can we think of an open world game that’s so closed next to a closed world game that’s so open that without context they might be mistaken for being in the same genre?
just off the top of my head:
the most open closed-world game is mario oddysey.
the most closed open-world game is mgsv the phantom pain?
maybe wind waker? is wind waker actually open world at all? is it actually a very open closed world game?
discuss??
King’s Field III (Japan) (Playstation, 1996) is the most closed open world game i can think of
Aidyn Chronicles (N64, 2001), maybe (not sure which one it is, though! i’m leaning closed-that-feels-open)
Alan Wake is in this weird in-between state because it was originally planned as an open world game but later restricted to a more on-rails experience during development. So it’s got these big expansive open areas full of different cars you can grab and drive around, but you don’t need to explore at all, and you only have access when the plot takes you there.
Metropolis Street Racer (Dreamcast, 2000) is an interesting one. wiki says it is “open world” but it doesn’t function like one (it’s not really different than like, the different routes in a Ridge Racer game). i was going to say the opposite, that it’s a closed-world game that feels like an open one at times
starfield is so disjoint and menu driven to feel very closed while mass effect 1 has so much lonely (and pointless) planet roaming i momentarily forget it’s a “go here do this” bioware rpg
Kirby’s Air Ride (City Trial mode) is basically an open world disguised as a minigame in an otherwise closed game, and I have no idea how this fits into the structure at all.
Star Control 2 is an adventure game disguised as an open world game, so I guess that’s a closed-open-world game?
Maybe Yakuza 5 - lots of locations and things to do but very ‘hubby’
Maybe Road Trip Adventure - totally open world to drive in but low actual density of stuff, mostly actually closed races. Houses might as well just be NPC conversations.
Fuel (PS3) might be a good one for discussion. Absolutely huge open world but barely anything in it. Trying to drive from end to end just crashes the game halfway.
to me the defining characteristics of contemporary “open world” design are not necessarily linearity, but a) a greater variety of spontaneously occurring side quests and other random events happening on the world map constantly beyond just free-roaming enemies to kill and b) a significant portion of the ‘main quest’ happens on the same map as all of these other events–like, rather than every step of the actual story of the game introducing you to a new, previously unaccessible area that is also never revisited subsequently, following the main quest just takes you back to places you could always visit while free roaming, but allows you to interact with them in a different way.
because of that i think the most open closed-world game is Crazy Taxi, and the most closed open-world game is Tears of the Kingdom. or maybe the other way around
Ico belongs somewhat in this category — you see places where you will end up later/via on-the-fly re-routing because geometry forces you to, and the sense of going places is held up through the whole thing, even if some rooms feel contrieved.
Thus probably in the open closed-category.
Open world games and driving:
My nephew did show me one game where you could drive across america (?) and actually enter Laguna Seca Racetrack and drive around there, which i found a nice touch — it fills in what every Gran Turismo or Forza Motorsport cannot provide, and that’s worth a mention, even if it doesn’t qualify for either category.
ing hard what else can fit the bill…
the part where you have a job in no more heroes 2 is a tiny open world
turning off clipping in shadows of the empire and just going forever is
a tiny open world
all mmos are huge open world games
I’m not sure about the most open closed world game, but the mega man zero games have something of an open world for level traversal with the caveat that they just transports you to where the mission starts if you’re so inclined, so you never have to actually engage with the “open world”. You can’t get much more closed than a mega man game.
It’s a rather spartan definition of open world though, there’s only a few non-story missions, and there’s barely anything to do while exploring aside from picking up upgrades and fairies (trinket collection is an open world classic) and maybe farming goobers to level up your weapons. A lot of the game design is based on speed of completion, too (you get a ranking at the end of levels which contributes to unlocking suits and the like) which makes it feel like the designers don’t even want you to dally around. It makes me wonder why they bothered making everything connect in the first place.
At the time of release at least I think it was the largest.
I had a good time modding the vehicle configs in the pc version. I had a carefully tuned dirtbike that could hit the world speed limit (255mph) very quickly. Getting the grip right so that it was steerable but would slide instead of cartwheel on landing was a real trick. Id ignore the races and just ride. Ramping off mountains, barely holding the roads, dodging trees, soaring over canyons. As long as I didnt face plant or highside the game wouldnt kill me from fall damage.
Even with this freak machine crossing the map from north to south took hours.
The game has a fast travel and races you join by showing up a start point. Races have regular checkpoints and no real oppertunities to make your own path. Nothing interesting really happens between races except travel. The openness of the world is basically meaningless.
I remember it had an extreme weather gimmick but was just extremely annoying given how long some races were. Trying to keep a 170mph bike stable on a road as tiny bits of tornadoed debris threatened to wreck your placing.
14,000 km^2
Jesus!