Because of processes of globalization and advancement in geographic research, the earth seems to get smaller. One consequence of this is that there is less and less territory to explore, and almost all land had been explored by somebody at some point in history. The final blow was delivered by Google earth, mapping out everything that could be hidden from the eye. I’ve already discussed this process in my paper Geographic demystification and the death of the explorer (Ghys, 2008).

Now let’s talk about games ;)

Exploring has always been an important aspect of MMORPG’s. You use you avatar you explore the new world ‘that awaits you’, you keep hunting new frontiers, chasing the horizon for adventure. Seeking the unknown, looking in caves, jungles, deserts for treasure. All of this in a new world, different from the real one that’s being watched by Google earth. To put it short: MMORPG’s offer you a world to explore for yourself, an experience of exploration.

There are 2 important factors for this:

The way the world that can be explored looks. There must be interesting places, just to name a few things: waterfalls, open deserts, woods, far sights and exotic locations. Much of this depends on the level design, but also the overall graphic design plays a role. On the other hand you got the raw quality of graphics. Like for example WoW (design) vs. RF online (Pretty good graphics).

But – for me – more interesting is the way in which games structure the orientation of exploring, in other words: the maps. In some games you have got a detailed map of all areas and you actually can see it all from the start. In some games you can buy detailed maps from NPC’s (like my favourite Chooties in RF online). But in some games, you have to ‘grow’ your own maps.
I’m talking about Guildwars: In guild wars, you have a very rough map showing you at best the scale of the continent you stand on, but very little other info. However, when you go places, they become visible in great detail on your map. This means you will have to explore in order to be able to orientate as an explorer (and nobody else can do it for you). This is a BRILLIANT system to encourage exploration and make the exploration experience more intense.

If all games would have the Guildwars system, we could all live up to our desires to explore J