Into the Open World

Everyone is familiar with open world games. They’re insanely popular and they’re evergreen, so you can be sure that they’ll always be the “flavour of the month”, no matter what time of the year it is. However, have you ever thought about how they came to be? Or even what the first ever open world game was? Let’s go straight to the very beginning.

- Manish “TriggerHappy” Rajesh

Open world games are incredibly diverse and while they are most commonly associated with RPGs, you’ll find the concept implemented in other genres as well. The one characteristic feature common to all open world games is that it takes away the linear aspect of games and gives you, the player, more freedom than ever before.

GIVE US ALL THE FREEDOMS!

What defines an open world game? Well for starters, an open world game should have a fairly large, open, world (You don’t say ). But there’s more to it than just that. There are plenty of games out there that do have huge worlds but we wouldn’t necessarily call them open world games.

The reason for that is the next aspect of open world games: the freedom to do things and go about the world as you please. If the game restricts you from entering a certain area of the world, or you need to complete a quest or reach a certain part of the story in order to access parts of the world, then we’re sorry to break your bubble but those aren’t open world games. Open world games deviate from a conventional level based structure (don’t get us wrong, levels still exist in some of them, but they’re not as limiting). The main goal is to give the player more freedom.

You will hardly come across invisible walls or roadblocks in a truly open world game. Additionally, the world is littered with stuff to do, and you’re free to skip out on them entirely or do them at your own leisure. Nothing is forced.