Guiding the player in an open world game
Few open world games are REALLY completely open to the player. Any game with story progression or power scaling will try to limit the players movement in the world in some way. This ensures the player still has some sort of logical progression through the world. So how can we as game designers do this?
Power scaling
Have you ever gotten to a new area in an open world game just to realize the enemies are completely kicking your ass? Then maybe you come back to this area after sometime and suddenly they’re getting one shot. Discouraging your player from progressing in the world by making enemies much stronger is one way to encourage players to follow your designated root.
Just be aware that this sort of challenge may encourage more motivated players to push through anyway. If this is your only way of guiding progression through your open world, be sure that skipping ahead using sheer brute force won’t be game breaking.
Use locking mechanisms that tie into the worldbuilding of your game
Some sort of more tangible barrier is a pretty good strategy for locking players out of certain parts of the map until they level up or complete more of the story.
For example, if you have a city location in your game, maybe a certain bridge is under construction until you get to a certain point in the story. Maybe there’s a bouncer whose boss you have to befriend before you can enter a certain building. Or maybe if you have a fantasy setting, you have to kill an overpowered dragon guarding a key to get through the gates of a new town. These are all low-ball examples, but give you an idea of the kind of mechanic you could create in your game.
Use the geography
Maybe you need a boat to cross the ocean between your current location and a new island. Or maybe, you need to jump off a cliff and a wind glider is needed to ensure you don’t fall to your death. Perhaps your destination is on the other side of some mountains, and you need some rope and gear to traverse to the other side. The player will have to unlock these mechanics before they can progress to new areas on the map, which should help you in guiding the player through the intended progression.
Soft vs Hard Barriers
A soft barrier can be seen as more of a suggestion to a player. It could be something as simple as a paved path through a forest between towns or something like the previous example of using power scaling to deter under-leveled players from continuing. Soft barriers are completely possible to cross, they just may be a bit off the beaten path or extra challenging.
A hard barrier is something you literally cannot cross as a player. Walls, geographic features, unbuilt bridges, massive cliffs…basically anything that tells the player no.
Generally, to give your game the most open world feel possible, use soft barriers as much as you can. Where you can blur the line between the two, do so. My favorite example of this is in Red Dead Redemption 2. A certain town on the map is completely accessible at all times, but until you get to a certain part of the story, the law enforcement and townsfolk will do everything in their power to kill you the second you set foot in their town. This gives the impression of an open world, while also make exploring this area before you have gotten to the appropriate part of the story basically impossible.
References and further reading
(Video + Article) Game Level Design: 35 Ways to Guide The Player — https://jacobryanwheeler.medium.com/game-level-design-35-ways-to-guide-the-player-4bbc324204f4
(Article) How to Make Levels: Level Design for Open World Games — https://gamedevacademy.org/level-design-open-world-tutorial/
(Article) 7 Ways to Effortlessly Guide the Player with Level Design As Seen in “Alan Wake” — https://www.worldofleveldesign.com/categories/level_design_tutorials/alan-wake-guide-the-player.php
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