Create some mystery in the game

The perfect thing is something you'll never get, following suggestions were derived from that concept.

Basically, we can create some super cool areas, items, spells/ skills mentioned, or peek from somewhere in books/ scrolls, which is not accessible by players.

The purpose is to create some level of mystery in the game, to give the back players the "imaginary part".

You see, when things are in 2D or bad graphics in those days, some "advantage" which those games had and the latest games don't, is the player's imaginary part, and that's always perfect.

E.g.:
- Diablo I, if I remember correctly, there are cool spells you can find out by reading old scrolls or books, but you can't learn
- In Ultima 9 Ascension, Armageddon is also that kind of spell you don't get to use in the real game, just demonstrate in a cutscene.
- In a lot of 2D games, there are some areas you can see, but you can't reach: e.g. a platform that has some cool decorations, also some scenery in the open area, which add to the depth (if not authenticity) of the game.
- Duke Nukem demonstrate a lot of these techniques well, the unnecessary extra details (simple sprites in fact), and they "fake" it extremely well, just to make the game richer; Riven of course, is another gem.





Summary
So much of the conceptual, but where do we suppose to put them? One of the ways I can think of is ... use your limitation to your advantage, e.g.:

1. draw them in boundaries, and scenes that players can't explore, instead of drawing a wall (as a boundary), make a boundary with a logical purpose and put something interesting in the background.

2. For things that are expensive to bring into the game, we can do it "cheap" (in terms of rendering) and paint them in the place as we see fit.

3. For example, in our siege battles, I always felt like that was too little enemy and not very "happening" in the scene, can we extend those scenes by rendering millions of soldiers in the background (not accessible, refer Fig. 3.1.)?

4. In each "individual" scene (adventure area, town/ POT), can we give some "hints" in the far clip plane, which give players the sense of correlation between (roughly in terms of NSEW direction) other scenes, so that as if they are "one linked-up area".
- For instance, scenes around the SE beach area of the LongFall should be somehow able to see The Twins afar (refer Fig. 4.1, 4.2, 4.3);
- From Klin town, when players look west (near west boundary), they should be able to see the Blackblade mountains if not the Oracle Colossus afar (refer Fig. 4.4, 4.5, 4.6).

References:

- Figure 3.1. Diablo III - Act III - Battle happening below the stronghold


- Figure 4.1. Grumridge, The Twins on map


- Figure 4.2. Grumridge - Before


- Figure 4.3. Grumridge - After


- Figure 4.4. Kiln, Blackblade mountain, Oracle Colossus on map


- Figure 4.5. Kiln - Before


- Figure 4.6. Kiln - After