Just want to interject with this: an exploration based game does NOT have to be open-world. Journey is very much about exploration (and wonder about new places) but it is strongly linear. It does not have to be a purely spatial thing either, I think. Exploring different crafting possibilities in MineCraft, or alternate…
Good exploration needs stories, lots of them. Something needs to happen when you find a new place to explore. The dungeons I most enjoy finding in Skyrim are the ones that have quests that only start when you find the place. For example, some of the dragon priest tombs initiate a quest when you arrive, like Forelhost or…
I agree with that,its the joy of discovery that makes exploration based games very appealing and fun for me.Its doesn't matter if its linear or open world,what matters is what's inside of those worlds,the experiences I have.Games like Botanicula or Machinarium though a generally linear experience is just fun for me to…
While story helps with exploration, I always loved games where the exploration told some sort of story just through the environment. Like you explore and see a giant crater in the ground. Rather than have some quest tell you what happend there I think it's fun to have a player explore and play detective to look for clues…