Open World/Freeform Gameplay Discussion - Games

Hey Facepunch, For a University project I'm investigating into open world and freeform gameplay (think any kind of game that allows you to explore the world freely and make your own decisions). With this being a forum based mainly on video games I'm guessing a lot of you will have opinions on gameplay and game design and it would be greatly appreciated if you could share what you think. In this thread discuss what open world games appeal to you and why, and possibly what you'd like to see in terms of freedom in games in the future. Some examples of freeform games to get you started: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Fallout 3 Garry's Mod S.T.A.L.K.E.R. GTA IV Far Cry 2 Borderlands MMORPGs have lots of freedom in them too, so feel free to talk about them as well. It'd also be greatly appreciated if you could fill out this survey as well just so I have some solid data for comparisons and analysis: [b][url=http://www.esurveyspro.com/Survey.aspx?id=ea48fa2b-0b8e-4918-a68e-063e2b31f778]Survey Link[/url][/b]

Mafia, and also Mafia 2 which is coming soon are incredible freeform games. Mafia is kinda aged already, but it's incredibly classy, and at least from the immersion side, I liked it a much more than San Andreas. [sp]I am also posting because I know how it feels when you make a thread and nobody really posts in it [/sp]

Freeform games, for single player games, are much better than Linear A to B games, In Multiplayer, It's a coin toss, and rare anyway Doing What you want, when you want, how you want, makes for replayability

Gave my opinion

Took the survey. Freeroam games are, most of the time, better than linear games in my opinion.

[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;19445707] [sp]I am also posting because I know how it feels when you make a thread and nobody really posts in it [/sp][/QUOTE] oh you're such a kind and caring person im glad there are people like you in the world

Answered.

[QUOTE=Marijuanananana;19446234]oh you're such a kind and caring person im glad there are people like you in the world[/QUOTE] I am glad there are trolls like you in the world bringing me laugh every day. :love: Btw answered

Answered, good luck with the project.

Thanks very much for the responses so far guys. What do people think about moral choices in games? Do you guys like the ability to make good or bad decisions, or do you feel that having to make these choices stops you from experiencing everything the game has to offer (or forcing you to play it again)?

Moral choices are only good and worthwhile if the game gives you something to show for it, sort of like Fable does, and Mass Effect doesn't

[QUOTE=TheTalon;19446717]Moral choices are only good and worthwhile if the game gives you something to show for it, sort of like Fable does, and Mass Effect doesn't[/QUOTE] So when the world responds to your choices, rather than just some sort of statistics or different endings (I'm looking at you Bioshock).

Yeah, I like how in Fable 2 if you help turn in some thieves, the town becomes a nice place, and if you help them escape, it becomes run down, With Mass Effect the most you'll get out of a Negative Moral choice is Shephard bitch slapping some poor woman, which is reward enough in some cases

I like it when you have different outcomes to the story though there are rarely any games like that like Fahrenheit I don't mean different endings I mean completely different strings of events

Answered :I

[QUOTE=Egevened;19446789]I like it when you have different outcomes to the story though there are rarely any games like that like Fahrenheit I don't mean different endings I mean completely different strings of events[/QUOTE] Yeah these kind of games are rare. When developers say the game has multiple endings all it usually means is that there's different endings movies based on something you've done (STALKER, Fallout 3). Does anyone know of any games out there that do actually feature proper different endings? (you do something completely different to win the game for example)

Did the survey.

Answered.

In games like Oblivion/Fallout 3 I get the most fun out of simply exploring and seeing what there is to find.

[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;19445707]Mafia, and also Mafia 2 which is coming soon are incredible freeform games. Mafia is kinda aged already, but it's incredibly classy, and at least from the immersion side, I liked it a much more than San Andreas. [sp]I am also posting because I know how it feels when you make a thread and nobody really posts in it [/sp][/QUOTE] Mafia wasn't all that freeform. Sure you had a whole city to explore but you were shuffled mission to mission in the campaign with no real freeplay aside from the Freeride mode.

I am currently enjoying the latest GTA, which I most say is awesome. The freeform gameplay and the whole thing with being able to do stunts around the place and shoot pigeons and what not is great. It also makes carchases amazing. I always enjoyed the GTA series, mainly because ever since the first, most of your time was spent on fucking about and creating chaos. I also enjoy the moral choices. They make me think, and I have the real feeling of making a decision, but in the end it doesn't really matter that much. Like when [sp]having to choose between killing Dwayne or killing Playboy X, it was a hard choice, and it was fun to make, but in the end, all I got was a new apartment + a new suit + a new friend or 25.000 $. None of which made a significant change.[/sp] The Fallout 3 moral choices was a bit annoying, since I didn't quite feel like experiencing everything. Being good for example didn't allow me to watch the awesome nuke. The world was also kinda boring to explore. GMod is great when you're inspired, sad when you're not. Given that much freedom, it can be hard to find something to do. But it is great when you do. But I can enjoy linear games just as much, it depends on how well it fits the gameplay. Open World is still my preferred, though. There you go, I hope it helps.

[QUOTE=Tac Error;19447656]Mafia wasn't all that freeform. Sure you had a whole city to explore but you were shuffled mission to mission in the campaign with no real freeplay aside from the Freeride mode.[/QUOTE] -There was Freeride with nothing but sandbox. -There was Freeride Extreme with wide variety of missions, where you could do the missions whenever you liked. -The campaign missions had often at least basic variety in completion which didn't directly change the storyline, but did alter the mission feel. (stealthy way/loud way and others) -There were optional side missions in the campaign which you could have done for extra cars, but didn't have to. -It was released only few months after PC release of GTA 3. There were barely any fully freeform games by that time.

[QUOTE=Codename 47;19447889] GMod is great when you're inspired, sad when you're not. Given that much freedom, it can be hard to find something to do. But it is great when you do.[/QUOTE] This is something that's particularly interesting to me. There are games like The Sims and Gmod that give you no or little direction. This as you say, makes the experience pretty much relative to how creative you are so it can be a downside.

What I really look for in Open World games is watching two enemies interact. Frequently I lead two different groups of npcs just to see them fight/join in. That's one of the reasons I loved S.T.A.L.K.E.R, the random events and encounters you come across.

[QUOTE=MADmarine;19448058]This is something that's particularly interesting to me. There are games like The Sims and Gmod that give you no or little direction. This as you say, makes the experience pretty much relative to how creative you are so it can be a downside.[/QUOTE] A quite interesting phenomenon (in my opinion) is how you, when uninspired, always end up throwing around explosive barrels / killing sims / whatever. I've caught myself doing random destructive stuff just to waste time / rage over my lack of creativeness many times. But it is also extremely rewarding. Once, in a moment of awesomeness, I pulled myself together, and built a baloonpowered zeppelin, with a cockpit of glass, a fair balance, a propeller at the back, and something to measure how high up I was. It was freaking awesome, and what made it even more awesome is that noone told me to do it. Noone had thought of it before me, the game didn't try to make me do it. So even though it can suck big time, it has huge potential.

I took the survey aswell.

Did the survey

Took the survey Freeroam games are so much better than linear games, or rather linear games are so much worse than everything else. Games need something that keep you coming back.