Unleashing Creativity: Open World Level Design Essentials
Unlike linear levels, designing levels for open world games presents unique challenges due to their inherent openness to the player. The player has the freedom to explore wherever they desire. Thus, the task at hand is to find ways to exert control over the player’s progression within the expansive open world.
The concept of an open world implies that players can freely travel to any location at any time. However, even in many open-world games, the developers maintain some degree of control over the player’s progression.
To illustrate this, consider the example of “Grand Theft Auto IV.” Initially, players can only explore one island, and as they advance in the game, additional islands become accessible.
- The reason behind this approach is to ensure that players become acquainted with the starting island, as the story is intricately connected to that specific area. The game aims to guide players along a linear path through the narrative, while still allowing them to explore other islands as the story unfolds. This design technique maintains a sense of progression while leveraging the openness of the game world;
- “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” follows a similar pattern. Initially, players are confined to a small portion of the game’s map. However, after completing a few dungeons and grasping the game mechanics, they are granted the freedom to venture into other areas;
- In “The Witcher 3,” progression is guided by enemy difficulty and leveling. Once players enter the main map, they can freely explore any region, but each area features enemies of different levels. Engaging higher-level foes increases the risk of being attacked and dying. This discourages players from venturing into certain areas and keeps them on the desired path;
- “Minecraft” is another example of an open-world game that exercises control over player progression. While players have the freedom to explore, the game subtly directs them through a predetermined order by requiring specific items and resources to advance;
- The placement of landmarks plays a crucial role in encouraging player exploration. In “Skyrim,” major cities are marked with distinct icons, ensuring that players visit and discover all significant locations across the map;
- Similarly, “GTA V” features three prominent landmarks strategically scattered throughout the entire game world, enticing players to explore their surroundings.
Barriers can also guide players through an open world. There are two types of barriers in level design:
- Solid barriers are rigid obstacles that players must adhere to or avoid. Racing games often employ these barriers, strictly defining the designated path and preventing players from veering off the map;
- Soft barriers, on the other hand, are obstacles used to guide players without imposing strict limitations. Players can choose to ignore these barriers if they wish.
In summary, designing levels for open-world games requires addressing the challenge of player freedom while maintaining control over their progression. Game developers employ various strategies, such as unlocking areas as the story expands, using enemy difficulty to deter exploration, leveraging resource-based progression, strategically placing landmarks, and implementing both solid and soft barriers to guide players through the vast game worlds.
Castles often serve as solid barriers in games, featuring specific entry and exit points that players must pass through to enter or exit the castle.
Other examples
In “Skyrim,” soft barriers are implemented through overhangs positioned near paths. These overhangs subtly guide players along the intended route, although they can choose to ignore them and walk over them if they wish.
- When tackling the design of open-world games, the task becomes challenging as they inherently offer players the freedom to explore wherever they desire, unlike the linear levels of the past. The goal is to find a way to exert control over the player’s progression within the open world. While open-world games grant players the ability to travel anywhere at any time, many still maintain some level of control over the player’s path in terms of story progression and character development;
- An example of this approach is evident in “Grand Theft Auto IV.” Initially, players are limited to exploring just one island. This intentional design choice ensures players become acquainted with the starting island, allowing them to familiarize themselves with the environment and locations before venturing further. The story is tightly connected to this specific area, serving as a focal point for the player’s journey. As the narrative expands, additional islands are unlocked, allowing for further exploration and story development. This design strategy leads the player along a linear path while leveraging the vastness of the game world.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
It follows a similar pattern. Players begin in a restricted area of the map, but after completing a few dungeons and mastering the game mechanics, they are granted the ability to leave and explore the entire world. The starting area acts as a tutorial, imparting knowledge about different tribes, dungeon mechanics, and enemy encounters, preparing players for their adventure beyond.
The Witcher 3
It also employs a controlled progression system. After the initial starting area, players are free to explore the main map as they wish. However, each area features enemies of varying levels, discouraging players from venturing into areas with significantly stronger opponents. This mechanism acts as a deterrent, directing players towards more suitable challenges based on their character’s level and abilities, ultimately shaping their journey through the game world.
These examples demonstrate how game designers strategically guide players through open worlds by employing barriers, both solid and soft, to influence their progression. By implementing such design elements, developers can strike a balance between player freedom and narrative or gameplay direction.
In “The Witcher 3,” players have the flexibility to stick to areas where they feel most comfortable. As they progress and level up, they gain access to more regions within the game world. The game cleverly aligns these areas with the story’s progression, guiding players through the open world in a coherent manner.
Minecraft game
Despite its open-ended nature, it incorporates a level of linearity when it comes to the main game progression. Players must follow a specific order and visit particular locations based on the items and resources they need to collect. This demonstrates how even in a highly open world like Minecraft, there is deliberate control in guiding players through the game.
Landmarks play a crucial role in player exploration. Placing significant landmarks strategically is vital. For instance, in Skyrim, major cities act as prominent landmarks. These locations serve multiple purposes, such as receiving quests, trading goods, and acquiring essential items. Navigating between these landmarks or exploring areas close to them ensures players do not miss out on important aspects of the game world. By drawing lines connecting these landmarks, it becomes evident that they cover the vast majority of the map. This design approach ensures that players have ample opportunities to discover and interact with all areas, leaving no significant regions overlooked.
The narrator observed that in game design, it is crucial to incorporate landmarks to give players a reason to explore different areas of the map. For instance, removing a city or town from a specific region would render that area purposeless and devoid of player interest. By strategically placing landmarks across the map, game designers can encourage players to explore various locations and create a sense of purpose and direction in their open-world experiences.
- Examples such as GTA V, Red Dead Redemption 2, Breath of the Wild, and Oblivion demonstrate the effective distribution of landmarks throughout their maps. These games are evenly spread out in significant cities and towns, ensuring players have the motivation to explore different regions and discover new aspects of the game world.
However, The Witcher 3 is highlighted as an example where the placement of landmarks falls short. The major landmarks in the game are concentrated in the top half of the map, resulting in fewer players venturing to the bottom half, which lacks noteworthy locations for engaging gameplay experiences. This unbalanced distribution hinders exploration and limits player interaction with certain areas of the game world.
In Conclusion
To guide players through open worlds, barriers are used to create structure and influence player movement. There are two types of barriers: solid and soft. Solid barriers are rigid obstacles that players must navigate around or avoid, such as walls, gates, or specific entry/exit points in castles. Soft barriers, on the other hand, gently guide players along a certain path but can be bypassed or ignored. An example of a soft barrier is the overhang in Skyrim, subtly guiding players along a designated path while still allowing them the freedom to explore alternative routes if desired.
In the game Subnautica, the depth of the ocean serves as a soft barrier, limiting players’ progression based on their equipment. At the start of the game, players can only reach a certain depth before their oxygen supply depletes, preventing them from going deeper. As they level up and upgrade their gear, they can explore deeper parts of the ocean. This soft barrier of depth controls the player’s progression and enhances the immersive experience of the game.
The narrator concludes by emphasizing that solid and soft barriers exist not only in video games but also in the real world. Examples of solid barriers, in reality, include walls and gates, while soft barriers can be seen in the form of velvet ropes or wet floor signs. These real-world barriers, like their virtual counterparts, serve to guide people along specific paths and ensure a certain level of order and safety.
The importance of designing progression in open-world games is highlighted, as an aimless and unrestricted environment may lack player motivation. By incorporating landmarks and implementing barriers, game designers can guide players through the open world while maintaining a sense of purpose and engagement.