Freedom: the Careful, Partial Restriction Thereof

And the other novel idea? It put six walls around you. And that changed everything. The feel of freedom, flying in any direction feels completely different when totally unrestricted in space than in a cramped tunnel system. Actually, Descent 3 opened up a little with brief outdoor segments, but you couldn't just fly off into space there, so it wasn't really outdoor.

Giving the player roughly the controls of a space combat sim, but setting it indoors was a restriction on freedom of movement that worked to their advantage, creating a series with a wholly unique feel. The same can be said for the other examples: clever restrictions--but not complete eliminations--of overall freedom in gameplay that enhance our experience with the game significantly.

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