Retro Gamers Realise Why They Crave Side Quests

A recent study has shed new light on the psychology of open-world game design, suggesting a player’s impulse to stray from a critical path is a fundamental human trait. According to a report by VICE, researchers found that when presented with a clear route, a common human response is to “switch lanes, test a theory, or walk” in a different direction. This intrinsic desire to explore and experiment provides a scientific lens through which to view decades of game design evolution.

This behavioural insight explains the magnetic pull of early sandbox pioneers. While not open-world in the modern sense, titles like Ultima (1981) and Elite (1984) on platforms like the BBC Micro and Commodore 64 offered vast, unstructured universes that rewarded curiosity over objective completion. They established a core tenet: the journey is dictated by the player’s whim, not the developer’s script. The research validates the design philosophy behind these foundational games, which trusted players to find their own fun in systems rather than narratives.

The 1990s saw this concept refined with greater purpose. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991) on the SNES masterfully gated its world with item-based progression, but its sprawling Hyrule was filled with tantalising, inaccessible areas that begged to be revisited. It created a powerful feedback loop: the main quest gave you tools, and those tools unlocked the secrets you’d mentally bookmarked hours earlier. This clever design directly taps into that same human impulse to “test a theory” about what lies beyond a screen’s edge.

Understanding this psychology is crucial for appreciating both classic titles and modern successors. It underscores why being given a horse in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998) and simply riding across Hyrule Field felt so revolutionary. The study suggests that the most enduring virtual worlds aren’t those with the most content, but those which most effectively trigger our innate curiosity to see what’s over the next hill, making every detour feel like a personal discovery.

📜 The Original 'POKE' Command

On 8-bit systems like the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64, players could directly manipulate game memory using BASIC commands like POKE 53280,0 to change border colors or unlock hidden features. This literal 'hacking' of games created a generation of players who saw game worlds as systems to be explored and manipulated, not just consumed.

📊 The Scale of Early Exploration

• Elite (1984) featured 8 galaxies with 256 planets each, creating over 2,000 unique worlds to explore on just 32KB of memory

• Ultima IV (1985) had over 200 NPCs with individual schedules and personalities

• The Legend of Zelda (1986) contained 128 screens in its overworld, with only about 30% required to complete the main quest

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🎯 Why This Matters Today

The retro gaming community's love for exploration and boundary-testing directly influenced modern game design. Today's open-world games with hidden Easter eggs, sequence-breaking mechanics, and player-driven discovery all trace their DNA back to those early bedroom-coded adventures where players weren't just following a story—they were co-creating their experience through curiosity.