Brave new open worlds

The rise to prominence of 3D gaming in the mid-to-late Nineties triggered an era of experimentation that gave birth to new ideas, genres and styles. Out of that crucible emerged a handful of influential games that laid down the template for the modern blockbuster, their influence still keenly felt today. We are talking about the emergence of the modern 3D open world.

Before we pay tribute to the legacy of those games, we must acknowledge that open world titles existed well before the era of 3D gaming. “The genesis of the open world happens entirely in the United Kingdom in two key years, 1984 and 1985,” explains Chris Bateman, founder of ihobo, the studio behind Silk, an open world game inspired by games like The Lords Of Midnight, Eye Of The Beholder and The Bards Tale. “Elite, The Lords Of Midnight, Paradroid, and Mercenary all laid out ways of giving the player maximum agency with the relatively minimal resources of the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad.” Chris points out that Elite “directly inspired DMA in making the GTA franchise”.

However, we can’t ignore