Greetings all, my first post on this forum ever, I read quite a few posts already and tried my hand at the search function. No luck.

I am trying to find the best way to determinine our map / zone size in Meters or Feet.

We are aiming for a game with large zones in which the player can move freely and explore. There will be boundaries to this zone with 1 entrance and exit. However the zone itself will be free roam.

I understand more details may be required before you're able to reply, so please don't be shy to ask :)

I thank you for the help!

3D game, not 2d.

Single player game (possible drop in out multi up to 4 players)

Large zones (for lack of better reference, large like Dead Island City of Moresby, Resort Map) The size of these areas is what we are aiming for.

http://oyster.ignimgs.com/mediawiki/apis.ign.com/dead-island/thumb/b/b6/02LargeJPG.jpg/468px-02LargeJPG.jpg

Graphically the game will be nice, however we are not aiming for the prettiest game awards.

Physics: Yes, however not all items / objects will have physic properties and be moveable etc..

Thanks again for the information / tips.

Think about the following:

• How fast is the player able to travel? Are there ways they can travel faster if they just want to get somewhere quickly, or are they stuck with a single speed?
• Will there be any time limits or pressure to reach destinations quickly?
• Do you want the player to carefully explore zones, or is it more likely they'll only see some of the content?
• Do you have interesting content to fill the zone, or will there be a lot of "dead" space?

Players generally don't like "dead" or pointless space, so if there isn't a meaningful reason for zones to be large consider reducing the size.

You know how fast your players are able to travel. Given those speeds, how far can they travel within any time limits you might be imposing? By making them travel farther in a shorter time you increase pressure, especially if there's the chance of taking a sub-optimal or dead-end path. By choosing distances in which they can easily reach destinations quickly you create a lower pressure situation more conducive to exploration and wandering.

Does that help at all?

Immensely yes!

Think we have it :)

Thank you!