Video Games

From Tears of the Kingdom to Grand Theft Auto: How Open Worlds Set Us Free

Since its inception, video games have served as portals to other worlds. Unlike books and movies, you can not only immerse yourself in another land, but also truly explore it. It is the fantasy at its core that has made the concept of the open world flourish. What better way to create the feeling of discovering a new world than by building a world with as much depth as possible and with as few boundaries as possible? , which itself evolved into a whole diverse genre.

While linear game design offers another slice of reality, open worlds aim to simulate on a grander level. Combine geography, architecture, population, and events to create living cities, regions, or kingdoms. However, what truly distinguishes an open world from a linear game is freedom. For some developers, this means offering a wide range of activities in a buffet format for you to play freely at any time. what I want youFor others, it gives you the tools to freely explore the world how I want you

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and its predecessor, Breath of the Wild, epitomize the philosophy that you can play however you like. Its core mechanics are built around the authentic sense of adventure that organic, free-form discovery brings. This is why very few instructions are provided outside of the main quest. That map doesn’t have an activity icon. Instead, the world architecture of Tears of the Kingdom is designed to hold your attention and encourage you to uncover its untold secrets.

With few pre-planned goals, the unknown journey towards your chosen one is just as important as the destination itself. As such, the very terrain of Hyrule, from rugged mountains to floating islands, is designed to offer sailing challenges that require real effort and planning to conquer. Reaching your destination may require planning exhausting climbs, risking dangerous falls, paragliding treacherous routes, or combining more unusual techniques. yeah. All of this gives you a real sense of accomplishment and makes your discovery even more amazing on the other side of the challenge, whether it’s a priceless treasure or a priceless vista.

By engineering a detailed simulation of the physical world, Nintendo has now created Breath of the Wild’s signature exploration style. Gravity, wind, fire, and propulsion can all be harnessed to launch Link into places that at first seem unreachable, and Hyrule becomes ever more vast and unknowable with each new discovery. Tears of the Kingdom takes this a step further with new crafting abilities, Fuse and Ultrahand, allowing you to craft a variety of improvised weapons and contraptions. It’s an impressive system that continually expands the game’s horizons with each new discovery. For example, try Ultrahand and you might be able to build an airship. A nice achievement in itself, but the airship can now be used to explore distant peaks, or as part of a new tactic to parachute into a Bokoblin camp. It’s a domino effect. Each new discovery opens up new ways to play, which adds to the sense of freedom in Tears of the Kingdom.

Each new discovery opens up new ways to play, which adds to the sense of freedom in Tears of the Kingdom.


The development of Breath of the Wild, and therefore Tears of the Kingdom, was partially influenced by the advancement of open-world games in the West. That’s best seen in the towers that reveal the map of Hyrule and Link’s ability to climb nearly any surface. These two mechanics of his are built directly on the trademark of Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed series. But the more important inspiration, which Nintendo itself cites, is Skyrim. Bethesda’s spirit of adventure is seen in the way Zelda utilizes enemy camps, unmarked secrets, and distant landmarks to seek out. Nintendo’s interpretation of these ideas subsequently set off industry trends. While Elden Ring explores the world with a similar approach of rewarding curiosity and taking risks, Death Stranding is an entire game dedicated to making challenging traversals the main event.

But while Breath of the Wild clearly marked a turning point for the industry, its open-world approach isn’t perfect for everyone. The lack of direction and seemingly endless options can be more limiting than inspiring, and overwhelmed players tend to stick to their main objective and just a handful of simple, reliable techniques. I have. Direction and instruction are beneficial for these players, and more traditional play takes place here. what People come who want an open-world design.

This open-world trend emerged in the early 2000s when the success of Grand Theft Auto 3 spawned a tsunami of so-called ‘GTA clones’, and by the release of Assassin’s Creed 2 in 2009, the modern form of the genre was in full swing. Appeared in The map features dozens (sometimes hundreds) of icons placed on the map, each representing one of many types of activity ranging from primary missions to temporary pastimes. increase. These are usually evenly distributed over many regions. Clearing a region involves playing some dungeons, solving some puzzles, collecting some resources, and defeating the local boss of his world, in addition to the main and side quests. may be With this placement, the map effectively becomes the question, “What are you feeling right now?” A detailed main quest, or something simpler?

The design, often (and sometimes pejoratively) referred to as “official Ubisoft”, has been featured in dozens of games, including blockbusters such as Batman: Arkham City, Ghost of Tsushima, and the Horizon series. It is the foundation. And it’s easy to see why this design is so popular. We will guide you to the most interesting and exciting activities in the world. This is invaluable for those who need guidance, players who are short on time, and those who are aiming for 100% completion.

This placement provides a more authentic experience. Many of Zelda’s best moments are rooted in its journey across Hyrule and the (often accidental) discoveries along the way, but the biggest hits in the more traditionally designed open world are the incredible missions. and activity design. The duels in Ghosts of Tsushima, the mech battles in Horizon, and the stealth infiltration of Arkham City are all among the high points of the genre, but these are the moments in which they were created for not you To you.

However, the more staged the open world, the more important it is to maintain a sense of adventure. Too many icons effectively result in an unwieldy menu that you have to navigate between game modes. It loses its sense of place and dissolves the purpose of being an open world in the first place. Assassin’s Creed Unity is the epitome of this mistake, The map became incomprehensible Thanks to the clutter of symbols that highlight everything from the main missions to the least important treasure chests. As evidenced by The Witcher 3 and Skyrim, a good open-world map knows when to signpost, when to hint, and when to say nothing at all.

A good open world map knows when to signpost, when to give hints, and when to say nothing at all.


Perhaps the reason Rockstar Games is considered one of the most important custodians of open worlds is because their games find ways to blend discovery and direction. The world of Red Dead Redemption 2, the studio’s newest and most complete open world, is full of created moments. Serial killers, demonic voices, and vampires are just a few of the well-known examples of bizarre characters and questlines you’ll encounter during your journey through the American frontier. Importantly, though, these activities aren’t marked on the map until you stumble across them. In fact, Rockstar has been quite reluctant to add icons to the map, using them sparingly to mark important quest givers or previously discovered locations. That’s why encountering one of Red Dead’s many rare strangers feels like a real discovery, and the quests that emerge from those encounters feel like true adventures rather than pre-planned activities. You can

By blurring the lines between freedom and scripting precision, Rockstar achieves its trademark vibe. A cinematic yet real world. But its authenticity comes from more than just freedom. It is built on simulation. There is always a two-way conversation between the world and the player. When it snows, you should dress appropriately to protect yourself from the cold. If you walk in water, you’ll need to clean your weapon to restore its effectiveness. Be kind or cruel and people will react accordingly. Even the impression of boots in the mud conveys a believable sense of reality. This is the real world, even your footprints are there.

Rockstar’s apparently limitless budget means that its graphics technology creates worlds that look photorealistic and become more and more believable, but studios around the world are only visual groans. I’ve long recognized that I can’t make an open world feel alive. The land must respond to your presence. This understanding can be traced back to Rockstar’s game graphics. At its core, Grand Theft Auto is based on police reactions. If you commit a crime, you will be chased. The police wanted system has since been replicated in dozens of games, from Getaway to Cyberpunk 2077, but it’s the first in a chain of evolution leading to Shadow of Mordor’s incredible Nemesis system. Also a link.

In Monolith’s otherwise fairly traditional open world, seemingly insignificant enemy orcs can be left for dead in a ditch and return to chase you during your campaign. They come back for more grudge matches, each time looking even more emaciated and disconnected than the last time. In the sequel, Shadow of War, Orcs can learn from their failures in battle and fight players in increasingly sophisticated ways. They climb the ranks of Sauron’s army, becoming an ever more powerful threat each time they are encountered. Behind the scenes, the system is just an NPC tracking database, but within the lands of Middle-earth, those lines of code are a living villainous gallery of haunting foes. It creates life in a way unlike any other game, and that life is rooted in a simulation layer of open-world design.

Just as you can’t escape the police from a city in GTA, or the forces of nature that rule the world of Tears of the Kingdom, you can’t escape the Nemesis system in Shadow of Mordor. So while the philosophy behind open worlds is liberal, these games are as much about the opportunities given to the player as they are about what is beyond the player’s control. Breath of the Wild players are not free from exhaustion while climbing. That affects not only the player’s journey, but also how they explore freely. Tears of Kingdom takes that concept even further. Physical limitations and gravity may keep you grounded, but the Ultra Hand and the amazing flying vehicle it creates can help you free yourself from the earth and reach distant peaks.

Like Tears of the Kingdom, the next revolutionary open world redefines freedom once again. I can’t wait to see the possibilities it unlocks.

Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Features Editor.

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