By One Ubisoft veteran suggests that the secret to crafting a remarkable open-world game lies in embracing the genre’s natural humor and relinquishing some of that scripted oversight.
Expansive open worlds remain as sought-after as ever. This year alone, we’ve witnessed Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 allow players to roam in sometimes dauntingly intricate maps, while gamers are still discovering all the quirky nuances in Death Stranding 2. Furthermore, GTA 6 and Ghost of Yotei are also still on the horizon.
Reflecting on the genre he somewhat helped cultivate in an interview with Edge Magazine, Assassin’s Creed 3 and Far Cry 4’s creative director Alex Hutchinson stated that developers “must immerse the player deep” to truly make an open world resonate. “You have to plunge players into a satirical environment and allow them to encounter the absurd scenarios along with the far-reaching repercussions.”
“In the realm of open-world games, particularly, once you abandon the notion of authorial timing and acknowledge that the player dictates the pace – it resembles slapstick, and you’re merely creating chances for humor or amusing scenarios – then it transforms into interactive comedy, and that becomes humorous once more,” Hutchinson remarked.
Despite all the critiques, warranted and otherwise, that Ubisoft titles receive, it’s undeniable that they excel at establishing systems that empower players to create their own enjoyment. What begins as a straightforward outpost takeover in Far Cry 4, for instance, evolves into a chaotic confrontation between an elephant and a human before you paraglide away in style. Perhaps that’s what makes the best open-world games truly engaging.