

So next gen's will be bloaty VR games.

Well, those who can play them anyway. More than a few people have medical issues with VR and 3D in general.

 

[Remus]

Yes, but at least it's good open world, meaningful even. Quests and missions that make sense and are not simply filler. Open world done right, in a world that truly feels lived in, and has beautiful grand vistas to boot, is a great thing and I would be happy to see more of it.

 

[MythicMatt]

Open world can be good, but not always. And there are logical reasons to hate it in some contexts.

For example, a lack of fast travel can be the bullet in the dogs' head. Not a feature that should have to be removed for any reason. If I can't go "place I discovered A" to "place I discovered B" without being able to open a menu to do it instantly, I'm gonna get bored of going past other places really fast.

And, if it has stuff to loot and a weight limit on how much you can carry without slowing down, there'd better be a way of getting back to a shop/home to offload all the junk quickly. I'm that guy who picks up everything and hopes there's actual uses for at least half the junk.

Finally, make it seem like there's some impact on the world when you do the quests [Borderlands, why you spawning bandits literally right behind me in that bandit camp I cleared to get this vehicle?].

...I have more than a few opinions on how things can be fixed.

But open world straight up replacing military shooters? No, I don't see that happening. Open world everything is just going to pass and then become something only a few companies still make [Or, I'm being overly optimistic].

 

[B-Cell_v1legacy]

I agree. IM sick of every game going open world especially ubisoft style

 

[Stewie Plisken]

Open-world was that thing as far back as the PS2 era and the trend was certainly present in the previous generation as well. The only difference is that more people can actually do it now successfully, because yay technology and experience. MGSV is, actually, a good example of this; Kojima had wanted to do this "open world battlefield" thing since *at least* as far back as MGS4. I'd argue he wanted to do that as far back as the jungle parts of Metal Gear 1 and 2 on the MSX.

I do agree that open-world isn't for every game, but there is also another thing to consider; are we talking open-world as a sandbox, open-world as an immersion technique, open-world as a gimmick? Shadow of Mordor, Witcher 3 and GTAV are all open-world games, but they all use the approach in a completely different way.

 

[The Raw Shark]

True, it is the equivalent. However we have gotten some pretty good games from it.
Just Cause 3, Dying Light, Mad Max, Shadow of Mordor, Witcher 3, etc. etc. (Whether you actually like these games or not, this is simply my opinion)

However, for the love of God, please. Just PLEASE, do not make another Dragon Age: Inquisition, game industry, I know I've bitched and moaned about that game to no end but seriously just never do that again.

I haven't played MGS V yet either but supposedly it went down the same route of being a game that shouldn't have ever had Open World in the first place. But oh well.

I will say however can we please stop getting all these survival-type games a la DayZ? Now THAT part is definitely over-saturated.

 

[nomotog_v1legacy]

MGS dose benefit from being open, but not really open world. Like it's strange because MSG makes more use of it's open world then AC or Far cry, but the game could have been just as good if they sniped out the open world and just stuck to the mission maps. (The mission maps are a part of the open world though so you know.) We kind of need less open worlds and mire open missions.

 

[Maximum Bert]

I think the problem is some devs start with the idea of making it open world or linear without considering what would be best for the kind of game they are making thus leading to some games with horribly restricted elements or empty bloated padded sections.

As for open world games in general I find it is very rarely done well but when it is I enjoy it then again a Linear game done well can be enjoyed by me just as much.

 

[Poetic Nova]

*shakes fist at the sky* MAAAD MAAAXXXX

got was that game kind of a train wreck with how it handled open world

I came in here to say this.

Yeah, Mad Max really went overboard with how much you had to do, which killed all enjoyment about halfway through.