I Want An Exploration Game 2020-10-03

There are lots of computerized games. There are not very many exploration games. When I say "exploration game" I mean a game for which the goal is mostly to look at it rather than kill stuff. Don't get me wrong, I like some "kill stuff" games, and I realize that those kinds of games fit well in to the psychological human need to locate conflict, respond to it, and get some reward for making the correct response decision. It's just that sometimes I wish games were more about experience than domination and reward. Part of why I like Guild Wars [clearly a kill stuff game] is because it has a pretty rich landscape and a comprehensive quest list that encourages players to go visit a wide array of geographically [within the game] diverse areas. It feels like I am traveling to other places and it feels like I am experiencing more than just aggro, shutdown bosses, attack casters, attack melee, pickup loot, repeat.

Occasionaly I look for a game that can replace Guild Wars, because I know that one day Arenanet will consider it financially dead and they'll turn off the servers. They did it to Dungeon Runners and I suspect they'll do it to Guild Wars. They won't release the source code and they won't release the database of players, and everything [in the game] will be gone forever. That sucks.

Once Upon A Time In The West.

Kind of recently I came across a [sort of] review of Fortnite Battle Royale. It looks like it has a lot of the things I would like in a game. The scenery looks great, and it looks as though there is a style of play that has no combat and is intended to simply be a place to hang out. I imagine the world is pretty large, and it would probably attract the kind of player who isn't all that interested in slaying stuff. I think that is a fancy way of saying "fewer teenage boys". The other games made by the same company seem to be superhero games which I have no interest in, but this one looks like it could be worth playing. Except...

It is not possible to run your own server. At least I don't see a way to. So when they decide it is no longer financially viable, it'll find itself in the same place as Dungeon Runners. What I would really like is a game that doesn't boil down to killing stuff repeatedly and that can't be taken away from me when some corporation decides it isn't worth running anymore. I still have a Minetest server setup but I don't play it much. Nobody else wants to join me in there and nobody wants to take the time to tell me what is missing to make it better. Does anyone know of a game that might work for me? Seriously, I'd love to hear any suggestions!