Todd Hollenshead, CEO of id Software, has responded to critics over the lack of freeroam in their latest title, RAGE, which Hollenshead says is "not the point" of the game.
“It’s not like, ‘just wander around,’ and that’s on purpose,” told Hollenshead, when speaking with Gamasutra.
Hollenshead stated that players are meant to survive the world of RAGE, not explore it.
“We try to make the wastelands more like some of the experiences like running a gauntlet to get through from point A to point B, as opposed to just going where you want,” he said.
However, Hollenshead was quick emphasise on the player choices that affect gameplay, saying that “it’s open, there are meaningful choices that you can make, in terms of what you want to do.”
“There’s not necessarily a predetermined order of, ‘this is number one, this is number two, this is number three. You may have multiple missions that you can do at the same time, and the order in which you choose them is up to you.
“Now, it may be more or less challenging based on the way it was intended, but it’s not necessarily dictated.”
Unfortunately, players will not be able to go back and complete parts of the game once they have progressed to a certain point.
“The choice on that stuff is something like, ‘Pardon me. Is this something you want to do at this point, or do you want to come back to it later?’ Or is it necessary?
“Some of this stuff has to be accomplished to be able to open up the game; for example, you’re never going to get your car if you don’t go get the buggy parts. So it’s just, ‘Okay, you don’t have to do it,’ but then you’re not going to get any parts, and you’re going to be stuck.”
If you haven’t checked out our preview of RAGE, you can do so here. RAGE comes out this week on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.