A Short Hike Creator Rewrites the Open-World Genre: Travel vs True Exploration

Adam Robinson-Yu, creator of A Short Hike, prompted consideration about a fundamental distinction often overlooked in game design in the open-world genre. Specifically, he gave his thoughts about the critical difference between merely traversing a world and genuinely exploring one. While Robinson-Yu drew inspiration from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for his own game, he initially harbored skepticism towards the expanding scale typical of modern open-world titles. Ultimately, he expressed that the label “open-world” does not inherently signify quality. That said, how can developers make the open-world genre more appealing to fans?

Beyond Scale: Open-World Genre Needs Struggle, Not Strolls

Robinson-Yu specifically contrasted that many large-scale games offered a unique experience. By discussing his personal memories of real-world exploration during childhood wilderness adventures and adult hiking, the creator noticed something about the open-world genre. He found that true exploration involves intrinsic motivation driven by curiosity and the simple desire to encounter compelling sights. Furthermore, he highlighted that developers create vast digital landscapes from spaces where players primarily feel they are just traveling between objectives into environments that consistently evoke the authentic thrill of discovery. As a result, these players can experience real exploration as they navigate the game’s setting.

Additionally, Robinson-Yu contends that the open-world genre has transformative potential due to this precise distinction between traveling and exploring. Due to this balance, a game’s rewards structure centered on player curiosity and engagement goes through a fundamental shift as achieving this requires moving beyond simply stretching objectives across vast distances. Instead, developers must focus on designing worlds dense with meaningful, player-driven discovery.

Notably, Valve platforms countless open-world games on Steam, with its own design philosophy, which is seen in titles like Half-Life: Alyx. As a result, these games offer meticulously crafted, contained environments rich with interactive details over sheer scale, suggesting alternative approaches to exploring its world. What’s more, developers like Robinson-Yu are consistently empowered, enabling the creation and distribution of smaller, exploration-focused experiences like A Short Hike. Consequently, players are pushed to pursue meaningful discovery in the open-world genre over sprawling travel.

A Short Hike Proves Discovery Beats Travel in Design