[Poll] Did we overestimate the influence The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild would have in the design of open-world videogames?

[lunanto]

I remember reading the reviews of this game back then, finding myself amused and surprised that so many critics and people all around the gaming sphere were announcing a game that would cause a shift in the paradigm of open-world videogames design. Then some time after that I could experience for myself that the game is truly unique and special. It leaves you out on the wild, but you never feel lost, you feel inclined to go there and then somewhere else, to invest hours discovering new places, enemies and new tricks.

More than three years have passed since the release of this game and I haven´t seen a game following that trend and philosophy, if I am being honest. I just watched the leaked gameplay of the previous "Gods and Monsters" and while it is blatantly inspired in Breath Of The Wild when it comes to aesthetics, maybe mechanics and even UI, I highly doubt the core gameplay itself will bear any resemblance to the latter. So...

Did we overestimate the influence The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild would have in the design of open-world videogames?

 

[catboy]

it is too soon to tell. it came out in 2017, AAA game production is usually 2-3 years minimum.

 

[Zones]

Biggest influence clearly is by fanatics on internet forums comparing (and disparaging) nearly every other open-world games to BotW.

 

[HMD]

Wait for Horizon 2.

 

[YolkFolk]

How long do you think it takes to make a huge open world game?

Zelda came out in 2017 so there's barely been enough time to even develop a game of this magnitude since then.

The design elements we will see in future will be based around the environment being more than just scenery. If it's realistic, you'll be able to jump over or climb environmental obstacles rather than have them act as barriers preventing true exploration.

In addition, in the future we'll see more and more open world games where you can complete main story tasks in the order you wish rather than via a strict order.

I think you've jumped the gun on this one in an effort to try and create a controversial topic tbh rather than having considered the actual reasons.

 

[Ozzie]

I think the most influenced has to be indie games.

 

[Bedameister]

Too soon. I'm sure we'll some some influence from it in the coming years. But I still expect most open-world games to be Ubisoft type of games because it's just easier to make.

 

[kadotsu]

Infamous FL 26. August 2014
Ghost of Tsushima 17. Juli 2020

That's 6 years for a AAA open world dev cycle. You can see some shades of BotW design in it but I'm sure we'll see more in the next 5 years.

 

[z0m3le]

Breath of the Wild came out a week after Horizon Zero Dawn, lets see how Horizon 2 plays before we revisit this thread.

 

[Exist 2 Inspire]

Biggest influence clearly is by fanatics on internet forums comparing (and disparaging) nearly every other open-world games to BotW.

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Yuup

 

[Yuntu]

Next gen will show how much it influenced devs.

 

[Bitanator]

Biggest influence clearly is by fanatics on internet forums comparing (and disparaging) nearly every other open-world games to BotW.

Click to shrink...

Would you say if it were call Legend of Belda, it would have recived more realistic critical praise?

 

[Tora]

Wait for Horizon 2.

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This should be the biggest tell! I hope it takes cues from BOTW because the original was not fun to explore imo

 

[Killyoh]

Games take a very long time to make now and sequels can't always change their design philosophy. We'll see in the next years.

 

[pappacone]

I don't know if "too soon" can actually be a reason, TW3 changed every Open World after it pretty soon

I would say that many of BOTW mechanics don't fit well in games with a realistic design, that are a majority in the west

 

[Vitet]

Isn't some selling points on GoT about using the terrain and world to guide yourself? That was one of the selling points on BotW also, that you could play the entire game without the mini-map without problems.

 

[Deleted member 51789]

AAA dev cycles are currently so long that I don't think we'll had a chance to see what the proper influence of BotW will be in terms off gameplay for open world games.

At the same time, I think AAA publishers are generally quite risk averse so most will likely ask devs to concentrate more on the look of open world games than the feel if you know what I mean. Additionally, I'm not sure some of BotW's mechanics work in the worlds that AAA devs are creating (usually quite realistic).

 

[Hentailover]

I'd mention a certain game, but somebody might smash their ps4 in protest.

 

[KOfLegend]

I saw someone on this forum say "It did to open world games what SMB1 did to platformers" so yes. It by no doubt did some great things for open world games but c'mon y'all.

Biggest influence clearly is by fanatics on internet forums comparing (and disparaging) nearly every other open-world games to BotW.

Click to shrink...

This is it.

 

[Paper Cheese]

Too early to come to this conclusion - we're legit going to start seeing its impact in the next year or two. Immortals: Fenyx Rising is the most obvious BOTW-inspired game, but I would not be surprised if Horizon Forbidden West pulls a lot more heavily from BOTW - fantastic game but its open world may have been its weakest aspect - and Everwild looks more than a little BOTW-y.

Game development, especially for big open worlds, can take years, so you'll start seeing games that began development or were in early development post-BOTW popping up soon. None will be exactly like Zelda, but I think we'll definitely see more of its open air style.

 

[ara]

Would you say if it were call Legend of Belda, it would have recived more realistic critical praise?

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That doesn't really have anything to do with that Zones said.

But yeah, it's too early to say one way or the other. Let's wait a few more years, at least.

 

[Pirateluigi]

it is too soon to tell. it came out in 2017, AAA game production is usually 2-3 years minimum.

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First reply gets it. It's too soon to tell.

 

[grady]

Imo the design just wouldn't work well for some other games, or at least not as a wholesale copy. Tons of people compared and still compare it to Horizon but the overall atmosphere and gameplay styles of the two are so different. Horizon could take on some of the aspects of traversal which would be great, being able to climb everything, but personally I didn't like the often listless direction of BOTW, for me it's an example of when a game leans too heavily on the systemic gameplay rather than providing a structure and backbone of story and progression to back it up.
For Horizon 2 I'd like to see something a bit like FarCry 2, in that the game is still structured around a narrative, missions and upgrades but also has the systemic gameplay built into the world. BOTW did an amazing job of letting you approach situations however you wanted, something open world games desperately need more of. At times, however, BOTW for me felt like a Gary's mod of Zelda games; a lot of room to experiment with physics and different approaches, but with the downside of the world feeling empty and directionless.

 

[Noppie]

It's a bit too soon, but I don't think it'll be a 'clear' influence, if that makes sense. I doubt we'll get clones of BotW or that it'll completely overthrow the current formula, but certainly elements will be influenced and built upon.

Like, we'll not get Assassin's Creed: Breath of the Wild, but we'll get Assassin's Creed: Changed certain stuff to reflect BotW. Ya know?

 

[Deleted member 10737]

it's been a little over 3 years since its release.
a lot of games take more than 3 years to be made. we've already seen many games that are inspired by it (genshin impact, ghost of tsushima, windbound, gods & monsters, etc), whether it's the visuals, the UI/gameplay/systems, or the world design, and we're gonna see way more in the future.

 

[Xshade90]

I think Genshin Impact will stir that itch.

 

[HeyNay]

It created a standard from which others will be judged. I don't know if its impact will influence future games directly, but it will most certainly give them something to aspire to.

 

[Lukemia SL]

Infamous FL 26. August 2014
Ghost of Tsushima 17. Juli 2020

That's 6 years for a AAA open world dev cycle. You can see some shades of BotW design in it but I'm sure we'll see more in the next 5 years.

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How long was Ghost of Tsushima in development after they cancelled that other game?

 

[Deleted member 18324]

Biggest influence clearly is by fanatics on internet forums comparing (and disparaging) nearly every other open-world games to BotW.

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Outing yourself as a "fanatic on an internet forum" if that's your take, bold move

 

[Jawmuncher]

I still don't think we'll see a sudden wave of games that seem strongly like BOTW. We'd be seeing/hearing a lot more murmurs if that was the case. We're going to see (hell were already getting) games that use some of i ideas in smaller ways.

I think a good example is GTAV. That "influenced" some titles to go open world. But we didn't suddenly see a ton of open world games doing the 3 player mechanic or GTA Online style MP.

So expect more games that want the player to explore on their own or use a similar graphics style and less games like Genshin Impact that are BOTW but in a new setting style.

 

[jaymzi]

Since most AAA open world games tend to be more cinematic/story driven they will continue to be more Witcher 3 and less BotW.

 

[z0m3le]

Biggest influence clearly is by fanatics on internet forums comparing (and disparaging) nearly every other open-world games to BotW.

Click to shrink...

I think specifically the "chemistry engine" is logic that doesn't exist in games that is the next step for gaming, especially open world games that are trying to convince you of an entire world design. Having electricity act like electricity in every instance you can possibly apply it to, same with fire and water, that is something that wasn't seen before botw. Yes it is a Zelda game and there are fans who will defend it to death, of which I am one of, but the reality is that BotW is a step forward for open world games that technically is far ahead in some ways than the rest of the industry, and behind in some other key ways, like how gravity works in some games.

Basically, BS, this isn't a console warrior thing, this is just factually ahead of the rest of the industry in some key areas.

 

[Bushido]

You can see its influence already in several games: Ghost of Tsushima, Genshin Impact, Assassin's Creed Odyssey (even had a Korok easter-egg), Windbound, A Short Hike, Gods and Monsters, Decay of Logos...and probably lots of upcoming games like Horizon 2 and the next Elder Scrolls will be inspired by it at least a little bit as well. It certainly also changed how I as a dev (would) like to approach certain things in the games I'm working on, from smaller details like player guidance and reducing the amount of icons on screen/maps to overall world design, freedom, player agency and exploration.

 

[Deleted member 11626]

BotW took more than three years to make, and any developer with similar ambitions probably needs more time. Especially right now. I'd say wait three more years, because it takes a very long time to develop an open world title. I can't think of any recent ones that were announced after BotW and have released by now.

 

[Khanimus]

Isn't some selling points on GoT about using the terrain and world to guide yourself? That was one of the selling points on BotW also, that you could play the entire game without the mini-map without problems.

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I don't know if I'd call it a selling point, but it absolutely makes me think "Oh they played BOTW" with using smoke on the horizon and direction of the wind etc. to keep you from staring at a minimap for half the game. There are elements of that naturalism and connection to the environment, even if I wish there were more meaningful forms of interaction like in BOTW.

OP, influence isn't just felt by "who is making direct copies." It takes time, and it hasn't been long enough for a larger culture shift to happen.

 

[Absolute]

I'd rather hear from game designers on the subject than resetera users that will probably turn this into the umpteenth is botw overrated thread.

 

[Matty H]

I don't think it has anything particularly original to copy. It takes ideas from previous open world games, indie games for the art style, heaps of games that had physics systems, and previous Zelda games. It was all put together in a particular way that amounted to something different but none of the components felt like they were breakthrough innovations for game design.

Having said that there are a few games starting to come out that seem to be influenced by BOTW. If they appear to be too similar then they'll just be labelled as a poor imitation so I assume any developer that is influenced wants to inject their own flair into their game.

 

[Elfforkusu]

BotW made compromises in certain areas to stay true to its vision. It will take years for devs to find new ways to reconstruct elements it got right without compromising their own visions, or -- in the worst case -- making an inferior clone of BotW.

That said, I think one of the trickiest things about BotW is how heavily it leans on world design. It was able to do what it did largely because of Monolithsoft. So... you need a "Monolithsoft" to even make some of these things possible.

 

[Future Gazer]

Biggest influence clearly is by fanatics on internet forums comparing (and disparaging) nearly every other open-world games to BotW.

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Yep.

 

[gozu]

Wait for Horizon 2.

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Nah. That's based on an updated Decima engine and that engine was not made from scratch for the kinds of things BOTW does.

I think a bespoke engine is needed to have the kind of interactivity and gameplay BOTW has.

 

[Tygre]

Ask again in 2025, maybe 2030.

 

[SoulsHunt]

People will se inspirations when there's actually nothing.

 

[Weltall Zero]

I didn't overestimate it because I didn't expect it would have any influence, especially on existing open world franchises. BotW doesn't really rediscover any hitherto unknown truth; it was "just" the product of Nintendo's masterclass fun and toy-like oriented design, impeccable production values that can only come from dedicating a massive amount of time and money to a single product, disregard for photorealistic visuals, and a host of other qualities that traditional open world games can't and won't pivot to embrace.

It will remain one-of-a-kind (until Nintendo themselves do it again) because AAA studios would necessitate to completely reinvent themselves to imitate it (and it's simply too risky and unprofitable compared to the current semi-annualized release model), while indie studios simply don't have the capital and manpower to replicate it on any significan scale.

 

[Redcrayon]

It's been what, 3 years? We've already seen Gods and Monsters (Or Immortals if that's its new name) and a ton of indie games seemingly taking some notes from it. However, I think it's easier to tell in terms of the obvious stuff like stamina, gliding and art direction, that we can see in trailers. Whether we'll see stuff in terms of deeper world and game design affecting larger open-world games, it's going to take a bit longer for us to be able to tell as those games take longer than 3 years to develop. I'm not so sure it will though- it's a packed genre and those games both already have a ton of influencers and aren't trying to beat Nintendo and their resources and timescale at their own game.

 

[The Albatross]

No, I didn't really expect it to have a ton of influence. Nintendo games these days seem to exist in vacuums of excellence

 

[Kolibri]

It's been 3 years....
Maybe wait until big open world games are released that began development after BotW came out.

 

[Vitet]

Ye

I don't know if I'd call it a selling point, but it absolutely makes me think "Oh they played BOTW" with using smoke on the horizon and direction of the wind etc. to keep you from staring at a minimap for half the game. There are elements of that naturalism and connection to the environment, even if I wish there were more meaningful forms of interaction like in BOTW.

OP, influence isn't just felt by "who is making direct copies." It takes time, and it hasn't been long enough for a larger culture shift to happen.

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Yeah, I worded it poorly, I guess I meant "an open-world mechanic" or something like that.

 

[Peru]

It's still easier to do it the old way, right? Make a checklist of missions with clear completion goal posts. Segment them off so you can only do a few of them at a time, timed to your cut scenes.

I suspect it will have an impact and serve as inspiration in the coming years. But only to some degree. Because it's too hard to make something as organic and free and still polished and awe-inspiring as this as part of the regular production lines open world big studio games are put on.

 

[Ewaan]

I loved Breath of the Wild but didn't think it was that revolutionary. The concept of being able to transverse whatever you can see was a really cool feature that I felt others might have taken on board.

I think Ghost of Tsushima will do more for the open world franchise than Breath of the Wild does. Previous to that game I was guilty of following lines on mini-maps in The Witcher 3, RDR2 and Days Gone and forgetting to take in the surroundings. Minimal UI and taking queues from the game world itself seems like a larger step in open world game design that allows you to appreciate the world you're in a lot more.

 

[Xiofire]

An empty open world with Assassins Creed towers and physics based puzzle rooms?

God I hope not