I was introduced to the concept of games with “lemon-shaped structures” when reading theSable Design Works bookfrom Lost In Cult. Shedworks creators andSabledevelopers Gregorios Kythreotis and Daniel Fineberg came up with the term to describe games likeThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It may sound odd, but hear them out.
“We call it a lemon-shaped structure,” Fineberg says in an interview from the book. “The start and end of the game are both really controlled, but everything in between is broad.” He explains that it’s this structure that keeps games like Breath of the Wild feeling refreshing, and why everyone loves it so. In most open-world games, you grow bored and frustrated when they start feeling long. That was my exact experience with Assassin’s Creed Origins, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, and Assassin’s Creed Val- you get the picture.
However, thanks to Breath of the Wild (and Sable) showing you the ending right off the bat, effectively telling you, ‘If you’ve had enough, go over there and beat Ganon’. It means, when players start feeling bored, they have the freedom to head right to the ending and instead of dropping off the game in frustration, leave with a feeling of completion and catharsis.
“You explore the world and can do whatever you want,” Fineberg explains. “But then eventually you feel like you’ve seen it all. You’ve had enough. But when you have that feeling, you may go and do the final boss and see the credits. Rather than walking away feeling like you got tired of it all, you walk away feeling accomplished, like you completed the game and had a full experience. [Breath of the Wild] was a fantastic example of that lemon-shaped structure.”
In this one paragraph, Fineberg articulates something which I’ve felt about open-world games for years. I’ve fallen off more modernAssassin’s Creedgames than most players have played in their lifetime, no matter how much I love the setting or enjoy the gameplay. It didn’t help that Valhalla’s Britain ended before it reached Liverpool, but that’s another story. I was also just fed up with the constant cycle of looting monasteries and getting new tattoos.
I also think this is why I fell offTears of the Kingdomso hard. What’s the end goal? I need to find the Princess, sure, but when I get bored of strolling across the same Hyrule I spent hundreds of hours in a few years ago, where do I go? The once wonderful world suddenly felt empty, every Shrine pointless, and Link directionless. I loved the story tidbits detailing the plight of Ganondorf of old, but it wasn’t enough to pull me through. I needed Calamity Ganon circling Hyrule Castle, almost always in view from anywhere in the world, tempting me to finish it all. I needed Tears of the Kingdom to be a lemon, not a trumpet. My playthrough was nothing more than hot air, blown into the skies of Hyrule with an almighty brass parp.
The Sable Design Works book let me in on so much information about game development, from how concepts are ideated to the inspirations behind one of my favourite experiences of recent years. But the developers also articulated a feeling I’ve had about open-world games for a long time, something that’s bugged me about games everyone else seems to love. If I’m going to jump into another open-world game soon, I’m going to give it a big sniff before I start. If it doesn’t reek of citrus, I’m not taking a bite.
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