Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning doesn’t have a seamless, interwoven game world like Skyrim does, rather areas that are connected to each other, and each area has barriers. Kind of like Fable (but much, much bigger in scope and size). Ken Rolston, lead designer of the game, feels that this is for the better, since it provides for better exploration, “higher graphic fidelity” and a “more guided experience”.
“I love the open-world experience, and am an early and reckless proponent of it,” he said during a Q&A session with Reddit users. “But I also know that I spend a LOT of time trying to climb unclimbable mountains in Skyrim, and I’m not sure that’s the best use of a gamer’s time.”
“I want more Fun-Per-Unit-Time™ (an Important Measurement of Rolston FunTech),” he continued (yeah, more crazy talk). “And the more crafted and channeled vistas and experiences of Reckoning are a glorious result.
“Oh. And there are lots of genuine tech and performance reasons, too. But you’d need a Tech Weasel to explain them.”
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning releases on February 10 for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. You can stay updated with all our coverage for the game here.