Tips and Tricks on Promoting Exploration

[magic2345 252]

So I was thinking, what do you guys usually do to promote exploration? Or if you don't promote it, the reason.

 

This started out as a status update so I've only got a few ways/tips/tricks.

 

- I've seen in a lot of games. They usually put chests and goodies in visible but hard-to-reach places, either by having an obstacle in between (Pokemon and their ledges) or having puzzles. Oh, there are also those chests that you can't get to yet because you need some story item/skill to bypass the obstacle.

 

- Having NPCs give out rumors about treasure. -The_Albino

 

- Leave routes that looked 'walked'. Its not the road the player is clearly meant to take but something has encouraged enough trips by others to leave that abrasion... -Tarq

 

So yeah, what do you guys usually do?

[Tarq 746]

Quoted like some fancyman writer

 

I think the most important thing with 'promoting' any sort of gameplay is to condition the player early:

-If there's stuff to be found in destroyable objects then put some in the way of the player. Literally. Make it so the player can't walk further without opening and retrieving dem goodies. If they don't smash every future vase I'll eat my own hat.  

-If you place an optional out-of-the-way route make sure this first instance is clearly visible, is clearly not the 'correct' route and has a really good reward, like a weapon that's better than the next three they'll encounter by traditional means. That'll leave a mark trust me.

-If you are going to place a lock and key 'puzzle' (ie. need x item/skill/level/whatever to open) make it visually impressive. No, really, leave an impression on the player so they remember to return.

 

You can get a bit more interesting with rewards like shortcuts for future speedruns but the best way to encourage any sort of playstyle is just to make it clear that it'll be worth the players effort and the opening is when they'll be most attentive.

[lonequeso 1,921]

Ditto to the above. Having additional areas outdide of the main story works well. Places thexplayer doesn't have to explore on the world map, but give reawrds and/or extra content about the characrers or the world. Having sidequests that send the player to such places promotes it further.

 

Hidden areas in general work well. I've played many games where early on they're pretty obvious and easy to find. As the game goes on, they gradually get harder to find.

[magic2345 252]

Say what Tarq? You're the fanciest of any of us here!

 

Conditioning and hidden places, huh...that's a pretty interesting thought. Hmm....

 

In Star Ocean...3, I think. They actually have a map that starts out dark (fog of war) until the player reveals it. Now, this is the weird thing about it. There's a thing called "Map Completion". There's a gauge/bar/percentage that goes up the more the player reveals the map. When it gets to 100%, the player gets a reward.

 

I....sort of doubt if the mechanic's good/fun though. When I was playing it, it was really really tedious. Especially because you'd have to walk along the edges of the whole map for that 0.5 % percentages. Not sure if that was intentional or a bug, but it was really annoying to do.

 

In other games, there's also a tool/key item that can be used on a map. It then says how many treasures the player haven't discovered yet. Again, I'm not sure if this is the way to go if you want to promote exploration. Feels kinda...artificial.

[lonequeso 1,921]

 

  

In Star Ocean...3, I think. They actually have a map that starts out dark (fog of war) until the player reveals it. Now, this is the weird thing about it. There's a thing called "Map Completion". There's a gauge/bar/percentage that goes up the more the player reveals the map. When it gets to 100%, the player gets a reward.

 I played a game like that. Tales of Vesperia. There was no in-game reward for it. It was an achievement for your Gamerscore. Late in the game, you get an airship so it's not too difficult of you wait. However, if you miss a tiny section, it can be hard to see on the world map so it can potentially be frustrating. It's an okay little extra goal, I suppose. That's, of course, if you're into Achievements in games.

[Phil-S 18]

I'm using a quasi-item system to promote return to explored areas that had inaccessible areas to them, and with the use of new items acquired, the player can return to these areas and explore these areas. There are also more general ways like plenty of treasure chests to uncover, which is always fun. I also like mentioning rumors from NPCs like you noted of special areas in the world.

[Lord Vectra 414]

I promote exploration by respawning enemies (i might do chests too). The time i hav set for respawning is one hour (real life time). And exploring is the only way to find Legendary weapons and armors. Its also the only away to aquire pieces of an equipment set.

 

So... yeah. Thats how I do it.

[KaisoAri 78]

Perhaps you can have certain areas blocked off to already explored areas until you trigger some kind of switch to make it available and provide the player with an optional area boss for either a quest or for an extra challenge for some rewards. I haven't seen a lot of games do this, but it may be a good thing to add especially if you want some post game content where the player can push their limits and fight the hardest bosses or enemies.

[2BitsLP 21]

Exploration is one of my favorite things in games. Some things I'm doing in my game are rewarding the player different ways through exploration with EXP, treasure, bonus scenes... I purposely make one or two chests now and then difficult to reach, but fairly rewarding. The best thing I think you can do is make your NPCs interesting and your maps visually interesting. Make people want to explore, you know?

[Rezanta 373]

Well, something many hardcore players like that I do is throw in a ton of difficult areas, bosses, and challenges that make the story line seem like a small scratch to what to game truly can offer. :3 that, and possibly using cameos.