Are gamers getting sick of vast, open-world experiences? Former Grand Theft Auto VI and Red Dead Redemption 2 game designer Cameron Williams seems to think so. After years of players facing intimidating, overly large maps, he believes that many of us are growing fatigued.
At a panel at GDC recently (thanks, PCGamer), Williams took on the topic of “open world fatigue,” explaining how developers can combat it. “Players just don’t explore right? Whether that’s because you have a super action-oriented game or because they just simply aren’t compelled. Or, [your game has] a huge time investment and it’s hard for players to pick up and put down, which is an increasing challenge, especially with the sort of evolving ecosystem of free-to-play and live service games that are kind of eating everyone’s time and attention,” he said.
“We want to avoid creating a possibility space so large that players simply just don’t know what to choose,” Williams said, advising developers on how they can avoid scaring players off with their world. “Any FPS developer knows this. Asking your players to look up and then look 45 degrees to the left is, like, an impossible task, right?”
Williams used the example of fishing in Red Dead Redemption 2 of how to introduce side activities to a player, as you’ll learn how to fish through a quest with other main characters, and will remember their tips and tricks on future outings. But, even with tactics like these, you can’t please everyone, and Williams highlights there will always be “beeliners” or players that just want the core content.