Would you describe the Ultima(and similar) games as a 'hexcrawl'?

[rusty_shackleford]

Ignoring for a moment that it is not hexagons but squares, so, squarecrawl



If not, what terminology would you use to describe this abstracted, layered worldmap exploration?

[Norfleet]

Honestly, I consider these the early versions of open world games that would eventually bring us to things like Morrowind and Skyrim. Sure, the resolution is much lower and you can thus only move in visibly discrete squares, but the core elements of blundering around largely undirectedly on an open map are all there.

[Kalarion]

Ignoring for a moment that it is not hexagons but squares, so, squarecrawl



If not, what terminology would you use to describe this abstracted, layered worldmap exploration?

It depends. What were things like this called?
Barbarian Prince

Whatever genre games like Barbarian Prince belonged to for tabletop, is what the early Ultimas and even more closely something like Tunnels & Trolls, belong to for computers.

[Tangerine]

They're called JRPGs now.

[Tweed]

Ignoring for a moment that it is not hexagons but squares, so, squarecrawl



If not, what terminology would you use to describe this abstracted, layered worldmap exploration?

This is never going to be finished.

[Cedric]

The only game I'd consider a true blue hexcrawl if Baldur's Gate 1 and, arguably, RoA 1 and 2 - but not really. In the end I'm only comfortable applying that label to BG 1. IMO the perfect ratio of beautiful wilderness dotted with a range of interesting to mundane encounters. Real feeling of exploration.

So why not really RoA 1&2 even though they emphasize travel and resource management? Well it feels less.... hexy. The areas in BG 1 might as well be hexes.

[Algol]

AFAIK, there are such things as square-paper(?) hexcrawls. Technically when your little man/character journeys forth towards a town/dungeon/whatever, consuming food on the way there, etc, it's very similar to a hexcrawl.