The Craft of Games: Open World vs. Linear Storytelling
GTA III Introduced Players to the Idea of an Open World Sandbox
With the dawn of the new century came the dawn of a new console, the Playstation 2. A significant upgrade over its earlier iteration, the system provided developers with the power they needed to develop more involving and expansive games.
Released in 2001, Grand Theft Auto III was the first game to truly harness the power the system had to offer, and create something unique for the time. Leaving behind the 2D boundaries of its earlier brethren, GTA III took the series into 3D, and gave gamers their first true taste of an Open World Sandbox. With the arrival of the new console generation, the idea has been pushed further and further, and more and more classic franchises are taking up the mantle of “Open World Games.” The question is, are Open World Games really the future, or will they forever be hindered by their reduced ability to tell a potent story?
