8 Brilliant Ways Video Games Punished Out-Of-Bounds Players
Don't swim too far out in GTA V...
One of the greatest immersion shattering moments in video games comes from hitting an invisible wall and being made painfully aware that even in this new fangled, open-world behemoth, that there are still limits to the very world around you.
It's a common and indeed necessary trick used by developers to block inquisitive players, as the sheer resources required to make a literally endless world would be phenomenal and quite frankly not that fun for the player to explore if it didn't contain anything worthwhile.
Yet some programming teams have tried to avoid the old glass box scenario by thinking outside of the box when it came to keeping players within the boundaries of the game world.
From freak engine failures to drive-by shootings, these games went above and beyond to make sure that you definitely stayed right where the developers wanted you.
8. Engine Failure And Shark Attack - Grand Theft Auto V
We begin this list with a well-known and frankly quite terrifying example of how developers keep players within the confines of their game world.
When it comes to the GTA games, insanity is basically the lunch menu special and you're a very hungry lad indeed. From flying vehicles pumping out missiles at passers-by to full-on gang wars between players online, it seems that even crossing the street can turn into a survival challenge.
Therefore you might want to get away from it all and explore the vast ocean that surrounds Los Santos in GTA 5, which the game happily lets you do, until you venture too far. If you cross over an invisible line, the vehicle you're in be it a plane or boat, will suddenly experience engine failure and begin to crash or sink.
It's a simple but effective way to keep you within bounds, but it's here where the panic might start to set in, as you've not been whisked away to the nearest checkpoint, and that big grey fin in the water is looking mighty "shark-like"
That's right, to add the full stop on your tour of the oceans blue, Rocstar decided to implement a shark attack to really hammer home the point. Stay within the game and possibly be killed, venture beyond, and definitely be killed.