A new open-world project is reportedly in the works at a new studio under Activision. The studio, named Elsewhere, is seemingly made up of industry veterans from studios like CD Projekt RED and Naughty Dog, and a big focus of this open-world project will be emergent gameplay. According to MP1st, Elsewhere is continuing to grow its team for this ambitious project, some details about which can be spotted in a new job listing for an “Associate Animation Director, Living World”.
According to the job description, the person hired for the role will “define and champion the animation vision for the living world, creating believable, reactive, and memorable experiences that bring the game world to life.” This will mean working with teams across divisions like animation, design, engineering, art, audio, and narrative.
As for what it means for a game to focus on emergent gameplay, a title typically has to feature an open world that players can freely explore and run into a variety of characters; the game in question would also need strong gameplay systems that could naturally lead to interesting experiences that weren’t strictly scripted for the sake of a larger narrative. Some of the most popular examples of such emergent gameplay would be titles across franchises like Far Cry, Grand Theft Auto, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Bethesda’s RPG franchises Fallout and The Elder Scrolls are also well known for their emergent gameplay moments, since players can define their playstyle through in-depth RPG systems. This could lead to a potential combat situation where you have been ambushed by bandits in The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind, which can be swiftly dealt with through the use of stealth, talking, or even just casting a magic spell that can cause a massive explosion.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is another noteworthy example of a game offering deep systems that promote emergent gameplay. While its story missions are strictly on rails and don’t offer much freedom, the open world itself is full of a variety of activities that players can partake in. The hunting system, for example, could naturally lead a player from stalking a deer for its perfect pelt to accidentally running into a massive bear in the area, or even some O’Driscolls roaming around trying to hunt down members of the Van Der Linde Gang.
It is worth keeping in mind that these kinds of games have become relatively rare in the AAA space, with much of the conversation being taken by games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. In the indie realm, however, we still get plenty of examples of titles focusing on emergent gameplay, like the roguelite detective game Shadow of Doubt, which gives players complete freedom in how they want to investigate crimes, which can range from breaking into the victim’s apartment to find clues before the cops get there, to working alongside the cops.
Meanwhile, Activision is also confirmed to be working on a brand-new game in the Halo franchise, with a new team having been created to handle the sci-fi shooter. This announcement came in light of other reshuffling across Xbox and the elimination of 268 jobs.
