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What if Bioshock Infinite was an Open World?
How would Bioshock Infinite work in an Open World context? What would the world rules be? How could designer drive the player? Let's find out
10 Min Read
The following is a design concept I recently made after the announcement of the new Bioshock being an Open World game. The design follows a style suitable for the original game release in 2013.
Introduction
The world would be a narrative driven, modular open world, divided in regions player frees to progress and obtain Vox's support. Vox populi are an in-game faction opposed to the main villain's army.
Each area is first occupied by Comstock, presenting an obstacle for the player to loot and find quests.
Game World
Traversal Vehicles / Structures
There are 3 main ways to travel across the map:
Sky-Line |
|
AirShip |
|
Zeppelin |
|
None of the vehicles is actually "drivable" by the player, they either follow a path or have a loading:
Columbia is characterized by the floating structures, so while the game can adapt the connection between regions, the player may not, resulting in unclear world rules or feeling lost.
Grammar Map Design
Outpost |
First occupied by Comstock, then Vox once free |
Safes the Siphon connection in Monument Tower |
Destroying the supplier allows tears in the area |
Protected By |
4 squads off 4 enemies each, 2 Heavy Hitters |
Zeppelin |
Floating around the map with a specific route |
First occupied by Comstock's troops |
Can be used to move around the map |
Enemies airships backups come if alarm is rang |
If nearby outpost is freed, Vox backup the player |
Region |
Defined location first occupied by Comstock |
When freed become occupied by Vox |
Factions fight in the streets / air calling backups |
Airship |
Airship sailed to an air pier in a specific location |
Fast travel to other areas, loading / cinematic |
We saw what occupies the game world, but what happens in it? Let's take a look:
Points Of Interest
Monument Tower: Center of the map |
Surveilled by squads and heavy hitters outside |
Enemies airships roam outside the tower |
Rescue Elizabeth after the town sequence |
Finkton Tower: Left area of the map |
Troops and barrage automatons outside the gate |
Accessed once for the main story quest |
Characterized by the luxurious look |
First Lady Zeppelin: Roaming around the map |
Different from other zeppelin for the rich look |
Accessible twice for story main story quests |
After soldier's field |
Hand of the Prophet: Upper area of the map, Final Area |
Surveilled by enemies' airships and troops |
Alarms for enemies to call for backups inside |
Live World Elements
Airship Fights |
Comstock's troops and Vox airships meet |
Each faction can call for backups |
Heavy hitters can be called as last backup |
Road Fights |
Each faction has troops roaming in each area |
Each faction can call for backups |
Heavy hitters can be called as last backup |
We talked a lot about the open world elements, now let's take a look at how players are spending their time in this world: What's the purpose of a world if nobody populates it? Warning, spoilers!
Objectives and Rewards
Story Objectives |
Find Elizabeth |
Reach Elizabeth after her escape in Finkton |
Reach Comstock's House |
Reach the Hand of the Prophet |
Stop Comstock before everything begins |
Story Objectives |
Conquer Outposts |
Access Monument Tower |
Access the Hand of the Prophet |
Rewards |
Spatial Reward |
Loot |
Quest Reward |
Loadout |
Progression |
Spatial (Free and safe areas and zeppelins) |
Money (Allowing to buy needed items) |
If you are interested in Bioshock Infinite's progression, you can take a look at my previous articles.
Now let's talk about quests: What guides the player during the whole game?
Quests
Main Quests |
Lutece's Questline: |
Elizabeth's and Comstock's related quests |
Luteces Rewards: |
Elizabeth story progression / past |
Booker story progression / past |
Comstock story progression / past |
Side Quests |
Lutece's Researches: |
Find specific equipment around the map |
Travel across realities |
Luteces Rewards: |
Research-developed Equipment |
World narrative details / story |
Core Aesthetics
Dynamics | Player Type |
Player will explore the world based on his / her will and needs | Explorer |
Player will go back to previous areas to look for details and items missed before | Achiever |
Player will visit specific locations he / she wants to see / stay in | Socializer |
Player will free outposts / zeppelins before receiving the quest | Explorer |
Player will chose the quest of the person he / she is most interested in | Socializer |
Player will complete all the quests to obtain all the rewards | Achiever |
Player will complete all the quests to gain story information | Socializer |
Player will explore and complete the quests to discover the story | Socializer |
Player will chose which quest to accept in order to progress | Achiever |
These are only the main generated aesthetics, an MDA analysis would provide further information.
Opportunity
Vox Populi's troops around the map will ask the player to help them defeat Comstock's troops:
Fights |
Help Vox fighting enemies troops on airships / zeppelins or on the ground |
Enemies squads are made of soldiers, snipers, heavy hitters and mosquitoes |
Backups can be called by both factions up to heavy hitters |
Eliminate all enemies troops to get a reward (money, gear, narrative details) |
Items Recover |
Reach an area surveilled by Comstock's troops and recover a specific item |
The approach is decided by the player: stealth, by air, from the ground, and so on |
If the player is spotted, backups can be called from Comstock's troops |
Bring te item back to get a reward (money, gear, narrative details) |
That's it! This was my design concept for an Open World. This could of course be expanded to talk about each element in detail, but being just a concept I don't think it would be the case.
I really hope you liked it, if you have any feedback, suggestion or thoughts let me know, I'd love to hear your opinion!
Thank you for taking the time to read this, I really appreciate it. See you soon!
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