Open ended games, at their best, can be better than the rest.
Linear games are typically more polished- after all, they can all be planned for and
can have all likely situations tested for in advance- but as we tire of the predictable
nature of the next Call of Duty corridor, there’s something captivating about stepping
foot in an endless Minecraft world.
Because although we all know that what’s around the next corner shouldn’t be any
more exciting than what’s right in front of us…
IT REALLY IS.
We humans crave adventure.
We both love the unknown and want to make it known.
And open ended games let us do this.
Let it be clear that I’m not just talking about procedurally generated worlds, like
Minecraft, but also pre-made worlds with unpredictable encounters, like DayZ.
And yet, as appealing as these game concepts sound, these genres aren’t instant recipes
for success.
The number of disappointments I could list far exceed those that fulfil their potential.
For every Minecraft or Skyrim there are a hundred cheap and soulless survival games
situated on an island that just isn’t worth your time or effort to explore.
It seems to me that these open-ended games, whether it’s intentional or not, often RELY
on their open-endedness to be worth playing.
Maybe to disguise the lack of actual content that these games really have, once you see
past the limitless façade that their worlds seem to offer.
Whereas corridor games are held to impeccably high standards, it appears that these sandbox
games are free from such judgement.
That their lack of polish can be excused.
Bugs are acceptable and unbalanced gameplay is your fault because you’re the one expected
to find a solution to the world’s challenges.
Whether it’s intentional or not, I feel that sandbox games are a tool used by teams
to disguise their failings as game developers.
And I think we’re lead to believe that procedurally generated content is better and should be
relied upon over hand-crafted elements wherever possible.
But REALLY?
Are you buying that?
Did you honestly enjoy your 10th randomly generated assassination mission in Skyrim
once the scripted campaign had ended?
No, you didn’t.
The issue is that there’s definitely something appealing about randomly generated stuff…
IF DONE RIGHT.
Minecraft is the run-away fairytale success that I suspect all other open-ended games
aspire to follow.
It can’t be argued that Minecraft undisputedly BENEFITTED from being different every time
you started a new world.
It’s a fantastic game where the ‘missions’ it gives you are only used to give your adventures
direction, even if you choose to plunder that tomb or build that log cabin instead.
And you should do, ‘cos doing so’s awesome.
Grand Theft Auto is another stellar example of a game that has plots and scripted events,
yet its real appeal is in carving your own path of destruction across the city.
At your own pace.
Even procedurally generated missions can be done right!
I loved Shadow of Mordor’s random enemies, with different strengths and weaknesses to
keep things fresh.
The thing that these games do right, however, is to have fun core gameplay.
The sort that’s fun whether you’re exploring or following a mission.
The game should almost be 2 games, functioning as both a sandbox and a scripted story, with
you free to jump between the two whenever you like.
You can tell when a game does sandbox right because you have to resist the urge to explore
it at every turning.
The real test is to split your time in the game up into individual minutes.
Do each of these give you joy, or are a lot of them simply required to get something later
on?
If it’s the latter then maybe the game isn’t that good.
With a good game you don’t have to spend 4 dull hours grinding to be able to afford
something fun.
It’s more like you spend 4 enjoyable hours in the game and are rewarded with something
even more at the end!
I’m sure you can apply this to your own experiences with the open-ended genre.
Hopefully by now, you can see that some games confuse investment with time-wasting.
If you’re grinding in an MMO just to reach the next level, is it really worth playing?
Just because a guy’s in a different place every time you attempt a quest, does it really
make capturing him more enjoyable?
Is capturing him even enjoyable in the first place?!
Issue is that I’m sure many of you will be quick to defend any example I bring up.
As disappointing as No Man’s Sky might have been, you might still enjoy exploring the
Universe (and getting high).
And I can’t argue with that.
You keep playing it if you genuinely enjoy it.
But my argument is that open-ended games should be better than that.
They should be in addition to an enjoyable experience, rather than instead of.
I’m wary of calling game-development an ‘art’.
Because I think it is, but not in the wishy washy ‘throw a load of passionate and talented
people at a project and it will work’ kind of way.
I have more respect for the games industry than that.
Yes, you need raw skill to make a game, but to make a great game you need to be patient
and sensitive to discovering what the real appeal of your game will be, and nurturing
it into something worth playing, rather than forcing what you thought worked for Minecraft.
I don’t care if you have a capable coder and artist.
I want to know that you can leave your ego at home and actually craft an enjoyable world.
I don’t want your project to be boring in early access.
I don’t want to rely on your promise that the final version ‘will be more fun’,
as if a bug fix will magically transform it into a playable experience.
All too much is left to the imagination.
We all start new games with the dream of what they can become, rather than what we can make
right now.
So please developers, stop exploiting the open-ended genre.
Yes, our computers might be able to handle it, and you might be able to code it.
You might really want to cash in on that sweet Steam greenlight system to make lots of money.
But please, make sure your game is worth it and doesn’t just add to the hundreds of
failed open-ended experiences already festering away on Steam right now.
And consumers, you’re to blame as well!
Stop pre-ordering rubbish, or supporting early access games in the hope that they’ll become
worthwhile later on.
There are plenty of games already out that are worth your time.
And your time is precious.
Don’t waste it humouring other people’s failed or unfinished projects.