Open-World Map Boundary Conundrum - An Answer

What happens when you reach the edge of the map?

Most true open-world games take place on a dislocated island. GTA has used a never-ending sea while the Batman: Arkham games used insurmountable walls, other titles simply use the jarring non-technique of invisible walls to mark the boundaries of a playable area. A practice that always knocks a few points off a games review score.

Instead of invisible walls, it seems that the best answer for this problem is to make the invisible map-borders crossable with checkpoints that signal 'you shall not pass' dotted along the boundary. Talos Principal implements this concept well with a voice stating that the world beyond does not exist and forces the player to go back with progressively obscured vision.

When attempting to cross a border in the air, flying a helicopter for instance, the player can either be shot out of the sky, disintegrated or arrested, whichever scenario makes sense for the game’s reality. This should be a standard implementation as it is superior to the traditional invisible walls.

Invisible walls have been seen in way too many games of yesteryear, typically barring access to a blank horizon seen above a sea or barren wasteland, and are still seen today. What makes things worse is when players are given a reason to want to access that extra game world...

Imagine looking over a wall at the map's edge in a zombie game and seeing seas of anthills of them. It's clear that certain death would await all who dared to cross the boundary. Yet, you get over the wall and proceed to die, with an enticing cityscape in the distance.

Taking this concept a little further and considering that players have seen game installs of 100GB and higher, perhaps a game series could progressively open up an entire country to the player over the course of successive instalments. Allowing players entry into whichever part they desire by passing through borders and therefore between maps, possibly without loading times and improved visuals. 

To what valuable use this would be is for the designers to decide.

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