One of the big joys that can come from playing an open world game is when you can get in the zone when traveling – connecting with the game in a way where you just know where you want to go and letting your instinct with the controller kick in. The upcoming Wheel World from developer Messhof taps into the feeling well with its take on an open-world bicycling game, tasking you with saving the world with the help of a spirit companion.
While checking out the latest games from Annapurna Interactive during the week of The Game Awards, I played the opening of Wheel World and spoke with tech lead Sam Loeschen and co-art director Dann Beeson about building a game about biking culture and how the game changed from their original vision of a more "somber" open world.
