Adam Robinson-Yu, creator of 2019 indie hit A Short Hike, has said in an interview that "micro puzzles" such the Korok Seeds from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are how traveling through open world games can stay compelling and "create interest in your mind."
As part of a larger interview with Edge Magazine in issue 413, in which numerous creatives and designers speak about the challenges of creating open worlds in video games, Robinson-Yu holds up Korok Seeds and the puzzles associated with them in both Zelda games as inspiration for his own content in A Short Hike.
Robinson-Yu says BOTW's "mini Where's Waldo moments" inspired the design of A Short Hike. "For when you're just walking down a path, and things that will draw your attention and create interest in your mind. [It's] to stop you getting too bored, or to post a question: what's around that corner?"
More broadly, this speaks to a design philosophy that rewards eagle-eyed players with new gameplay opportunities and in-game rewards. "Can I make gameplay out of the player noticing something?" continues Robinson-Yu. "Out of them paying attention, and then feeling acknowledged for noticing something interesting – like they see a weird-looking rock."
The challenge of creating interesting, organic gameplay in open world or sandbox games has been a challenge for as long as such games have existed. In a 2016 interview with Game Developer, Bethesda director Todd Howard spoke about how his team uses the landscape's design to pique curiosity, something that players of Fallout and Skyrim will know very well. It's quite difficult to find a location on the map of those games where there isn't something visually interesting on the horizon, inviting you to go explore. Similarly, our Elden Ring review praised the game's habit of hiding whole new areas and boss fights in easily-overlooked areas, motivating player exploration.
Speaking personally, I can see where Robinson-Yu is coming from, especially with the whole "stop you getting bored" bit. The least interesting open world games I've played are those that make the world a simple commute, an open space that doesn't really help anybody. Meanwhile, part of the joy of exploring The Lands Between or the world of The Witcher 3 is that paying attention to the world tends to reward you far more than just mindlessly sailing through it.
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