There are games to which one returns almost out of habit and to which one returns for the simple pleasure of dropping by some familiar place, not because of a pending mission or the desire to compete. Sometimes you want to walk for a while, complete a small task, follow a regular itinerary, or stay still in a virtual city while watching life go by around you. This custom contains something very typical of the present to the point that many digital worlds no longer function solely as a leisure environment, They also operate as family spaces, corners where you can take a break and clear your head a little..
The idea of escaping to another reality
This behavior coincides with a trend that VML Intelligence collect in “The Future 100–2026“In its section reserved for gaming, the report points out that 67 percent of Generation Z recognizes that likes the idea of escaping to another reality through technologywhile 49 percent claims to have formed a significant relationship with some AI. They are two different pieces of information, although together they make up the same scene that demonstrates how technology is for entertainmentof course, but also to look for company or as a method to disconnect.
Seen this way, escapism has less to do with escape than with the search for a personal space that is rewarding. This is precisely where the video game takes advantage of some of its innate characteristicsespecially when the architecture is well designed. In that group are Tamriel (‘The Elder Scrolls’), Hydaelyn (‘Final Fantasy’) and Appalachia (‘Fallout’), three very different places from each other and, yet, linked by the same logic.
The dangers of the Wasteland
‘Fallout 76’, for example, departs from that image of comfortable fantasy and refuge options They are not born from a friendly landscape or a luminous epic. They emerge from custom, from the learned route, from the camp that one sets up with one’s own hands by collecting garbage and of which one ends up feeling proud, from the strange pleasure of moving through a territory that, over time, even stops seeming hostile.
This nuance portrays today’s digital escapism, which does not always resort to beauty and sometimes offers familiarity in exchange for a hard space. Bethesda has reinforced that link even with materials published for Fallout Worldswhere it presents the possibility of customizing the post-nuclear territory and building your own free public worlds. Ultimately, this perception of belonging illustrates quite well why an unwelcoming world can function as a place to return to. It doesn’t have to be comfortable in the classic sense, it is enough that it allows us to live within it with a certain coherence and continuity.
The art of virtual escapism
We talked about this exclusively with Matt ThomasLead Level Designer of ‘Fallout 76‘, because despite being set in a hostile and dangerous world, many players still treat Appalachia as a place to which they return to feel comfortable.
From a level design perspective, how do you make a hostile world feel familiar and welcoming over time? “That growing familiarity you talk about comes entirely from our players and the time they decide to invest in our game. We create spaces that generate opportunities to live great moments, regardless of the style of play you choose,” he explains.
“But these are not simply abstract ‘play spaces’,” he notes. “All of our locations have intentionality and purpose within the overall construction of the world, and have rich pre- and post-war histories that invite exploration to learn all they offer.” Thomas himself argues that it is this combination of good play spaces with a deep narrative purpose that is creates an emotional resonance with players. “That familiarity also becomes a fun vector to play with as we begin to expand and change the world. Different factions make moves over time; for example, the Protectors setting up shop at Whitespring, or the Mothman cultists building the bridge to Ohio at Point Pleasant.”
How important are CAMPs in this sense?
“Half is in the CAMPs,” he points out. “In the spaces between our carefully designed locations, Players have many opportunities to make the game world as much theirs as ours.. They serve a functional purpose, being a place to store your things and repair your equipment, but they also become a powerful means of self-expression. Your CAMP is, to a large extent, an extension of your character.” Its purpose is “give players many interesting places to place their campplus plenty of space to do so. Over time, we’ve also learned more about what kind of natural elements players prefer to locate their camps in and included that in our planning.
What role does grind play in how players experience Appalachia? Did you consciously design spaces, routes or landmarks that could become part of the player’s personal habits within the world?
“We do our best to build spaces that force players to cross paths. One of our best tools for this are the dedicated social centers. We found that all kinds of cool emergent behaviors emerge when you give players social spaces to meet.” Thomas gives as an example the work in Highway Townin Burning Springs. “Every time I walk in, I see players hanging up wanted posters, accepting Grunt Hunts from the ghoul, dropping gear they no longer need for other players… and I once saw a Wild West-style duel done entirely using emotes.”
In games like ‘Fallout 76’, escapism isn’t always about beauty or peace, but sometimes about belonging to a world that feels coherent and inhabited. How do you design environments that foster that sense of attachment?
“We don’t necessarily build spaces with that exact intention in mind, but the result is the same if we’ve done it right. We build spaces that present interesting play opportunities, rich stories, and a meaningful purpose in the world, and then we invite players to interact with them at their own pace.” He explains that “if you are exploring an ‘off-mission’ location, for example, you will most likely is that you find something or leave with some new knowledge about the world of Fallout that you didn’t have before.”
When building Appalachia, how important was it to create spaces where players could simply “exist,” not just fight, loot, or complete objectives, but wander, build, observe, and feel at home in the world?
“When ‘Fallout 76’ was released, Appalachia was serving a very different game that revolved around uncertainty in player interactions. Each player could be a friend or an enemy.” Thomas explains that “a lot of space was needed to create distance so that players could make those types of evaluations from afar. However, as the game has changed over the years, the spaces in between have come to serve more as ‘negative space,’ creating a rhythm of exploration based on a regular alternation of tension and calm, rather than constant tension.”
That said, “Every space we create serves some purpose. It can offer some detail about the world of Fallout, serve as a negative space to contemplate a particular setting, support an emotional moment we want to create, or act as a social space for players to meet. Even the seemingly transitory spaces between locations serve these same purposes. They are opportunities to enjoy the sights and sounds as you make your way through Appalachia and beyond, and are crucial to both the atmosphere and the pace of the game.”
In search of a safe space
Appalachia conveys familiarity and in an era saturated with screens, emergencies and haste, that feeling of permanence takes on a special value. VML places Generation Z in an increasingly intense relationship with technology, both to escape to another reality to establish links with digital systems. In the field of video games, this trend becomes especially tangible and this allows millions of users to regularly access these worlds to disconnect from their day, but also to feel accompanied, recover a routine or achieve a calm that was harder to find.
That’s why “the art of escapism” may not have as much to do with fleeing as it does with returning. Return to a forest in Tamriel, to the landscapes of Hydaelyn, or to a broken highway in Appalachia. Rediscover a space that is part of your routine, with a place that allows you to stay without demanding too much in return. Perhaps therein lies one of the most interesting values of contemporary video games, where sometimes it is not necessary to win anything and it is just enough to return for a moment to this “other routine.”