I love open worlds. Or a close approximation of them, given most game's I can afford don't have triple AAA budgets. But no matter the scope of the game, I love exploration, and games that let me experience a space that gives me the freedom to decide where I go is very powerful to me. So, this post is basically going to be a rambling / love-letter to open worlds as a concept and how I view them as a system in game design.

An Open World System

Some words that might come to mind when one thinks of an open world: fantasy, narrative, lore, freedom, atmosphere. A common similarity among most of these words is the relation to aesthetics and the concept of "immersion". An open-world is typically visually powerful, and most games that employ one also tend to value: powerful narratives, fantastical player characters, and exploration / freedom; these are all qualities that serve the purpose of immersing the player in an experience that exposes them to a world unfamiliar to them, and that world, in these cases, happens to have no explicit guide for them at every moment. Unlike more cinematic games that are just as immersive (The Last of Us, Detroit Become Human, etc.), open-worlds do not rely on the narrative alone to motivate and propel the player's journey; they let the player do their fair share. And so, we could say, the open world is a space where the player has narrative control, perhaps not over the environment, but over themselves within it.

Pillars

Whereas other systems prioritize the rules and goals of a game, the open world system prioritizes the framework in which those rules and goals take place. A game with an open world system tends to be designed around pillars of “exploration”, “collection”, “narrative”, and “travel”. You could easily bypass requiring a large, physical space for your player to travel in via menus and UI while still keeping combat and movement systems in isolated levels, but many games choose to have an expansive world for the purposes of ludonarrative

The more time a player spends exploring a vast, living, breathing space, the more they will begin to cultivate their own idea of their character and forge their own story. Open worlds allow you to both explore a new place and figure out your place in it. 

Now that we've established the purpose of an open world system, let's explore examples to dissect how open worlds accomplish this goal, and whether any subvert it. I also would like to spend time on the various ways these games' open worlds achieve cohesion with other important systems in game design, such as movement, inventory, interaction, etc.

Spiderman PS4

Spiderman PS4 is a common example of an open world system for big budget action RPG games. The world’s primary function is not exactly to be explored, but to traverse and function as a “hub” that contains missions, side quests, and collectibles. Being a game set in Manhattan, it is also not fantastical, but I believe that works well when it contrasts your player character, a very liberating, fantastical superhero who swings at incredible speed throughout. This is also, coincidentally, one of the most fun elements of the open world system: its integration with the movement system creates an incredible gameplay experience. The world is made up of mostly tall buildings, and so our method of movement (web-swinging) makes sense within this environment, abd here are also various stunts you can pull, such as aiming at a perch point in the form of a telephone pole or skyscraper and immediately propelling towards it, or running up the side of a building. The physics behind the web-slinging mechanic is too complicated for me to fully understand, and a lot of people have done a great job dissecting it, but I only mention it to make the point that the way it feels to move throughout the city is enhanced by the city's open world qualities. I often don't use the fast travel because it's so fun to just swing around and embody the perspective of Spiderman just existing.

The Pathless

The Pathless has a world which I’d like to both compare, and contrast, with Spiderman PS4, as both rely heavily on integrating their open worlds with their movement systems, and how the other components of their worlds differ. Movement in the pathless is essential; shooting movement crystals scattered throughout the map give you a burst of speed and allow you to maintain momentum, and so the gameplay loop of timing your shots to the rhythm of your movement keeps you moving fast and fluid, and also feels good.

However, the world of Spiderman PS4 is functionally a hub, with the main story taking place across mission levels and cutscenes. In the Pathless, there is no distinction between the world and the story. In fact, it was carefully ensured that the transition from exploration to boss fight be both smooth and cinematic, and so you can launch yourself into the boss’s path and begin chasing them to trigger the boss fight without a sharp break in your control. Essentially, The Pathless never makes you feel apart from the open world, while Spiderman PS4’s mission oriented structure branching off from the world serves to separate those two systems.

Shadow of the Colossus

Shadow of the colossus has a uniquely, and famously, barren world, explicitly called “The Forbidden Lands” in-game. A similar aspect of this world, along with Outer Wilds, is time. The player is forced to take a decent amount of time to trek their way to a location of interest, and much is rewarded through exploration. To contrast with The pathless, movement in SOTC is, while fluid, not idealized; not flowy or fast. Your main method of travel in this game is by horse, and your speed is exactly that of a horse, despite being presented with quite the breadth of terrain between you and each colossus. This is an open World System very much meant to limit your freedom, not expand it. While the land is open and vast, your goals here are closed and narrow. You are tasked with killing colossi and travel in as straight a line as possible to that goal, via your sword which illuminates the path. You are the only sign of life in this land, and there is a sad melancholy in the opposing lifelessness of your surroundings, further motivating you to pursue the main goal of the game. I conclude, therefore, that despite the apparent boundlessness of the world, it serves its purpose of instilling a tone that drives you away from exploration.

Conclusion

If I could sum up the functions and purposes of an open world system in one sentence, I would say that an open world system allows for a game’s rules and goals to be expanded in a way that allows a player free reign in an environment to explore not only an artistic vision, but their place in it (both as the character and themselves). From The Pathless practically harmonizing your player character with the world surrounding them, to Shadow of the Colossus ostensibly suppressing any desire to expect exploration be rewarded, games utilize open worlds in various ways for the purpose of immersing the player in an experience or feeling the game wants to instill.