SWTOR and LOTRO are two older MMOs that suffer from this technical idiosyncrasy. Unless you have a very high-end gaming PC, then you will often notice system foibles such as "pop-in" as objects appear as you get closer to them. The game engine has to accommodate both the environment and the population. The MMO genre not only has to consider such factors as draw distances and texture loading but there is the question of the players themselves. However, game maps are still very much determined by the prevailing technology and although things are progressively getting better, there are still limitations. You can visit bars and diners and watch “life rich pageant” unfold, or at least the developers nearest approximation of it. Unlike fantasy games, these titles have the advantage of contemporary embellishments such as radio stations, roadside advertising and inner-city congestion all adding to the overall ambience. Weather systems and a customisable day and night cycle again lend credibility to the setting. Again random events occur to the citizens as you travel through the map. Like their real-world counterparts, both New Bordeaux and Los Santos have distinct zones such as commercial and residential areas. The open world cities of Mafia 3 or GTA V can also be compelling environments to immerse oneself in. Players often cannot access certain areas due to rivers and mountains and find themselves funnelled through pleasant zones on the way to the next quest hub. However more recent MMO's such as ArcheAge and Guild Wars 2 still encourage the exploration of their game worlds and have devised content around players desire to do so. LOTRO still remains a game with a handsome world design but the regions that have subsequently been added of late are far more functional in their construction. It also makes a half decent attempt at realising the geography as written in Tolkien's source text. Although it doesn't have the faux living dynamic of other games, it remains a large and varied landmass with plenty of content to seek out. In the halcyon days of LOTRO, Bree-Land was prime example of a rich and varied MMO game map. You can watch as villagers go about their tasks and farm animals graze for food. The fact that there's no instancing when travelling above ground until you entered a building, also provides an air of authenticity. The day and night cycle, coupled with procedurally driven events makes it feel like a living environment. However, the thing that Bethesda has got right with Skyrim is the balance between the size of the area, the amount of content and aesthetics. The landmass is about sixteen square miles, which is big but pales into significance when compared to Just Cause 2 which clocks in at four hundred square miles. However, I think most gamers seem to inherently know when the developers have got it right.įor me one such example of a map being "just so" is Skyrim. I'm sure there are far more variables involved in a maps creation. A FPS or MOBA has different requirements from it virtual environment that an MMO. A games genre also has a significant impact upon map design. Others will quickly become frustrated if there is no direct route to their goal, as with Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns.
Those who like to explore will happily spend time attempting to access remote nooks and crannies. Then there is the issue of individual player tastes and preferences. Size, content and instancing can all have an impact on a maps accessibility and the way they are perceived.
I've been pondering of late the subject of game maps and how they can vary quite radically from title to title.
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