Elden Ring Succeeds by Ignoring 20 Years of Open-World Design
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Elden Ring Succeeds by Ignoring 20 Years of Open-World Design
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Re: Elden Ring Succeeds by Ignoring 20 Years of Open-World Design
#2I hate to be that guy, but it's not fair to dismiss one of the best open world games released in the last 20 years, and which I believe inspired many things on Elden Ring - I'm talking about Breath of the Wild.
Just like how you're introduced to the world is literally how BoTW introduces you to it's own world (could it be a homage?), or something as simple as picking up consumables with a simple press of a button with no animations, little things that aren't in the way of you experiencing the world.
What I haven't put my finger on was how both of these games propel you to discover the world, and to find out what's above the hill or if there might be a cave in a cliff. I don't know if it's the terrain design that's actually thought through and not left to some algorithm, or if it's simply the perk of having a great brand behind these games that have rewarded us properly for exploring their previous worlds.
A better tittle would be : Elden Ring Succeeds by Ignoring 20 Years of Bad Open-World Design
Re: Elden Ring Succeeds by Ignoring 20 Years of Open-World Design
#3No post body was provided.
Re: Elden Ring Succeeds by Ignoring 20 Years of Open-World Design
#4I hate to be that guy, but it's not fair to dismiss one of the best open world games released in the last 20 years, and which I believe inspired many things on Elden Ring - I'm talking about Breath of the Wild. Just like how you're introduced to the world is literally how BoTW introduces you to it's own world (could it be a homage?), or something as simple as picking up consumables with a simple press of a button wit…
Agreed - with very little googling you can find the exact same arguments as this article being made in others discussing Breath of the Wild. Lots of people have been rightly celebrating this aspect of BoTW since its release, I found it odd not to mention it as well. It was arguably an even bigger risk for Nintendo to make these radical changes back in 2017, given the sales volume a Zelda game is expected by the business and investors to shift.
The industry influence I would credit FromSoftware with is that its ok to make really difficult games again, a trend born through their work such as the Dark Souls games and Elden Ring etc. It's been a long time IMO since games this difficult were this mainstream.
Re: Elden Ring Succeeds by Ignoring 20 Years of Open-World Design
#5I hate to be that guy, but it's not fair to dismiss one of the best open world games released in the last 20 years, and which I believe inspired many things on Elden Ring - I'm talking about Breath of the Wild. Just like how you're introduced to the world is literally how BoTW introduces you to it's own world (could it be a homage?), or something as simple as picking up consumables with a simple press of a button wit…
Yah, it seems very strange the article completely fails to mention Zelda Breath of the Wild.
It is amazing to see how many games today have taken inspiration from Zelda BOTW.
The first time I played the game, I decided it was more fun just exploring the open world and visiting all the Sheikah Towers.
I didn't have good armor/equipment/food/etc, and I had a complete blast doing it. That was one of my fondest memories of gaming.
Re: Elden Ring Succeeds by Ignoring 20 Years of Open-World Design
#6I hate to be that guy, but it's not fair to dismiss one of the best open world games released in the last 20 years, and which I believe inspired many things on Elden Ring - I'm talking about Breath of the Wild. Just like how you're introduced to the world is literally how BoTW introduces you to it's own world (could it be a homage?), or something as simple as picking up consumables with a simple press of a button wit…
I definitively agree with you. In favor of the article one could say: The initial statement was basically that something got successful by ignoring "conventional trends of the genre" and the article is about Elden Ring. So the overall statement stays correct, but some context could (should?) have been provided, because things have been done before or originated somewhere else.
Re: Elden Ring Succeeds by Ignoring 20 Years of Open-World Design
#7[deleted]
Re: Elden Ring Succeeds by Ignoring 20 Years of Open-World Design
#8I hate to be that guy, but it's not fair to dismiss one of the best open world games released in the last 20 years, and which I believe inspired many things on Elden Ring - I'm talking about Breath of the Wild. Just like how you're introduced to the world is literally how BoTW introduces you to it's own world (could it be a homage?), or something as simple as picking up consumables with a simple press of a button wit…
I just want to point out that although BOTW is perhaps the most recent example of a widely lauded (though rightly criticized as well) expansive open world, it is in no way the only or even the primary inspiration that Elden Ring draws on. Yes, it has crafting, dungeons and long vistas. But in that sense, Skyrim is equally valid. Heck, even GTA games fill most of those criteria. And if you're going for sheer quality of exploration over quantity, RDR2 for instance was a far more technically and aesthetically impressive game than BOTW.
So I guess all-in-all I agree with your thesis though. Elden Ring does seem to have managed to leave the worst aspects of previous games while inviting the best ideas along for the ride. Add to that the most beautifully crafted world FROM has ever made and you have something that simply exudes GOAT.
Re: Elden Ring Succeeds by Ignoring 20 Years of Open-World Design
#9My own thoughts on Elden Ring are pretty simple. Give the players an absolutely gigantic open world map that you can basically travel from one end to the other without fighting anything, just for exploration's sake. Fill it with thoughtful mob-level NPC placement, making the higher level areas have higher level NPCs. Throw in a giant array of weapons, spells, skills and upgrades to choose from. Throw bosses around everywhere and lock some gear and progress behind them, but not too much. Finally, let the player decide how they want to approach the game and what quests they want to attack.
This is a game that doesn't have any real "systems" past stats and stat affinities, but instead of making it limited, it makes the game incredibly replayable. There was at least one boss that I would probably have needed to level another 20 or so levels to beat, but instead of the slow offensive skill I was using, I instead equipped Quickstep on my katana and suddenly I was able to dodge attacks that were crushing me before.
Do I think some sort of internal recordkeeping for quests would help? Absolutely. I like that there's no checklist on the screen so that the game doesn't seem like a chore. But you know what the game never asks me to do? Go gather 20 of a certain item. Go kill 30 of a certain creature. There are questlines with multiple parts to be sure, but most of them are going to take a while as you actually fight your way through the world.
Because the focus of Fromsoft is on the player experience with world interaction and not with systems design, I will probably play through the game 3 or 4 more times in succession. I'm familiar with the game now, but I'm playing a bandit. Next time, it will be a magic user. The time after, a strength. Then a faith build. It can be frustrating to pick up items that you can't use, and while the game does give you the ability to respec your character to take advantage of all the stuff you find, I'm eager to continue my current playthrough on the path I chose from the start.
Best game I've ever played, and a vast improvement over the chore simulators that have come to dominate the market.
Re: Elden Ring Succeeds by Ignoring 20 Years of Open-World Design
#10Just a phenomenal game. IMO, all the From Games are great, but none of them really matched up to the original Dark Souls... until now. I've literally played this every day since it came out, I have over 150 hours, and I still haven't beat it. And still I'm discovering cool new areas, items, and lore. The amount of times I've gotten to a new area and just gone "what in the actual fuck" is too many to count, it's just jam packed full of surprises and cool sights to see.
Of course, I think that "open world" is a pretty broad label at this point, as there are other open world games that are totally different from ER but just as good. For instance, Fallout 4 (survival). It doesn't have as good enemy variety, locations, or combat as ER, no question, but the questlines are a lot better, the settlement stuff is awesome, and the general level of interactivity makes it an experience just as immersive as ER.
But overall, for that type of "combat/exploration" focused open world game, ER absolutely takes the cake. I hope the BOTW sequel takes some inspiration, especially for the dungeons. But I do think Bethesda still rules for the "simulation" style open world games.