Adding narrative texture to the people and places of Horizon Forbidden West

gamedeveloper.com:

It wouldn't be unfair to suggest the phrase "living, breathing world" is overused in the video game industry. It's a string of words that evokes a sense of realism, telling players the digital realm they're about to explore is one that feels truly alive. It's easy to understand why it's often used to describe open-world titles in particular, with those projects seeking to deliver expansive adventures set in places that feel like they could persist even when players have left them behind.

How, though, can developers take practical steps to deliver on that heady promise? Speaking at GDC 2023, Guerrilla Games lead living world designer, Espen Sogn, suggested the key lies in creating visible texture by layering in small details that cause far-reaching narrative ripples and hint at deeper meaning.

Sogn kicked off the talk with a tongue-in-cheek admission: the living world in Horizon Zero Dawn was a "failure." Although Sogn was perhaps being slightly hyper-critical of the first entry in the Horizon series, he explained the title ultimately fell short when it came to world-building because it relied too heavily on NPC behaviours and interactions that existed in isolation. 

He accepted that while the world and those inhabiting it looked vibrant, it ultimately didn't feel vibrant.

For instance, Sogn pointed to a sawmill in the first title as a prime example of that specific failure, noting how players could stumble across a contraption that looked both functional and fascinating–an object that evidently served a clear purpose–but also one that didn't have "a single NPC paying attention to it."

"The settlement NPCs in [Horizon Zero Dawn] didn't feel like they belonged there. They felt like people placed into an environment," added