RPG Design: Encounters as Boundaries
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Granted, most RPGs (even the older western RPGs, which seemed to take great glee in beating you to death with your own legs) make some effort to at least geographically separate content beyond your lackluster pay-grade. If nothing else, you had to survive part of level 2 before you could make your way down to the more dangerous level 3. But, typically, they weren't over-zealous in preventing you from going to level 3 until you'd proven yourself on level 2 first. They didn't prevent you from shooting yourself in the foot and making a race for the bottom of the dungeon if you felt so inclined.I really miss these "soft boundaries" in modern RPGs. Ultima, Wizardry, The Bard's Tale - they all had 'em. If you were able to conquer the denizens of a particular area early in the game (through strategy, stealth, or the occasional exploit), the reward was usually worth the effort.
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More powerful enemies in CRPGs are one example of a (sometimes frustrating) "soft boundary." The player isn't prevented from making a run into the deep end of the pool while still in the early stages of the game, but the difficulty of the encounters may convince her that it's more profitable to go back to an earlier area to pick up some quest threads. But the possibility of heading into more dangerous territory remains open ... maybe to make a mad dash to another town that sells more powerful equipment. Why not? In the past, these kinds of self-initiated quests have proven to be among the highlights of several games I've played.
