Avowed’s Decision to Not Be Open-World Makes the Game Better and Enhances Story Choices

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Instead of resembling other first-person action RPGs with an open world, the game “Avowed” offers a different layout. Although it doesn’t have a single, continuous map, it doesn’t feel cramped. There are still ample opportunities for exploration, and the game maintains the sense of adventure players anticipate from such titles. By dividing its map into smaller regions, “Avowed” provides advantages that larger, single-map games can’t, such as a more focused and engaging storyline.

It’s not surprising that Obsidian, renowned for its RPGs with extensive player agency, often chooses to structure its games in sections rather than having one continuous world, as seen in their titles such as Knights of the Old Republic 2, The Outer Worlds, and Pillars of Eternity series. This approach was also evident in Avowed, their upcoming RPG.

Avowed Isn’t An Open-World RPG

Avowed Is Split Into Four Regions

In other words, just because Avowed doesn’t have an open world doesn’t mean it lacks opportunities for exploration. Players can choose their own paths and complete objectives in various orders within the game’s regions. However, unlike a true open-world game, not all areas of Avowed’s Living Lands are accessible from the start of the game.

In open-world games such as Skyrim or The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, players have the freedom to explore the entire game world from the start, excluding brief introductory sections. However, in the upcoming game Avowed, players will progressively unlock new regions by advancing the story. Avowed consists of four distinct regions: Dawnshore, Emerald Stair, Shatterscarp, and Galawain’s Tusks. Players can revisit earlier regions, but they won’t be able to explore any region freely at the beginning of the game. These regions are separate entities rather than being connected on a single, continuous map.

Choices & Consequences Matter More Because Of Defined Zones

Having Defined Zones Allows For Game States To Be Altered Off-Screen

In contrast to open worlds that appear more liberating, the separate regions in Avowed offer greater freedom for players. Since certain areas of this game’s world are initially off-limits, they can undergo significant transformations based on the decisions made by the player. As these sections aren’t constantly loaded, the game has the flexibility to tailor each region according to the choices players make before they can access them. This is a feature that isn’t available in games with completely open worlds.

In an authentic open-world game, each area of the map should seem like the first place the player is exploring, as it might very well be. Although it’s feasible to introduce some alterations to distinct parts of an open-world game according to a player’s decisions – such as Skyrim’s Stormcloak Rebellion – there are constraints on how extensive these modifications can be. This is primarily due to the challenges in making significant adjustments to the game world when the entire map operates within a single instance, meaning that the game state cannot undergo drastic changes easily.

Instead, it’s important to note that Avowed understands that players won’t encounter the Emerald Stair until they’ve fulfilled specific tasks within Dawnshore initially. Consequently, this setup enables the game to incorporate and consider any decisions taken in the first region when players reach the Emerald Stair for the first time. As players progress through subsequent regions, they can influence the game even more because these areas can adapt to choices made in any earlier parts of the game. Ultimately, Galawain’s Tusks, the last accessible region, may present a unique experience based on the decisions made in each preceding region, thus shaping the game more around player choices.

Since players have to enter each region separately, this setup also facilitates the impact of decisions made in a later region on an earlier one. This gives the illusion of a unified world even though it’s divided into separate zones because it appears more dynamic and interactive. For a choice-based RPG like Avowed, this structure might be preferable to a fully open world.

Avowed Prioritizes Detailed Choices Over Open Worlds

Avowed’s Development Team Chose To Focus On Player Agency

As a dedicated gamer, I’m excited to dive into the world of Avowed, a role-playing game where exploration is just one part of the adventure. In an exclusive interview with Xbox Wire, the developers made it clear that they chose to prioritize role-playing over an open-world model. This decision was strategically made to ensure player choices carry more significance.

Berto Ritger, our Region Director, and Kate Dollarhyde, the Narrative Designer, explained how the game’s division into distinct regions helps in telling a compelling story at a steady pace and creating a world that adapts to various decisions. It wasn’t about discarding the idea of an open world or lacking the capability to create one; it was about understanding that the game functions best without it. In essence, Avowed is all about immersive role-playing, with exploration serving as a complementary element rather than the main focus.

Avowed emphasizes choice, which not only tailors the gaming experience for each player but also increases the game’s replay value. Giving players the power to alter the game world and narrative structure piques their interest in exploring the consequences of alternative choices they might have made. Unlike an open-world game where you can reshuffle the sequence of quests or skip some on repeat plays, the core storyline elements generally remain consistent each time.

It’s not accidental that role-playing games (RPGs) that focus more on player choice and narrative flow tend to follow this pattern. At present, having distinct areas within the game world instead of one large map facilitates the integration of branching choices into a game’s storyline. While Avowed shares similarities with action RPGs like Skyrim, it appears that its developers aimed for a narrative structure closer to that found in games such as Baldur’s Gate 3, where decisions made by the player significantly influence the story from one section to another.

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2025-02-17 02:17