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A seasoned Ubisoft developer believes that the secret to crafting a successful open-world game lies in embracing the genre’s natural propensity for slapstick humor, allowing for a relinquishment of some creative control.
The allure of vast, open worlds remains strong. This year, gamers have been captivated by titles like Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, exploring richly immersive landscapes. As players still dive into the quirky elements of Death Stranding 2, the much-anticipated GTA 6 and Ghost of Yotei continue to loom on the horizon.
Reflecting on the genre he helped to mold in a conversation with Edge Magazine, Assassin’s Creed 3 and Far Cry 4 creative mastermind Alex Hutchinson advocated for plunging players deep into the gameplay to truly enliven an open world. “Players should be immersed in a world enriched with satire, encouraged to stumble upon bizarre encounters and experience dramatic outcomes,” he remarked.
Hutchinson further elaborated that in open-world experiences, relinquishing strict authorial timing allows players to steer their own course. It transforms the game into a form of interactive comedy, presenting opportunities for humor and unexpected scenarios. It’s this dynamic that suddenly makes the game engaging and fun again.
Despite the mixture of criticism that Ubisoft games often face, their expertise in system creation and empowering players to discover their own amusement is undeniable. A straightforward mission in Far Cry 4 might evolve into a wild spectacle of elephants and humans clashing, only to see players soaring away on a paraglider. Perhaps here lies the essence of what brings open-world games to life.
Interestingly, Far Cry 4‘s lead once revealed a deleted concept for enemy camps that could have significantly altered the narrative: “I believe this is where the true excitement of the genre might reside.”