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Ever tried to wander off the map, only to be stopped by an invisible wall? Some games get much more creative. From hilarious mimes to terrifying sharks, this is a look at 8 genius ways developers stop players from escaping the game world.
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00:00Now, in the vast majority of video games, when you try to leave the open world or go outside the
00:05area that developers have created, one of two things can happen. Either you hit an invisible
00:09wall, or you die instantly. But you know what? That doesn't always have to be the case. Because
00:14today we're looking at some really inspired examples of how designers kept you in the box.
00:19So let's take a look at them. As I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com,
00:22and these are 8 Genius Ways Video Games Don't Let You Escape.
00:268. A Mime Family Guy Video Game During the early 2000s, in the PlayStation 2
00:32era of video games, an abundance of licensed games overflowed the industry. Whether it was a movie,
00:37cartoon, or anime, all major IPs were getting a rather mediocre game or two, and among them was
00:42Family Guy Video Game. This game is just what you expect it to be. It is nothing more or less.
00:48The combat is generic, the stealth missions are, well, utterly broken, and while some of the jokes
00:52are funny, most of them fail to capture the cartoon's humor. With all of this said, while
00:57most of the game lacks quality, it does have a pretty clever way of keeping you in it. If you
01:01try to exit the game's central area during its beat-em-up section, you'll hit an invisible wall,
01:06but not just any wall, one that is created by a mime. When you reach this point, Peter Griffin
01:11performs one of his iconic quips, and you can't help but laugh at the sheer cleverness and humor that
01:15this game has implemented. A phony in this one example.
01:18Family Guy Video Game may not be anything special, but the developers were able to genuinely capture
01:23the cartoon's humor at this moment. 7. Zombie Dog Attack
01:27Resident Evil
01:28There are few openings in classic video games as iconic as the first cutscene from the original
01:34Resident Evil. The atmosphere is intense, the FMV cutscenes look surprisingly polished,
01:39but also B-movie, it's very weird, and the whole thing perfectly amps you up for what's to come.
01:44After you experience this, you might be so terrified of the zombies, dark corridors,
01:48and inevitable jump scares found in the mansion that you might try to exit through the front door
01:52and pretend that nothing has happened. But this is a big mistake. If you're unlucky enough to try
01:57this, you'll quickly find yourself bombarded by one of the zombie dogs that drove you into the mansion.
02:02Not only is this jump scare absolutely terrifying, I mean, look at that CGI woof,
02:06that has not aged well, but you then have to fight and kill the canine consuming precious ammo and
02:11resources in the process. And if you do this again, the same thing will happen. It's a brilliant way of
02:16keeping you inside the game and punishing you for trying to escape the horror that's within the
02:21mansion. You need to delve deeper into this horrible place, and there won't be an easy way
02:25to get out of it. 6. Shark Attack
02:28Crisis There are many games that you see on this list that will find creative ways of killing you
02:33instantly for trying to leave the open world, but Crisis was one of the first to implement this way
02:37of keeping you in. If you take a boat and try to explore the outer region of the classic first
02:42-person
02:42shooter, you might see a little fin come out of the water reminiscent of a 70s Spielberg movie.
02:48I think it's called E.T.? At first you pay it no mind, but then you see it again, and
02:52this time,
02:53it's definitely coming for you. You try and run away to see if maybe you can make it back into
02:57the game's world, but it's already over as the shark has destroyed your ship, and now there is
03:02no escape. Once the shark reaches you, it will kill you instantly as expected and leave you in a
03:07highly dire state that will likely make sure you never try to do this again.
03:10Now, there's definitely other games since Crisis with more terrifying and creative monsters to
03:14keep you inside, but this is the first one to do it, and so is the most memorable in all
03:18of gaming,
03:19arguably. 5. Infinity
03:22Minecraft
03:22Have you ever heard of inflation theory in cosmology? It's a scientific theory that states
03:27that the atoms that comprise our universe multiply amongst themselves infinitely, making sure that
03:32our world technically never ends. This means that no matter what we do, we'll never be able to
03:36escape our universe, just like we'll never be able to escape Minecraft. When you start playing
03:40the iconic indie game and explore its intricate and fascinatingly randomly generated worlds,
03:45you might ask yourself just how far you can go. How much of this world can you influence and for
03:49how long? The answer is, not much, or at least it was in the older console versions of the game,
03:54as the planet you are on eventually hits an invisible wall that prevents you from going
03:58further. However, in the modern versions of Minecraft, the game will go on forever.
04:03Compared to other games, the developers didn't bother to create an illusion of a beyond or
04:07some outside world. Instead, they just make sure to keep you in it by making it impossible to ever
04:12leave it. 4. The Great Plateau
04:15The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild
04:17When you start Breath of the Wild for the first time, you'll be greeted with one of the most
04:20breathtaking openings in a video game, exiting your slumber as you witness the vastness of Hyrule
04:26for the first time. However, you won't be getting out of here any time soon. At first,
04:30a simple cliff preventing you from exploring the central area of the game seems basic and not that
04:35especially clever, but there's more going on than you might realize. By presenting this seemingly
04:40impossible way to get out, players will start to come up with whatever way possible to reach the
04:44other side without attaining the paraglider. Introducing experimentation and outside-the-box thinking,
04:49which is what Zelda is all about. Clever speedrunners and Zelda players have even discovered ways to make
04:55it past this point by using a variety of tricks and techniques learned over the years to get over
04:59that cliff. Only, they then hit a trigger that takes them back to where they were. It might be
05:03disappointing that you can't skip the Great Plateau entirely, but this genius move blocking you
05:08from the rest of the world encouraged players to keep playing more than anything else.
05:123. Slender Man
05:13Slender The Arrival
05:15Now, Slender Man is not exactly somebody you want to encounter. He's tall, terrifying,
05:19and will quickly kill you in a jump scare, especially if you're playing his games.
05:23Instead of searching for the eight pages you need to beat the game, though, you might have this great
05:27idea of just simply leaving and letting Slender figure things out himself, only to find a variety
05:31of fences blocking your way. However, if you're good at platforming, you might be able to jump through
05:36and make it to the other side to reach an area that the developers didn't intend for you to find.
05:40Afterwards, you can explore to your heart's content knowing that Slender Man can't get to you here,
05:45right? Well, that is until an ominous message appears on the screen saying that not even a bug
05:50in the game can save you from him. Slender Man will then kill you before sending you to the Game
05:55Over screen. Like some of the best indie horrors around, Slender Man proves that there's no natural
05:59way to escape, and all you can do is knuckle down and confront him.
06:032. Blood Red Sea
06:05Sea of Thieves
06:06There are many terrifying monsters that developers have put in games to kill you the moment that you
06:11reach the world border, but Sea of Thieves has a more subtle way of doing things. If you try to
06:16explore beyond what the developers created, you'll see that the Earth and Sea will slowly turn blood
06:20red. You have more than enough time to turn back if you so wish, but if you for some reason
06:25continue
06:25to move forward, your ship will start to sink, and you along with it. And it won't take long after
06:30that for you to drown as well. When going through the experience, at all times, you'll be expecting
06:34a monster or some creature to appear to deal the finishing blow, letting your imagination run wild
06:39as you try to figure out what to do, only for nothing to happen, and you die in a rather
06:43anticlimactic manner. However, this subtle aspect makes the Blood Red Sea more terrifying than it
06:48would be otherwise, keeping you inside the game while also ensuring you'll never want to explore
06:52outside ever again.
06:541. Ghost Leviathan
06:57Subnautica
06:57When you crash land on the alien planet that makes up the world of Subnautica, you'll quickly
07:01realize that exploring the deep sea is, well, utterly terrifying. You'll have no idea what
07:07you'll find down there. There might be some innocent aquatic life just trying to get through the day,
07:11but at the same time, you might find a giant monster that definitely wants to kill you.
07:15Regardless, if you're brave enough to journey the ocean and start exploring outside the world
07:19the developers created, prepare to meet something that definitely doesn't want you to live.
07:23As everything gets darker, the computer will ask you if traveling further is worth it. Of course,
07:28you can ignore this and continue to then find a massive creature called the Ghost Leviathan.
07:32This thing is pure nightmare fuel, but also it is immortal, meaning that if you encounter it,
07:37there's not much you can do other than await your rather certain death. We've seen how monsters kill
07:42you the moment you go out of bounds before in games, but none are as terrifying as this.
07:46And there we go, my friends. Those were eight genius ways video games didn't let you escape.
07:50I hope you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about it down in the comments
07:53section below. As always, I've been Jules, you can go follow me over on Twitter at RetroJ with a
07:58zero, or you can swing by Live and Let's Dice, where I do all of my streaming and tabletop gaming
08:02outside of work, and it'd be great to see you over there, my friends. But before I go,
08:06I just want to say one thing. Instead of trying to keep you inside the box today,
08:09I'm going to try and make you bust out of your shell and realize that you are a big ledge
08:12that
08:13deserves all of the best things in life, alright? I'm going to pump you full of positivity so that
08:16you can go out there and absolutely smash your life goals today. And that is by remembering that
08:20you deserve love, happiness, and success, and don't let anything or anyone else tell you otherwise,
08:25alright? You are a massive, massive ledge. Now go out there and smash it. As always,
08:30I've been Jules, you have been awesome. Never forget that, and I'll speak to you soon. Bye.
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