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[Marty-McFly]

Imagine an open world, but unlike all of the redundant open world's you've played, this one is different, maybe you have a crazy old, scientist friend named Doc, or more importantly a Delorean that you can travel through time in. There are various times you need to travel to where you have meaningful mission objectives to change the past, so that you can alter the future. Just like the movies.

Imagine being able to travel through a town like Hill Valley, but the landscape completely changes every time you hit different time period. Or you can travel to the same time period but it's completely different because you altered the course of history in the past.

Ambitious, daring, bold.

We need more time travel games. I hearken back to that cool scene that never made in the heavily downgraded Bioshock Infinite where Elizabeth tears through time in an alternate 80's dimension. Just a small slice of what I'm talking about.

 

[TexMex]

I can’t believe he actually said it

 

[Husky]

Wow he just fucking went and said it

 

[mansoor1980]

SSD will make it possible this gen

 

[AdjudicatorHead]

I’d love a Doctor Strange game from Insomniac personally. It would put that Ratchet and Clank rift tech to perfect use!

 

[Marty-McFly]

I can’t believe he actually said it

It needed to be said.

 

[GinSama]

That video of bioshock hurt me every time I see it…. What a shame we didn’t receive that version….

 

[Marty-McFly]

That video of bioshock hurt me every time I see it…. What a shame we didn’t receive that version….

Almost as bad as that level in Halo 2 that never happened, Watch Dogs, or Cyberpunk.

Downgrades are the worst.

 

[Maximusz]

You mean something like Assassins Creed?

 

[existensmaximum]

Yeah, that would be awesome!

 

[OceanGaming]

Wait for Cory Barlog's game.

 

[Urban]

So brave

 

[PropellerEar]

 

[nkarafo]

Both N64 Zelda games feature time travel and examples of paradoxes that come with them. Though, not sure if they count as open world.

 

[Marty-McFly]

You mean something like Assassins Creed?

Not at all. Assassin's Creed games are just memories in the Animus that revolve around the same time period with no moving parts in each separate game.

I'm talking about time travelling within the game and the landscape evolving or devolving depending on the time or dimension you've entered or altered.

 

[Marty-McFly]

Both N64 Zelda games feature time travel and examples of paradoxes that come with them. Though, not sure if they count as open world.

Zelda has done this on a very basic level and it was really cool at the time. I'd obviously love to see this expanded on greatly as I outlined in the OP.

 

[KungFucius]

It would have to be something smaller than a recent open world. Open world games now tend to be so big and filled with low detail procedural bullshit. I guess you could have multiple open worlds with portals connecting them, and sprinkle in some NPCs and boring quests to relate each period, but then you get bloat and uninspired bullshit in each period.

 

[nkarafo]

Zelda has done this on a very basic level and it was really cool at the time. I'd obviously love to see this expanded on greatly as I outlined in the OP.

Im with you OP. If anything, i want more games with Majora's Mask's "Groundhog Day" mechanic. Though Outer Wilds didn't really grab me.

 

[AmuroChan]

Give me a Chrono Trigger remake.

 

[Star-Lord]

There was a shooter not too long ago, Singularity, that used time and time-travel as core gameplay elements. It was a pretty good game.

 

[Hawks Eclipse]

There was a shooter not too long ago, Singularity, that used time and time-travel as core gameplay elements. It was a pretty good game.

Lol, that game sure did warp your sense of time considering it was a 2010 release.

Anyway, if you haven't read this before, you should find it interesting and maybe a bit sad too:

The Confessional: It took two years to cancel Singularity, and ten months to fix it

The Confessional is an irregularly appearing column where we invite a developer into the booth to explain the flaws behind a game, and to give their thoughts on why they occurred. We can't absolve...

www.polygon.com

 

[Cockles & Whelks]

 

[Cockles & Whelks]

Almost as bad as that level in Halo 2 that never happened, Watch Dogs, or Cyberpunk.

Downgrades are the worst.

Has it ever been revealed why? It's obviously on the hardware, I assumed it was a devkit version they just couldn't shrink down to ho.e level kit.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

Yes.

No arguments from me and with the SSDs, I/O advancements and on-board decompression tech in current-gen consoles, the hardware is there to facilitate such radical new gameplay and gameworld traversal mechanics.

 

[Hawks Eclipse]

There are various times you need to travel to where you have meaningful mission objectives to change the past, so that you can alter the future.

 

[Null Persp]

Well there is this indie sandbox game about time travel, clearly inspired by Back To The Future, it's made by two people so don't expect too much from the graphics.

You can even go back and see yourself leaving with your Delorean into another time.

Yeah but it would be cool to have a similar AAA game.

 

[Star-Lord]

Lol, that game sure did warp your sense of time considering it was a 2010 release.

Anyway, if you haven't read this before, you should find it interesting and maybe a bit sad too:

The Confessional: It took two years to cancel Singularity, and ten months to fix it

The Confessional is an irregularly appearing column where we invite a developer into the booth to explain the flaws behind a game, and to give their thoughts on why they occurred. We can't absolve...

www.polygon.com

That was ten years ago!? Fuck, I really am out of sync with time.

 

[Hawks Eclipse]

That was ten years ago!? Fuck, I really am out of sync with time.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we've got the time traveler."

But seriously, maybe you re/played the game in recent years or something?

 

[Hugare]

Developers would have to design 3 different maps (minimum)

Basically, 3 different open world games

So its easy to understand why it hasnt been done before and never will

Developing 1 open world map is hard and expensive enough for a $60 dollars game

 

[Star-Lord]

"Ladies and gentlemen, we've got the time traveler."

But seriously, maybe you re/played the game in recent years or something?

Could well be, though I played it on PS3 and I’ve not had one since PS4 launched. Maybe my perception of time is just off, heh. Either way, I thought Singularity was a decent game, and wouldn’t mind a reboot/sequel using the SSD to do much more with time travel abilities.

 

[McCheese]

Trials of Mana sold really well so I wouldn't be surprised if they remake Chrono Trigger next, not that JRPGs are fully open world but it's close enough.

 

[Hawks Eclipse]

Could well be, though I played it on PS3 and I’ve not had one since PS4 launched. Maybe my perception of time is just off, heh. Either way, I thought Singularity was a decent game, and wouldn’t mind a reboot/sequel using the SSD to do much more with time travel abilities.

I didn't finish it back then but I quite enjoyed what I played of it. Using time to rot enemies or manipulate the predetermined bits of environment was fun but also fundamentally cosmetic.

That reminds me, have you ever tried Red Faction Armageddon? You could destroy or rebuild parts of the environment, which is like some pseudo time rewind.

 

[Star-Lord]

I didn't finish it back then but I quite enjoyed what I played of it. Using time to rot enemies or manipulate the predetermined bits of environment was fun but also fundamentally cosmetic.

That reminds me, have you ever tried Red Faction Armageddon? You could destroy or rebuild parts of the environment, which is like some pseudo time rewind.

It was rather cosmetic, which is why I think the introduction of PS5’s SSD could make it rather more fundamental. Imagine being able to open a portal to the past in that exact spot, dragging an enemy through it with you, fuck around with the landscape, return to the past or the future, and reap the benefits of your manipulation. It could be brilliant.

And I haven’t. The last Red Faction game I played was RF2 on PS2, and that was the multiplayer. I enjoyed the level of destruction one could cause. The newer iterations looked like they strayed too far away from what made RF what it was.

 

[Graciaus]

Almost every open world game I've ever played would have been better not being open world. Tired of it being the new normal.

 

[WitchHunter]

Post the script for us, so we could give insight.

 

[intbal]

Not a particularly relevant observation here, since it wasn't really interactive in the way that OP wants, but the time windows that you could open up in Undying with the scrying stone were one of the neatest parts of that game's overall design.

 

[Marty-McFly]

Well there is this indie sandbox game about time travel, clearly inspired by Back To The Future, it's made by two people so don't expect too much from the graphics.

You can even go back and see yourself leaving with your Delorean into another time.

Yeah but it would be cool to have a similar AAA game.

I need to check this out. Maybe it's not fully realized but that looks cool af for something made by 2 people.

 

[EverydayBeast]

The idea of time in video games doesn’t go well with gamers the concept of the moon crashing down on you in majoras mask created a scary vibe and kept people away.

 

[Hawks Eclipse]

It was rather cosmetic, which is why I think the introduction of PS5’s SSD could make it rather more fundamental. Imagine being able to open a portal to the past in that exact spot, dragging an enemy through it with you, fuck around with the landscape, return to the past or the future, and reap the benefits of your manipulation. It could be brilliant.

And I haven’t. The last Red Faction game I played was RF2 on PS2, and that was the multiplayer. I enjoyed the level of destruction one could cause. The newer iterations looked like they strayed too far away from what made RF what it was.

It could be brilliant but I'm not very imaginative with it so here's a thought experiment: what could travelling back in time to alter the landscape offer, that altering it in the present couldn't?

And yes, with the current gen of massively improved storage and horsepower, I'd love to see some mindblowing stuff gameplay-wise.

Man, I didn't play the classic RFs. Guerrilla had some really satisfying destruction but it was dreary as an open world game, not to mention the colour palette could basically be described as reddish-brown nonstop lol.

 

[Star-Lord]

It could be brilliant but I'm not very imaginative with it so here's a thought experiment: what could travelling back in time to alter the landscape offer, that altering it in the present couldn't?

How about this for an example? You’re in a shipyard and need to get to the other side. You have no weapons, just your ability to travel back in time. The way forward is down a narrow galley. Sadly for you, there’s a sniper perched on top of a warehouse overlooking your route. What do you do?

You can’t risk running for it. The mans a deadly shot. You have no guns, so shooting back isn’t an option. So, go back in time to the day before either you or him are there, scale the warehouse, loosen the bolts on the walkway he’s perched on in the future, zip back to the present, and watch as the support buckles under his weight.

A small and admittedly shit example of what could be done, but the scope is practically limitless these days.

 

[data_jack]

OP, Deathloop deals with time and different areas affected by it. Looks pretty cool and comes out soon. You could just pretend the other assassin is a crazy doctor, right?

 

[Hawks Eclipse]

How about this for an example? You’re in a shipyard and need to get to the other side. You have no weapons, just your ability to travel back in time. The way forward is down a narrow galley. Sadly for you, there’s a sniper perched on top of a warehouse overlooking your route. What do you do?

You can’t risk running for it. The mans a deadly shot. You have no guns, so shooting back isn’t an option. So, go back in time to the day before either you or him are there, scale the warehouse, loosen the bolts on the walkway he’s perched on in the future, zip back to the present, and watch as the support buckles under his weight.

A small and admittedly shit example of what could be done, but the scope is practically limitless these days.

I do think it's a cool example which you presumably came up with very quickly.

However, at the risk of coming across like an ass, you kind of described Hitman + save scumming.

Also, why couldn't the MC just time travel back to when the sniper isn't there and then make his way to the destination? Unless of course, your time travel power is limited to say, 60 seconds (which you can upgrade later, yay videogames).

What if I suggested that instead of time travelling, you could turn invisible, go sabotage the platform and even eavesdrop on the clueless sniper who's muttering something about how he wants to rush home and play his new game (lol).

Okay, since I've been asking questions and poking holes, in fairness I'll offer up some thoughts of mine for scrutiny:

I think the innate appeal of time travel is to course correct (in the past) or to gain advanced knowledge (in the future).

Also, in order for time travel to 'earn' its place instead of being a simple state-change, it needs to affect multiple things together (as time IRL would), which creates scenarios where it might solve two problems but create one or two new ones, thus giving you an interesting dilemma where you weigh your options.

By the way, I was reminded of how Xbox Series have Quick Resume and it's supposedly done by copying the state of the game to the SSD. So that got me wondering if a time travel game could have multiple states of itself written to the SSD and then recalled and altered accordingly with a well-implemented time travel system.

 

[Marty-McFly]

OP, Deathloop deals with time and different areas affected by it. Looks pretty cool and comes out soon. You could just pretend the other assassin is a crazy doctor, right?

Haven't had the chance to play it yet.

Leave my dad out of this.

 

[ksdixon]

Shadow Of Destiny / Shdow Of Memories

Prevent your own death too?