Wolfire Games Forums

good level design =/= open world features

i can tell just by what theyve made so far that we should all have total confidence in there creativity and direction in the project.

all wolfire games are incredibly creative and innovative, i for one Cant wait to see what they come up with

Karel wrote:good level design =/= open world features

EDIT: Actually it does. Though the game may not be open-world, it can have qualities of it. Dishonored and Batman: Arkham City are good games to represent that. In fact, Skyrim to some extent has a few level-based-designs since the dungeons, cities, and houses have loading screens to separate them from the main world. Yet they still allow you to explore a wider map.

Manjarowolf wrote:Name any open world game you can think of and I can bet that their story never put you in a state of urgency well enough to say "I've got to get this done pronto."

There probably are several. Game developers make mistakes too, right?

Daggerfall might be one. Several of the random quests had extremely strict time limits for one. Werewolf/vampirism quests had time limits as well.

Star Control 2, perhaps the world's only open-world RPG Asteroids, had a time limit on the main quest. It wasn't very strict, but if you didn't get things done pronto, well... The unstoppable alien race that is enslaving the galaxy (and your possible allies) is moving as time goes on, and the OTHER unstoppable alien race that is killing all the galaxy (and the rest of your possible allies) is doing the same. Since it wasn't easy to figure out a way to stop the unstoppable, finishing the game will take several playthroughs or a guide.

Space Rangers does the same, except the battles between alien factions are more random and less scripted.

Fallout 1 had two time limits too, one for water and second for mutants. The developers realized the mistake there and patched the second time limit out, so that the players could actually explore!

Endoperez wrote:

Manjarowolf wrote:Name any open world game you can think of and I can bet that their story never put you in a state of urgency well enough to say "I've got to get this done pronto."

There probably are several. Game developers make mistakes too, right?

Daggerfall might be one. Several of the random quests had extremely strict time limits for one. Werewolf/vampirism quests had time limits as well.

Star Control 2, perhaps the world's only open-world RPG Asteroids, had a time limit on the main quest. It wasn't very strict, but if you didn't get things done pronto, well... The unstoppable alien race that is enslaving the galaxy (and your possible allies) is moving as time goes on, and the OTHER unstoppable alien race that is killing all the galaxy (and the rest of your possible allies) is doing the same. Since it wasn't easy to figure out a way to stop the unstoppable, finishing the game will take several playthroughs or a guide.

Space Rangers does the same, except the battles between alien factions are more random and less scripted.

Fallout 1 had two time limits too, one for water and second for mutants. The developers realized the mistake there and patched the second time limit out, so that the players could actually explore!

Lol Okay Endo, you got me. But I meant the main story having some sort of rush. I played Daggerfall 8 times and not once did I feel like "I'm taking to long. I need to hurry and save the world or I'm going to lose the game" on the main quest. And Fallout 1 same thing; There was urgency for water, but not for completion(funny how FO1 and 2 were more tactical-based and they still had amazing levels to explore).

I don't know about the other games because I've never tried them myself so I guess my plan had hole, hahaha. But for the most part if -and only IF- Overgrowth is linear then there would be less focus on you seeing the lands and more on the goal. Not to say that the levels can't inspire exploration, but you'd be pressed fighting enemies rather than trying to climb that mountain in the distance. The only way it would change is if it presents itself like that hitman game: you can use your surroundings to your advantage by which you would most-likely look around a bit but other than that you're still kept on focus. Homework first, ice-cream at Benny's later.

I pretty much agree with your points, I just happened to know that there are exceptions. It's also quite telling that the time limit was modded out of FO1, to give the player unlimited time to explore, and that most of those games are old.