On Exploration

Anorgil

New member
Mar 24, 2004
16
0
0
Javarino said:
Finally! Someone mentions Metroid Prime in a positive light! That game was awesome. (and series; I only own the third one, sorry) The way Yahtzee kept mentioning Nintendo knocking off games like Metroid I got the feeling he didn't like them.(Sorry people, but Other M looks like a load of bullshit to me. My god does it look horrible!) Anyways, I love exploration, especially when a game manages to mix tension, mood, and a sense of discovery into the mix. Great job Yahtzee.

...I miss you Metroid Prime...
Yahtzee hasn't said that much about the Metroid series in general, but it doesn't surprise me that he has good things to say about Metroid Prime. Back in the "Turok" review, he presented Metroid Prime 1 as an example (or should I say, THE example) of a good console FPS.
 

Izzyisme

New member
May 18, 2010
31
0
0
The indie game scene is full of awesome exploration-centered platformers. I'm glad that Yatzhee brought up Knytt. Other great games in the same vein include Cave Story and Lyle in Cube Sector.
 

ZippyDSMlee

New member
Sep 1, 2007
3,959
0
0
Exploration= time and effort, thus its been cut back to not get in the way of shoveling slop to the witless masses.
 

Javarino

New member
Mar 15, 2010
48
0
0
Yahtzee hasn't said that much about the Metroid series in general, but it doesn't surprise me that he has good things to say about Metroid Prime. Back in the "Turok" review, he presented Metroid Prime 1 as an example (or should I say, THE example) of a good console FPS.[/quote]

Sweet. I dare you to say otherwise
 

Kris015

Some kind of Monster
Feb 21, 2009
1,810
0
0
I think Shadow of the Colossus just might be the best PS2 game out there.
 

Samus Aaron

New member
Apr 3, 2010
364
0
0
Yahtzee, I think you and I are going to love "Journey" for the PS3. Talk about open world and exploration, that game looks amazing (especially since you already expressed your dislike for realistic graphics when you talked about LOZ: Wind Waker)
 

Callate

New member
Dec 5, 2008
5,118
0
0
Hrm. I like exploration to the extent that there's something interesting to see when you explore and the game doesn't seem to punish you for doing so. Back in days of yore, Daggerfall (you, know, that game before Morrowind?) bragged that it had twice as much land mass as Great Britain to explore, but a lot of it was a pain in the neck to get through (particularly mountains, given the semi-broken climbing mechanic), much of it was dull and "samey", and all of it was delightfully likely to get you randomly attacked for having the audacity not to use Fast Travel.

Games that genuinely make exploration rewarding require two things game developers tend to hate: creating interesting content that a significant portion of the audience will never see, and not forcing the player to actively engage every x minutes (usually through conflict) but rather take things at their own pace and thus risk the possibility that part of the audience may get bored and put the whole thing aside. Until someone comes up with a clever way around these two factors, I suspect mainstream games that make exploration for exploration's sake feel rewarding are going to remain a tiny minority.
 

beema

New member
Aug 19, 2009
944
0
0
I must agree, exploration can be a very important, but often misused or underused part of gameplay. It's certainly something that lets me enjoy a game more.
I feel in so many games lately a sense of faux-exploration. Small tangets off a linear path that are only there so you can collect all the extra "hidden" coins to upgrade your gun or get an achievement. I experienced this in several FPS games recently, and eventually found myself spinning the mouse around in every nook and cranny just to collect useless shit. It all felt much to dull and mechanical.
 

baba44713

New member
Sep 25, 2008
36
0
0
Personally, I love games that have the exploration element. But lately for that you really need to dig around for oldies, like Mario 64 and Banjoo&Kazooie for N64, or the mentioned Metroid series.

One exploration/boss-fights indie platformer that enormeously appealed to me was "Untitled Story", by Matt from Mattmakesgames. Google it up if you like Metroid or Cave Story, you won't be disappointed. As for major, commercial releases, I yet have to see one that does this thing well.
 

VJZ4life

New member
Jul 28, 2010
4
0
0
Exploration can be a great way to keep games interesting and fun for longer times then just a single playthrough. However When a actually very linear game tries to include exploration by making/letting you look for collectibles which are hidden under some rock.

A game that springs to mind is Assasins creed, it is very linear in its story and activities you must preform. But it has an immense world with collectibles which serve no point other then to look nice and grind through.

And as said before some of the older 3D adventure games (Banjo&kazooie, Mario64) had a very fun exploration element which served a point. you could get useful items and such to help you in the main quest.
 

FlameUnquenchable

New member
Apr 27, 2010
173
0
0
AgentNein said:
MasterV said:
Exploration is a good thing, but only if the world is worth exploring. Wind Waker and SotC are the perfect examples of a world not worth exploring imho. Empty, bland with next to nothing in rewards.
The whole point is that SoTC is about exploring. Not exploring to find new items, or cool shit to add to your weapons, but just simply exploring. It's not a means to an end, it IS the end. If you need to find cool shit to warrant exploration, than you don't like exploring, you like cool shit.
I don't believe this to be entirely accurate. I like to explore and just take in the world sometimes, but what makes that exploration really feel like I've accomplished something, is when I find something nifty, a new enemy to fight, something that seems 'secret'. Really that's what exploration is about, finding out the secrets of the world you're playing through. Exploration seems quite empty when it's only scenery and nothing more. A good balance between exploration and reward for that exploration is what is needed. You want an expansive world, but you also want that shining nugget hidden away somewhere that entices people to explore all over to see if there is another little 'mystery' out there to find.

Those things don't have to be game breaking, or even be loot. Sometimes just fighting a new type of moster, or a different type of challenge that alters the world or gameplay somehow is enough. Maybe its a dungeon that turns the shy ashen when you beat the boss, or you direct a lava flow onto some small village that causes problems. Possibly it gives you a key that unlocks a new sidestory for flavor of the world, etc. I mean it can make the world deeper without being powerup X, potion Y and weapon Z.
 

Squilookle

New member
Nov 6, 2008
3,584
0
0
That's what I liked about Operation Flashpoint. You have a map and opjectives, but also end up using your compass a lot, and always referring to spotted enemies using the clock hours to point out direction. It really felt like orienteering with guns, which naturally makes orienteering actually fun for a change.
 

Truehare

New member
Nov 2, 2009
269
0
0
Running the risk of sounding like a broken record, I would like to recomend Gothic 1 & 2, as well as Risen, to Yahtzee and anyone else who likes exploring a beliavable world. The feeling of "being there" I got from SotC was very much like the one I got from those games.
 

JMeganSnow

New member
Aug 27, 2008
1,591
0
0
I'm also a big fan of exploration in games, which is why I really hate the random encounters in Bethesda's Elder Scrolls games and in Fallout 3. The landscape is FULL of interesting things to find and look at and I really don't need yet another pointless giant scorpion every 15 feet to keep me occupied. REALLY.
 

XxaxX

New member
Sep 28, 2010
3
0
0
As someone who does exploration for a living (i am a field geologist) i found shadow of the colossus's gameplay to be a double sided gold fucking coin, and one of the only games that not only made me want to explore and see what was around the next corner but also made it rewarding to do so by putting pure beautiful landscapes and vistas around those corners for me to find gleefully.
Also it is one of the only games to have a world with convincing geologic traits
 

AetherWolf

New member
Jan 1, 2011
671
0
0
The only thing I disliked about Shadow of the Colossus (apart from frame rates which will hopefully be fixed in the PS3 release) was the setting. How damn barren and empty the place is. It just feels like... something needs to be there. I'm not talking about stuff to fight or little treasure chests to find, mind you. More greenery, more wildlife perhaps? Just to make the place feel less like a wasteland.

Of course, this is entirely subjective, since a lot of people think that the emptiness adds to the game. And it's also likely my love of scenery porn, which any game that has it keeps me hooked. (I spend hours in a lot of games just admiring the landscapes... often getting attacked by stuff in the process)
 

sleepylagoon

New member
Mar 6, 2012
1
0
0
Was looking to recover the spirit of exploration and found this thread.
Does anyone remember Outcast from 1999? That game demanded every minute of my time until it was finished. It was the closest to a living breathing world I have seen. Alien people running errands. I followed NPC's around (or used the x-ray viewer) to see what they would do. Sure it was usually just walk in a circuit, but you never knew. New language, new animals, new world.
There were items scattered all over, but mostly I just wandered to satisfy my curiosity. Weird experimental voxel graphics with a max of 512 x ?, strange inside jokes from Belgium, and totally amazing.
Wish I could play it again. Have to dig up the disks.