That mountain is not just a backdrop,” Todd Howard once said, introducing Skyrim to the world. “You can walk all the way to the top of that mountain.” The winning quote has become immortalised as a meme: “See that mountain? You can climb it.”
It’s a phrase that encapsulates both the wonder and familiarity of open worlds and the genre that’s been built around them, echoed in many game reveals since. How did the promise of distant peaks become not only possible, but a cliché? For that story, we have to go right back to the beginning of PlayStation, and a little beyond. The open world genre is a technical miracle; the work of thousands of developers over decades. And that work isn’t yet done.
See that planet? You can fly there.
PLAYSTATION
The rise of the overworld
Early in PlayStation’s life there were no continuous 3D open worlds to be had. Levels had borders and great distances were travelled only via loading screens. A skybox provided your sense of a horizon, never to be crossed. Yet even within these hard technological constraints, RPG designers managed to design the first overworlds – connecting discrete areas via imagination and sticky tape.
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Denne historien er fra June 2024-utgaven av PLAY Magazine UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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NOT SO SILENT
With a Silent Hill renaissance on the horizon, the Western developers who worked on the most recent four entries - Silent Hill: Origins, Silent Hill: Homecoming, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, and Silent Hill: Downpour - talk to James Winspear about keeping a light aflame while the fog rolls in
Late night with the devil
My, my, what manner of BAFTA is this?\" said Andrew Wincott, slipping into Raphael's dulcet tones with ease as he accepted the BAFTA for Performer In A Supporting Role earlier this year.
NCE BITTEN, THRICE SNEAKY
We base-jump towards our first taste of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, talking with series producer Noriaki Okamura about our hands-on with the remade Virtuous Mission section of the classic stealther.
Crimson Desert
Devils may cry, and so might you after this
Spine
Looking to equal gun-fu classics
Lost Records: Bloom & RageTape 1
Hitting play on Don't Nod's coming-of-age tale
PS5 Pro to launch
PS5 architect Mark Cerny finally revealed' one of the worstkept secrets in gaming history - stick 7 Nov in your calendar
Batman: Arkham Asylum
15 years!? Holy depressing passing of time, Batman!
The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road
Keeping us engaged with the carat-and-stick approach
Alan Wake 2: Night Springs
Keepin' it weird