Why do people like "exploration" or "maze" games?

i know what you mean opa2. to me its an artificial way to extend a games length. the temples in ff10 immediately spring to mind.

Here are some quotes from a game designer that illustrate why some people, including myself, enjoy exploration in games.

"When I was a child, I went hiking and found a lake. It was quite a surprise for me to stumble upon it. When I traveled around the country without a map, trying to find my way, stumbling on amazing things as I went, I realized how it felt to go on an adventure like this."

"Perhaps it is a doorway to another place. If you choose to go inside you might find many unexpected things."

This is mainly why I'm not too big of a fan of the Metroids/Castlevanias.

If you like your gaming to be mindless, the, yes, I understand why you don't like exploration-based gaming.

I like Tomb Raider :)

Yes, forced back-tracking sucks. However, I like exploring when there's either some cool to see or something cool to obtain from it.

I'm with Chakan, forced backtracking (RARE) does indeed suck.

hunting down the enemy in the maze and then blast them to smitheriens with my super dupper mega blast cannon !!! :D


wii first post :P

Quote:

---

Originally posted by burgundy
If you like your gaming to be mindless, the, yes, I understand why you don't like exploration-based gaming.

---

See, I don't see how exploration has anything to do with intelligence or depth in gaming. It's not like the exploration in Metroid or one of Rare's games often requires any sort of deductive or analytical ability - the placement of the items you're searching for doesn't fit any sort of internal logic often enough for deductive ability to be useful. More often than not, you spend a lot of time moving back and forth (in my experience) until you stumble upon that last Golden Twinkie or Ice Ray upgrade or whatever.

Good graphical adventures (Day of the Tentacle or Sam and Max) are the only exploration-heavy games I can think of that maintain (and necessitate) enough of a sense of internal logic to NOT be mindless.

The quick thinking involved in reflex-based games, or the thinking involved in understanding a gameplay system, so on, seem to force a person to flex their intelligence more regularly than exploration-based gaming.

Actually, I'd argue that the reason people like exploration games is exactly because they're mindless. A game like Metroid gives you the excitement of seeing new things and enveloping yourself in a character without forcing you to have to deal with challenges like hard combat or difficult platforming. You can shut your brain off, and be sort of placated by easily destroyable enemies and easily makeable jumps, while you wander around an engrossing environment. It's a lot like a RPG, really, but the illusion of gameplay is stronger.

I dont mind exploring games as long as the stuff you find makes sense or is usefull. Kinda Like the Metroids.

The games I HATE are like Banjo and shit where you search all over the fucking place for gay little items that really dont impove your gameplay or fun.


Metroid games you get new weapons and shit all the time. Its great. And the occasional additional missile and life packs. That crap is good. Finding random fruit is GAY.