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Simulation

Open world

You roam freely through a large, continuous world and choose what to explore and in what order, instead of following a fixed sequence of levels. You decide your own path between missions, secrets and encounters scattered across the map.

Also known as: open-world game, free-roaming game

This is a basic entry: it has the definition and the classification. Full entries add history, games and a demo.

History

  1. 1984
    Origin

    There is no consensus on the first one. Ars Technica considers that the open world took definite shape with Elite (1984), building on precursors such as Colossal Cave Adventure (1976).

    Open world (Wikipedia)
  2. 1986

    The Legend of Zelda, cited among the first open worlds, puts free exploration at the centre of play.

    Open world (Wikipedia)
  3. 2001

    Grand Theft Auto III brings the open world to a 3D city with a physics engine.

    Grand Theft Auto III (Wikipedia)

Subgenres

  • SandboxYou get a world and a set of tools to build, alter and experiment with, without a mandatory goal. The game does not tell you what to achieve: you set the goal, and what you build is usually the point.