Open-World Games: 5 Reasons Why They're So Long

Contents:

• The History of RPG Development: From Gigantomania to Quality
• The Evolution of Giant RPGs
• Growth Factors in the Gaming Industry
• Problems of Large-Scale Games: From Ambition to Disappointment
• Alternative Paths in the Gaming Industry

The history of RPG development: from gigantomania to

September 1998 marked a significant milestone in the world of video games: Game Developer magazine published an article by Warren Spector, in which he analyzed the shortcomings of the role-playing game (RPG) genre. Spector, the renowned game director of the cult game Deus Ex, emphasized the excessive focus of developers on creating vast game worlds, which often negatively impacts the quality and depth of game content. His criticism became the basis for rethinking approaches to RPG development, emphasizing the importance of balancing scale and content.

Spector argues that having 400 character classes, 6,753 unique abilities, and 827 effortless quests is superficial and unnecessary. He emphasizes that the pursuit of scale often leads to the creation of monotonous content that fails to leave a lasting impression on the player. Instead, the emphasis should be on the depth and quality of the gameplay experience, which will ultimately provide more meaningful interactions and memorable moments within the game.

His criticism clearly references The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall, released in 1996. That game stood out for its map scale comparable to Great Britain, which included 15,000 settlements and 750,000 NPCs. However, despite its impressive size, the world of Daggerfall turned out to be not only vast but also lacking in variety. This monotony negatively impacted the perception of the game, limiting its appeal to players.

The procedural generation used in creating content for Daggerfall gave Bethesda the opportunity to create a vast game world. However, this technology also resulted in a lack of uniqueness in its design. Programmer Hal Bouma emphasized that, despite the many cities, they have a similar appearance, leading to a sense of illusory reality, where life seems to flow as usual. This approach to content creation demonstrates both the advantages and disadvantages of procedural generation in video games, influencing how players perceive the game world.

Spector doesn't use the term "mega-mania," but sees it as a problem that arises when developing games that are excessively large in scope and repetitive in content. In this regard, Daggerfall is an example of an ambitious but failed experiment in the RPG genre. Games that suffer from mega-mania often lose focus and quality, which negatively impacts the player experience. Daggerfall, despite its massive scope, has been criticized for its lack of depth and variety. This highlights the importance of balancing world size and content quality in creating a successful RPG.

Daggerfall was a unique game at the time of its release, but its sequel, The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind (2002), showcased a new approach to open-world creation by the developers. Instead of using procedural generation, the team focused on creating a more compact and detailed world that offered high-quality 3D graphics and a compelling story. This change allowed players to become more deeply immersed in the game's story and atmosphere, marking a significant step in the evolution of The Elder Scrolls series. Since the early 2010s, the RPG world has undergone a significant shift, changing the approach to game development. The focus has shifted to quality content, depth of story, and unique gameplay experiences. These changes have been made possible by new technologies and a deeper understanding of player needs. Game development is now focused on creating engaging and immersive stories, leading to increased audience interest and engagement. Key aspects of successful RPGs include well-developed characters, a variety of game mechanics, and the ability to choose, allowing each player to create a personalized experience.

Procedural generation in games is a method of creating content using algorithms, allowing developers to automatically generate levels, characters, and other elements of the game world. This approach significantly saves time and resources, allowing for the creation of unique and varied gaming experiences. Procedural generation is used in various game genres, from platformers to role-playing games, and provides players with inimitable experiences. Understanding the features of procedural generation is important for developers seeking innovation and diversity in their projects.

The Evolution of Giant RPGs

Jason Schreier's book Blood, Sweat, and Pixels takes an in-depth look at the world of video game development, with a special focus on iconic RPGs of the last ten years, including Dragon Age: Inquisition and The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt. These games share a key characteristic: the ambitious goals of their creators, who strive to create expansive content that will impress players. Schreier illuminates not only the creative process but also the challenges developers face, emphasizing the importance of their efforts in crafting unique game worlds.

Matt Goldman, art director on Dragon Age: Inquisition, reveals his philosophy behind the game: “My goal was to surprise players with the sheer scale of the content. In Dragon Age 2, many players expressed frustration about the lack of content. At Inquisition, we decided that players wouldn’t have a reason to complain. I want them to think, ‘Is there really another zone?’” This ambitious goal inspired the team to create a vast and rich world offering players numerous opportunities to explore and interact.

Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, Game Director of The Witcher 3, emphasizes that during discussions with studio head Adam Badowski and the board of directors, an important issue was identified: players desire greater freedom in exploring the game world. This realization became the primary motivation for creating a larger, more open world in our games.

Both games have become outstanding representatives of the RPG genre. Completing the main story and side quests in Dragon Age: Inquisition will take players an average of 87.5 hours. The third installment of The Witcher, meanwhile, takes approximately 103 hours. These time commitments highlight the depth and richness of the content these games offer, captivating role-playing gamers and providing an unforgettable gaming experience.

The Witcher's map covers 136 square kilometers, 35 times the size of the second game. However, this isn't the largest map in the world of video games. For example, the open world of Just Cause 4 spans an impressive 1,024 square kilometers, demonstrating the scale and diversity of the game's locations. The sheer size of open worlds creates unique opportunities for exploration, interaction with the environment, and immersion in the story, which is essential for players seeking large-scale adventures.

The trend toward creating large-scale game worlds is particularly evident in projects developed by Ubisoft. These virtual spaces are highly detailed and feature well-developed ecosystems, allowing players to immerse themselves in unique stories and adventures. Ubisoft successfully utilizes modern technologies to create open worlds that offer players the opportunity to explore, interact with the environment, and complete a variety of tasks. This attracts audiences and makes the company's games particularly popular in the market.

In 2016, Polygon published an interview with Brian Crescente, in which Ubisoft developers discussed a significant shift in their approach to game development. They discussed the transition from compact, single-player projects to developing games that can retain players for long periods of time. This transition marked a significant milestone in the studio's history and opened up new horizons for development, introducing elements of long-term engagement with users.

Anne Blondel, executive producer of The Crew, states that the team organizes its work to create not just games, but full-fledged "games as a service." This allows us to maintain player interest over the long term, rather than simply releasing a product and moving on to the next project. This approach has become an important lesson for us, learned from the successful experience with The Crew. We strive to meet player expectations, providing them with the opportunity to enjoy the gameplay over a long period of time.

The games-as-a-service model, first introduced with The Crew in 2014, was quickly adapted by other popular Ubisoft series, including Tom Clancy's The Division, Watch Dogs, Far Cry, and, of course, Assassin's Creed. This model allows the developers to regularly update content, introduce new features, and maintain player interest over a long period. The use of games as a service has become a significant step in the industry, providing a more dynamic interaction between players and developers.

The first Assassin's Creed games fit harmoniously into the confined spaces of medieval cities. However, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, which recreates Ancient Greece, surprises players with its scale, offering a vast open world of 256 square kilometers. This allows you to explore not only famous cities but also picturesque landscapes, including mountains and coastlines, making the gameplay more engaging and varied.

The sequel to Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla offers players a vast open world of 120 square kilometers. Despite its smaller size compared to previous parts, the game features the longest story campaign in the history of the series. It will take approximately 59 hours to complete, making it ideal for lovers of deep and engaging stories set in the Viking world.

Valhalla provides players with unique opportunities to complete daily quests from the League of a Thousand Eyes. These quests include hunting enemies and wild animals, making the gameplay varied and engaging. In addition, the game regularly hosts seasonal events that offer new quests, unique equipment, and powerful opponents. By participating in these activities, players can significantly improve their skills and expand their arsenal of options. Building a long lifespan for a single-player, story-driven game has many advantages. The main reason is that such large-scale projects can maintain player interest for a long time. A long lifespan allows developers not only to increase revenue through sales but also to build a strong community of players who will discuss the story and share their experiences. This, in turn, helps improve the game's reputation and increase its popularity. Thus, developing games with a long life cycle becomes a profitable strategy that allows not only to retain the audience's attention, but also to ensure long-term success in the market.

Growth Drivers in the Gaming Industry

Polygon's recent analysis of Ubisoft reveals important factors driving the company's expansion in the dynamic gaming industry. Expert insights from Kirill Zolovkin, Studio Director at Heart Core, and Sergey Himmelreich, Game Designer at Creative Mobile, enrich the discussion by highlighting the importance of Ubisoft's strategies and innovations. These insights provide a deeper understanding of how the company adapts to market changes and what approaches allow it to remain competitive.

Users who spend more time playing are more likely to be interested in investing in additional features, including in-game items and expansions. For example, recent installments in the Assassin's Creed series offer players microtransactions that allow them to acquire unique gear and customize their characters' appearances. These additional features not only enhance the gaming experience but also drive increased audience engagement, which can lead to increased revenue for developers. Kirill Zolovkin argues that the increased scale of games is beneficial for both developers and the platforms that offer access to these games. Expanding the scale of games increases user interest and, consequently, increases revenue for both content creators and the platforms themselves. This mutually beneficial collaboration helps develop the industry as a whole by providing players with more diverse and high-quality content. Gaming platforms promote increased user engagement, which, in turn, leads to increased time spent on the platform. Zolovkin confirms this statement. The more time players spend in the game, the higher the likelihood of their engagement and satisfaction, which is an important factor for the success of any online platform. Services such as Xbox Game Pass and EA Play offer subscription models that provide access to extensive game libraries. This not only increases player choice but also contributes to the amount of time users spend playing games. Thanks to such platforms, gamers can explore new genres and find interesting projects, which makes the gaming experience more intense and varied.

Kirill Zolovkin notes that creating short games is less effective for promotion. Sergey Himmelreich supports this point of view. In the current gaming market, it is important to consider that developments focused on long-term interaction with users have a higher chance of success. Long games are able to hold players' attention, which positively impacts their popularity and sales.

Each new project must impress the audience by presenting itself as the largest open-world game, while avoiding any mention of empty spaces. It is important to create a unique and immersive experience that will attract attention and leave a memorable impression on players.

The volumes of games such as The Witcher 3 and Red Dead Redemption 2 are largely determined by the expectations and promises made at the announcement stage. CD Projekt RED developers claimed their project would surpass Skyrim and offer hundreds of hours of engaging content. These claims generate player interest and high expectations, which ultimately influences the perception of the finished product.

Rockstar's Dan Houser claimed that Red Dead Redemption 2 features 300,000 unique animations, emphasizing the project's high level of detail and realism. Meanwhile, the marketing campaign for Battlefield 2042 emphasized massive battles, promising players the opportunity to engage in battles with large numbers of participants. These ambitious promises demonstrate the developers' commitment to creating an immersive experience that allows players to dive deeper into the gameplay.

A successful example of marketing is the game No Man’s Sky, developed by Hello Games. It attracted public attention by announcing the presence of 18 trillion unique planets in its game world. This bold claim created significant interest and anticipation among players, which in turn contributed to the game’s successful launch.

Sean Murray noted that many of these locations remain unexplored, which generated significant interest and contributed to the sale of 843,000 copies of the game on PC alone in 2016. This brought in $43 million in revenue.

Despite a small team of six people, Hello Games managed to create a vast universe based on two key technologies. These innovations became the foundation for the development of a unique game world that captures the attention of players. The team employed cutting-edge procedural generation techniques, creating diverse planets and ecosystems with endless exploration possibilities. They also employed efficient data processing algorithms, ensuring smooth gameplay and high performance. Thanks to this, Hello Games was able to present players with a unique experience that continues to this day, expanding through updates and new features.

• Procedural generation, which allows you to create planets and their ecosystems using algorithms.
• Level streaming, which ensures seamless gameplay without noticeable loading times.

Modern AAA games actively use cutting-edge technologies, as can be seen in projects such as Horizon: Zero Dawn, The Witcher 3, and Spider-Man. These games demonstrate high-quality graphics, realistic physics, and advanced artificial intelligence, which significantly improves the user experience and attracts players around the world. The use of new technologies in game development is becoming a key factor in creating immersive and captivating game worlds.

The creation of vast game worlds has become possible thanks to modern technology and the high performance of consoles. As Kirill Zolovkin notes, it is these advances in hardware that allow developers to implement larger and more detailed virtual spaces. Modern consoles are opening up new horizons in game design, allowing players to immerse themselves in unique and complex worlds that were previously inaccessible. The Matrix Awakens demo, powered by Unreal Engine 5, is a striking example of how algorithms can be used to create complex virtual cities filled with a multitude of objects. This project showcases the capabilities of modern graphics and game design technologies, allowing players to immerse themselves in a detailed world with a high degree of realism. The use of advanced algorithms opens up new horizons for developers, enabling the creation of unique and rich game environments that impress with their scale and depth. The Matrix Awakens demo, powered by Unreal Engine 5, is a shining example of how algorithms can be used to create complex virtual cities filled with a multitude of objects. This project showcases the capabilities of modern graphics and game design technologies, allowing players to immerse themselves in a detailed world with a high degree of realism. The use of advanced algorithms opens up new horizons for developers, enabling the creation of unique and rich game environments that impress with their scale and depth. src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FWU0gvPcc3jQ%3Ffeature%3Doembed&display_name=YouTube&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com% 2Fwatch%3Fv%3DWU0gvPcc3jQ&image=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FWU0gvPcc3jQ%2Fhqdefau lt.jpg&key=8d3909c69dfb4ee29c710191d8dd756a&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="854" height="480" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture;" allowfullscreen="true">

Procedural generation significantly simplifies the creation of virtual worlds, notes Kirill. This allows developers to use new tools to implement large-scale and ambitious projects. Thanks to this approach, it is possible to create a variety of locations and unique game scenarios, which significantly increases user interest and engagement. Procedural generation opens new horizons for creativity and innovation in the gaming industry.

The scale of games plays an important role in advertising strategies, but behind it lies a genuine desire of developers to expand the horizons of the gaming industry. Gaming companies strive not only to attract audience attention but also to offer new opportunities for interaction and immersion in virtual worlds. This desire to expand the boundaries of the genre and improve the user experience is becoming the main driver of innovation in game development.

Red Dead Redemption 2 includes 300 thousand lines of dialogue and half a million animations. This impressive number is the result of the Houser brothers' desire to create the most detailed and vibrant world of the Wild West. Every element of the game, from dialogue to animation, helps immerse the player in the atmosphere of the era, making the gaming process more immersive and realistic.

Sean Murray began working on No Man’s Sky, inspired by a dream of space exploration, and not just financial gain. His desire to create a unique gaming experience that allows players to explore the vastness of the universe became the foundation for the development of this ambitious game.

We aim to create a unique experience that has never been seen before in the gaming industry. In our game, players will be able to land on a variety of planets with unique ecosystems, which opens up new horizons for exploration and interaction with the world around them.

The ambitious concept of No Man’s Sky proved to be both a significant advantage and a source of challenges for Hello Games.

The Problems of Large-Scale Games: From Ambition to Disappointment

In the 2010s, the video game market experienced a real boom in the creation of vast procedurally generated universes. Projects like Sean Murray's space sim, as well as Elite: Dangerous, Star Citizen, and Mass Effect: Andromeda, strove to achieve ambitious goals. These games offered players unique opportunities to explore vast spaces and interact with diverse elements of the game world. Procedural content generation allowed for the creation of unique scenarios and locations, significantly increasing replayability and user engagement. These innovations changed the perception of video games, giving players the opportunity to immerse themselves in truly infinite worlds.

Every significant project hides its own challenges. In his investigation, journalist Jason Schreier reports that the core concept for Mass Effect: Andromeda was proposed by Gerard Lehiany. He proposed creating hundreds of exploratory planets using algorithms. This idea attracted the attention of the BioWare team, but soon it became apparent that the developers faced serious difficulties in implementing the project.

During the prototyping phase, the developers faced challenges in integrating large-scale multi-planet exploration with the rich heritage inherent to BioWare. These difficulties resulted in production issues, including technical difficulties, high staff turnover, and internal conflicts. As a result, the team was faced with the need to optimize development processes and revise conceptual solutions in order to achieve harmony between innovation and historical elements, which is key to the success of the company's projects.

Ultimately, the Mass Effect: Andromeda development team had to abandon the idea of ​​​​procedural generation of many planets, which did not save the game from criticism. Upon release in early 2017, the project faced a negative reaction due to an insufficiently developed storyline, numerous technical bugs, and issues with character animation. These aspects significantly affected the reception of the game by both fans of the series and critics.

Similar issues were encountered in No Man's Sky, which was released in August 2016. The game was criticized for its monotonous planets and the developers' unfulfilled promises. Some reviewers even compared it to a tech demo that served as the basis for a game with average specs. Despite the initial shortcomings, the developers continued to update the project, adding new content and improving the gameplay, which ultimately helped attract new players and change the overall perception of the game.

Kirill Zolovkin claims that filling vast territories with high-quality content is entirely possible, but it requires a powerful team. He emphasizes that developing unexpected plot twists and quests requires the resources and level of companies like Rockstar.

However, this gives rise to another significant problem - crunch. Crunch is lengthy overtime that can stretch out for weeks and even months. It is considered one of the most unethical practices in the gaming industry and is criticized by both journalists and the developers themselves. These extra hours of work not only negatively impact the health of employees but can also degrade the quality of the final product. The crunch issue raises important questions about corporate culture and employer responsibility in the video game industry.

Overtime has become an important part of the development of games like Dragon Age: Inquisition and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Guerrilla Games' lead artist Gilbert Sanders noted that it took the team seven years to create Horizon: Zero Dawn, which underscores the complexity and labor-intensive nature of the game development process. These examples illustrate the significant amount of developer labor in creating high-quality game content.

A well-known case of overtime in the gaming industry is associated with the development of Red Dead Redemption 2. Dan Houser, one of the founders of Rockstar, stated that the team works 100 hours a week. This led to public outcry and an investigation that revealed that overtime had become an integral part of Rockstar's corporate culture. These findings raise important questions about work-life balance in the video game industry and the need for healthier work practices for developers.

In 2020, following the departure of Dan Houser, Rockstar Games announced its intention to scale back its projects. This decision was made with the aim of reducing overtime and improving employee working conditions. The company strives to create a more balanced working environment, which, in turn, will improve the quality of games and meet the expectations of fans.

Alternative Paths in the Gaming Industry

Despite the clear success of open worlds and expansive game environments, many developers continue to use traditional approaches to game creation. For example, Dying Light 2 contains approximately 350,000 words of text, comparable in length to the classic novel Anna Karenina. This demonstrates that even in the era of open worlds, attention to story and dialogue remains an important aspect of game design. Developers strive to create deep and engaging stories that can attract players and hold their interest throughout the gameplay.

Techland isn't the only company focusing on content volume. In mid-2022, Ubisoft unveiled the concept of Assassin's Creed Infinity, which would serve as a hub for various games and allow players to immerse themselves in diverse historical eras. This approach promises to significantly expand the gaming experience by linking multiple stories and characters into a single universe. The Infinity concept highlights the developers' desire to create deeper and more layered worlds, which could appeal to both new and experienced players.

In 2020, Todd Howard, director of Bethesda, announced the company's plans to implement procedural generation technologies in the development of The Elder Scrolls 6. This innovation envisions an even more expansive and diverse game world compared to Skyrim and Oblivion, significantly expanding the opportunities for exploration and player interaction. Procedural generation will allow for the creation of unique locations, quests, and NPCs, making each playthrough unique and engaging. Thus, The Elder Scrolls 6 promises to be a true breakthrough in the role-playing game genre, offering players new levels of immersion and freedom of action.

Sergey Himmelreich, game designer at Creative Mobile, emphasizes that the gaming industry faces significant challenges. He believes that it is essential to improve tools for developing diverse content and offering players engaging experiences. Currently, this remains a challenging task, requiring attention and resources. Improving these aspects will help create a more immersive gaming experience and attract new audiences.

The gaming industry includes developers who embrace unique approaches to content and game creation. These companies strive to stand out from the competition by offering original ideas and innovative mechanics. Such alternative development paths not only attract players but also contribute to the development of new trends in the industry. As a result, games from these developers can become true masterpieces, changing the perception of video games and their capabilities.

Kirill Zolovkin, director of Heart Core, notes the influence of large AAA projects on indie developers. In a highly competitive environment, indie studios strive to prolong gameplay without the need to create new content. This contributes to the growing popularity of "cyclical" games, such as roguelikes and metroidvanias, which offer players a unique experience and replayability. Such games allow players to return to them again and again, exploring new strategies and possibilities. Thus, indie developers adapt to market conditions and find innovative solutions to attract audiences.

Players, facing failures and gaining experience, repeatedly play the same levels, which shapes key aspects of gameplay mechanics. Procedural level generation contributes to the creation of unique content in vast game worlds, ensuring variety and novelty in each playthrough. This allows players to immerse themselves in the gameplay, discovering new opportunities and challenges, which significantly increases engagement and interest in the game.

Zolovkin notes that with the development of technologies such as Unreal Engine 5, new innovations are expected across various gaming genres. This platform opens up new horizons for developers, enabling the creation of more realistic graphical effects and gameplay-enhancing mechanics. As a result, players will be able to immerse themselves in richer and more captivating worlds, which, in turn, contributes to the further development of the industry.

In 2020, Kirill Zolovkin presented the "Manifesto of Naive Games," in which he examines projects aimed at recreating the magic of childhood. These games are characterized by simplicity, avoiding unnecessary complexity and technical limitations, allowing players to immerse themselves in an atmosphere of innocence and creativity. Naive games offer a unique experience that returns us to the roots of gaming, bringing joy and pleasure from interacting with simple yet engaging mechanics.

Games he highlights include Samorost and A Short Hike, which are distinguished by their positive and accessible style. However, the author notes that naive games rarely achieve widespread popularity due to their questionable commercial appeal. This shows that even high-quality and engaging projects can struggle in the market if they don't have sufficient commercial potential.

Sergey Himmelreich notes that one of the most effective strategies for creating expansive game worlds is the simulation of engaging events, as demonstrated in RimWorld and Dwarf Fortress. However, this technology remains expensive and out of reach for many game developers. It's important to consider that implementing such simulations can significantly enrich the gameplay experience, but requires significant resources and investment. Developers should seek a balance between innovation and cost to create unique and immersive gaming experiences.

Creating interactive movies or large game worlds using repetitive patterns, such as in No Man's Sky, is a simpler task. However, the latest updates to No Man's Sky demonstrate that even vast virtual universes can be filled with engaging content. This highlights the importance of high-quality content and variety in gaming projects, which helps create a memorable and engaging experience for players.

The size of a game world isn't always an indicator of its quality. In his essay on Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Mark Brown emphasizes that compact game worlds can be more rich and engaging. For example, Prague in the game consists of only a few blocks, but every detail in this city is designed with a high degree of attention. This creates a unique atmosphere and allows players to more deeply immerse themselves in the story and interact with the environment.

Environment designer Hubert Corrieview notes: "We design compact and dense spaces so that players always have something interesting to discover." This approach helps avoid redundant content in the game world and makes it more engaging for users. Creating interesting and varied locations contributes to a better gaming experience and retains players' attention, which is an important aspect of a successful game.

There are many examples of compact yet dense game worlds, including games such as Yakuza, Metro: Exodus, and Dark Souls. These projects offer players deep and nuanced universes, where every element of the game contributes to the creation of a unique atmosphere. Yakuza immerses players in the Japanese mafia, Metro: Exodus presents a post-apocalyptic Russia, and Dark Souls offers complex mechanics and a dark fantasy world. These games demonstrate how a compact game space can be combined with rich content, giving players plenty of opportunities to explore and interact.

The problem, then, isn't the ability to create compact open worlds, but the willingness of large companies to experiment with such projects. Zolovkin emphasizes that there is a clear demand for such games.

There is currently a trend toward a shift from large-scale projects to deeper and richer games. An example of this is Halo Infinite, which was successfully improved by reducing the amount of content and an additional year for polishing. Meanwhile, Arkane Studios' Deathloop, despite its limited locations, achieved significant sales success. This shift in the video game industry emphasizes the importance of the quality and depth of the gaming experience, not just its scale.

Game developers may face a tradeoff between scale and quality of content. We are currently able to dive into Dying Light 2, a game that offers over 500 hours of exciting gameplay. The expected changes in the approach to development opens new horizons for players who value deep and high-quality game worlds.