Glossary Entry: Open World
Definition
Most of the time, games lead the player through a story, which means that they are only able to visit areas of the game that are relevant to the immediate events in the plot.
Open world games take a different approach, as they allow the player to wander around and explore the world at their own pace. There is often still a story to be told, but that will wait for the player to come to it. In the meantime, the player can freely do whatever they find interesting in the game's world.
In extreme cases, an open world game is known as a sandbox game - there's no story, and the player is free to play around with total abandon and freedom.
Open world games take a different approach, as they allow the player to wander around and explore the world at their own pace. There is often still a story to be told, but that will wait for the player to come to it. In the meantime, the player can freely do whatever they find interesting in the game's world.
In extreme cases, an open world game is known as a sandbox game - there's no story, and the player is free to play around with total abandon and freedom.
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