So there I’m playing a game with a big, beautiful open world. It has found beautiful scenes and gossip marks, filled with questions and missions and ingredients, and I am free to choose in any direction. What is the problem?
I I am a problem, or at least I am Part The problem, such as the former Grand Stolen Auto 6 and the Red Dead Online Game Designer Cameron Williams, explained in a panel at the Game Developers Conference.
Williams opened the panel with a slide titled “Common Open World Problems” and wrote the first built -point: “Players don’t discover.”
“Players just don’t discover?” Williams said. “Whether the reason is that you have a super -action -based game or because they are not merely compelled, or, (in your game) is a huge time investing and it is difficult for players to choose and keep it down, which is a growing challenge, especially with a free -toplay and a lively service system of a living service.”
Williams, who is now a senior mission designer Funny projects (Launched by Rock Star Games co -founder Dan Houser), said these issues are helpful in the “Open World Fatigue”, which could be less likely to find players. Let the players tell the players where they can go to find something, but according to Williams, players may also face “exploration anxiety”: they know the place of something, but in fact they are reluctant to go there.
Williams said, “They are thinking, ‘Well, how far the next thing is? I really have to run all the way to the map? And what is my benefit?” Williams said.
Another potential challenge is to create signs that players can see from some places. A good historical sign can put a player on the map and give them the purpose of reaching it, but keeping too many visible signs can result in “analysis stroke”. Williams cited a study about 2000 People are shopping in a supermarketWhich has shown that consumers are more likely to buy jams to get only six flavors unlike 24.
“We want to refrain from creating such a place of great possibilities that players don’t just know what to choose,” said Williams.
There are also get challenges to see the players in a particular direction so that their eyes can attract a looking location. Williams said, “Any FPS developer knows this,” but asked his players to ask and then see 45 degrees on the left, like, an impossible job, is okay? “
Sometimes players also need to manipulate activities. Williams cited an example from Red Dead Radiation 2, where fishing mini -minigum has been introduced with a critical path mission, “… and mission mainly shows players to showcase the best possible version of fishing by reacting to players’ fishing skills, and they create some natural ways.
Williams said, “It actually increases the fishing system with context and meaning. So now, whenever players are offered to go to fishing, they are going to remember the great memories of this experience as a pole of their tents.”
William also presented a player Archie Type, which he called the “Callioners”, which usually only follows the critical path or the central struggle, and thus it is difficult to attract the content directly without throwing it directly on his way.
“You know what player I’m talking about, who tries to ignore all your content. They are like, ‘I want to have the least fun!’
As someone who loves the sports of the open world, I definitely recognize myself as many people who were saying Williams. Over time, the question marks on the maps of the open world lose their appeal, and I certainly cry when I take a very long distance and wonder if it is worth my time. I get an analysis paralysis when the map is covered with a lot of icons, and I am still in anger if there are not enough things to do. I want to know exactly what will be rewarded before I spend time on it, yet I want mysteries and surprises.
I am completely guilty of going through a critical path as soon as possible, and I am definitely someone who needs to play a minagam through NPC colleagues, which I am flattering to see how big I am.
I am the worst in other words. I have always known that there are many problems to overcome the Open World Game design, but this is the first time I have noticed that the biggest problem is probably.
