July 5th 2024.
It's hard to believe, but Skyrim has been around for over ten years now. If you're feeling burnt out on open world games, a former developer of Skyrim has some thoughts on why that might be. While there are still some fantastic open world titles being released, like Elden Ring and Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, it's becoming increasingly clear that many others are struggling with bloated or uninspired designs.
But why is this happening? Some may argue that it's because we've seen so many open world games over the years, all following the same formula as titles like GTA and Assassin's Creed. However, according to a former designer of Fallout and Elder Scrolls, it has more to do with the way modern games are created.
Nate Purkeypile, who helped design the undercity of Blackreach in Skyrim, believes that today's open world games lack the sense of discovery and surprise that made them so beloved in the past. In an interview with Rock Paper Shotgun, he explained, "That feeling of not really knowing what's over there and feeling surprised - you don't really feel like you're exploring the world, if you're not actually surprised."
Purkeypile attributes this lack of surprise to the increasing costs and size of game development teams in the modern era. With thousands of people working on a game, it becomes necessary to have a checklist-style approach in order to keep things running smoothly. This, unfortunately, takes away from the joy of exploration and discovery.
In contrast, Purkeypile recalls his experience working on Skyrim with a team of only 100 people. There was a lot of trust within the team, which allowed for more individual creativity and smaller side projects. The creation of Blackreach, for example, was not part of the original plan but was added after it was discovered by the team and received positive feedback.
Purkeypile also touches on the development of Bethesda's latest RPG title, Starfield, which was created by a team of 500 people across four studios. While he acknowledges that there is still individual storytelling and interesting spaces to discover in the game, he believes it becomes more challenging to achieve at such a large scale.
In 2021, Purkeypile left Bethesda while working on Starfield as a lead lighting artist. He wanted to work at a smaller scale, and is currently developing a heavy metal horror game called The Axis Unseen. As for the future of Starfield, there are plans for a first expansion called Shattered Space, with more to come.
It's clear that the open world genre is facing some challenges in the modern gaming landscape. But with developers like Purkeypile recognizing the issues and actively working to create unique and surprising experiences, there's still hope for the future. Who knows, maybe we'll see a return to smaller teams and more individual creativity in the years to come.
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