Summary
While open-world video games have been around for decades, they didn’t begin to achieve popularity until around ten years ago. From then on, the industry has seen a steady increase in the number ofopen-world video gamesavailable, with many of them following a similar model to one another. Unfortunately, games in the open-world genre haven’t always left the best impression, as they often feel like worlds full of chores rather than fun. However, that’s ultimately what allows FromSoftware’sElden Ringand its Shadow of the Erdtree DLC to shine as bright as it does. By providing players with a captivating open world that rewards curiosity,Elden Ringand Shadow of the Erdtree have proven their mastery of the open-world model.
One of the main toolsElden Ringand its Shadow of the Erdtree DLC use to make their open worlds so rewarding is their map design. Many open-world maps that are packed with icons don’t lean on the design of the map because they don’t need to.Elden Ring, on the other hand, requires that its map be designed in such a way that players can use the artwork, rather than icons, as a guide. The only issue this presents is that it establishes a seemingly unmatchable precedent that FromSoftware will need to at least attempt to outdo in its next open-world game. Thankfully, there are some clear improvements it can make to its open-world map design that would benefit any future games that use the same model.
How FromSoftware Can Improve Its Open-world Map Design for Future Games
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’s Map Has a Verticality Problem That Should Be Absent From Future Games
Elden Ring’sShadow of the Erdtree DLC is a sizable expansionin more than one way. Firstly, it adds dozens of hours of content to the base game and an entirely new world to explore. However, it isn’t only horizontally and chronologically massive, as its emphasis on verticality puts it literal leaps and bounds ahead ofElden Ring. Unfortunately, Shadow of the Erdtree leans so heavily on verticality that its otherwise well-designed map can’t keep up. Despite cluing players into the many secrets hidden throughout the DLC’s Realm of Shadow, it’s often impossible to see the geographically higher or lower levels of its open world that are often just as rewarding as those that can be seen outright on the map.
If FromSoftware continues to develop open-world games, it should consider creating a three-dimensional map for them.Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora’s open-world map, for example, allows players to see the floating islands and other vertical structures in the world thanks to its 3D map, and this is something that would benefit the next open-world FromSoftware game tremendously. If it included the option to view the map from different angles, that would help even more. Of course, this is all assuming that the developer’s next open-world game will feature as much verticality as Shadow of the Erdtree has.
Future FromSoftware Open-world Games Need an Option to Hide Map Icons
Another, perhaps less significant, issue that the maps ofElden Ringand its Shadow of the Erdtree DLC have is an inability to hide map icons. While neither feature icons for activities and quests like many other open-world games do, icons for major locations andElden Ring’s Sites of Gracestill tend to clutter each map too much and get in the way of their artwork. It would be nice for the next open-world FromSoftware game to include an option for disabling or hiding map icons for a cleaner view.
It’s tough to say thatFromSoftware’s open-world mapshave any problems at all, but they do. Fortunately, there are solutions out there that can help make the developer’s next open-world map even better than it already is. Should FromSoftware develop another open-world game, it should consider giving it a 3D map and the option to hide map icons.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
WHERE TO PLAY
Shadow of the Erdtree is the first and only DLC expansion for FromSoftware’s groundbreaking Elden Ring. It takes players to a whole new region, the Land of Shadow, where a new story awaits the Tarnished.
