There is no game quite like an open world game. Often times daunting in their scope, open world games focus less on strict linear narratives and more on creating a universe that feels real. As a design its not necessarily new, but the last couple generations have fine tuned the concept. Games like Grand Theft Auto 5, Red Dead Redemption, and the Elder Scroll series really excelled at creating believable worlds. They are usually filled with tons of activities to waste your time with, populated with thousands of people with unique lines of dialogue, and a variety of locations to explore. The player is given the freedom to interact with these elements at the pace of their own leisure, and while this can create a disconnect between the player and the narrative, most of the time it is worth it. Instead of the story propelling the player, open worlds allow the player to propel the story forward, or at least feel like they are. Players value this illusion of freedom in these games because it makes us feel like we have agency in the universe. And in times like these, were we increasingly feel like we have little agency with the forces around us, its understandable why one might feel like they have more control in a game. Its one of the reasons we play them. As the technology powering these kinds of games only grows, we can hope the worlds expand with it. Think Los Santos was huge in Grand Theft Auto 5? Imagine how big these environments might be in 10 years - it's almost terrifying if you think about it. So much of our time is given to exploring these worlds, traveling from one location to another, that to consider the potential for a highly immersive video game world as big as Earth itself is mind-blowing. Yet we consciously want this, because we genuinely enjoy interacting and exploring these worlds... as long as we find them interesting. And the bigger the world, the more believable it will be. Those invisible walls blocking us off will fall farther and farther back until they feel nonexistent. It wouldnt just be the geography expanding either, but the entire scope of the world. The environments would be more detailed, their inhabitants more varied and life like, and the amount of activities to partake in ever increasing. We can also hope for them to continue to incorporate multiplayer, as GTA5, despite its flaws, has shown the potential for highly detailed online worlds in mainstream culture. The open world games of today are impressive, and it looks like we can expect them to grow going into the future.
