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.