Game Developers Conference — an annual event for video game creators who share their experiences with colleagues and all interested parties. In 2021, employees of Rockstar Games spoke there (part 1, part 2). Last week, from March 17th to 21st, the latest conference took place in San Francisco, California, where Cameron Williams (Cameron Williams) presented his report. He is a former developer of GTA 6, Red Dead Online, Call of Duty, and is currently responsible for mission development at Absurd Ventures, where a significant number of former “rock stars” are gathered.
The lecture topic was “9 Ways to Encourage Exploration of Open Worlds.” Unfortunately, it is not yet fully available (videos from GDC often appear publicly, but frequently not immediately), but a PC Gamer journalist partially shared it with the public.
The author explains that one of the main challenges of open worlds is that players simply do not explore them. The reasons vary. Some question whether it is worth the time to traverse the entire map. Others experience a sort of choice paralysis when faced with too many scattered markers everywhere. Therefore, it is essential to strike a balance so that the game does not feel empty but is not overloaded with content either. Others focus solely on the main storyline, ignoring side quests. In such cases, the game designer recommends placing additional tasks along the path of these “speedrunners.”
Sometimes mechanics that are not essential but influence the atmosphere are purposely woven into critical missions and imbued with special content. An example is the first fishing trip in RDR 2. During this, little Jack, with whom Arthur is fishing, responds to the player’s skills, making the experience very natural and memorable.
Source: gta.com.ua