I do like it when games add onto that with skillbooks systems of some sort. Basically offering different avenues for the player to build up their characters' skills and abilities, and allowing the player to stack or overlap those different approaches as they play.
(IE, chop wood, build small shack, skill improves, explore, eventually discover some home improvement book where you can learn more working knowledge on building, skill improves some more, etc etc)
Aye. I've seen a few games that manage to synergize exploration with the rest of the gameplay in pretty cool and natural ways.
Sadly there's a lot of other games these days that tend to rely on a lot of (fetch) quests to motivate or steer players into exploration. Which then often lead to achievement-styled checklists and "collectathons". Can't remember any specific scenarios I can describe, but I remember this sort of vibe in Darksiders 2, a lot of the Dead Island/Dying Light games, and some of Elder Scrolls Online.
IE, forcing players to follow along a linear path (usually with a dull and meaningless backstory), which often leads to a backlog of incomplete sidequests, which often don't flow intuitively with normal gameplay, and rarely is the reward even worth the level of hassle involved.
I do like it when games add onto that with skillbooks systems of some sort. Basically offering different avenues for the player to build up their characters' skills and abilities, and allowing the player to stack or overlap those different approaches as they play.
(IE, chop wood, build small shack, skill improves, explore, eventually discover some home improvement book where you can learn more working knowledge on building, skill improves some more, etc etc)
Aye. I've seen a few games that manage to synergize exploration with the rest of the gameplay in pretty cool and natural ways.
Sadly there's a lot of other games these days that tend to rely on a lot of (fetch) quests to motivate or steer players into exploration. Which then often lead to achievement-styled checklists and "collectathons". Can't remember any specific scenarios I can describe, but I remember this sort of vibe in Darksiders 2, a lot of the Dead Island/Dying Light games, and some of Elder Scrolls Online.
IE, forcing players to follow along a linear path (usually with a dull and meaningless backstory), which often leads to a backlog of incomplete sidequests, which often don't flow intuitively with normal gameplay, and rarely is the reward even worth the level of hassle involved.