The more remote the location the higher the difficulty of the game. The further away the location is from the center of civilization the greater variety of monsters; size and shape. This makes sense because as a civilization, they would not allow such 'dangerous beasts' to be so close. So, on a timeline, the enemies 'monsters' grow at the same speed the character progresses through the story. The final battle is usually as far away from, geographically, home as possible.
The character must pass through a linear story arc without constraining the player to a set path and cliche resolutions. Free roaming is the key and also the solution. If we allow the player to move both forwards and backwards through the levels (via a complex system of rewards and punishments) on his or her OWN time, then we have solved the problem of game-length: The more the player has to 'retrace his steps', the longer it takes the player to beat the game.
The Next Problem (from here on out will be known only as NP) is the games' ability to remain interesting. I say remain interesting because the market is flooded with games that have shiny covers and look excellent on the commercials, when, in fact, they are garbaggio. To make the game interesting all the time, one of two things must happen: 1) something in the game, let it be landscape, characters, action sequences... must be appealing and changing all the time to avoid repetition and eventually boredom. 2) The combat/action sequencing must be fun! If there exists a level of complexity with the award/level system alongside some basic interaction than the game is bound to be interesting.. all that must fill the games is a half-way decent story arc and no trash-talkin' dialogue.. bon, oui?
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