Zork was one of the first interactive fiction games ever created back in 1979, utilizing only text and the user's imagination to create the experience of a fantasy world adventure. While many gamers today find this formula to be either confusing, bland, or both, I myself enjoyed the manner in which the game created the 'space' by appealing to the player's imagination, partly like a 'Choose Your Own Adventure' book. Space is simulated by way of placing the player in the middle of a forest initially, describing his surroundings briefly and stating any objects or sights of interest. Most exits are conveniently listed as well as either north, east, west, south-southwest, up, etc. While some sort of map feature would be incredibly helpful, players of Zork must memorize the path they take in order to effectively backtrack their routes. Attempting to perform actions that are not recognized by the game's library of responses gives the player a message from the computer that such a action is not possible or appropriate. In the numerous rooms and spaces, events often take place to either reward or surprise the player such as a fighter troll emerging to battle, or a important trinket appears. It is in the form of these rewards and events, along with the player's curiousity, that they are driven to thoroughly explore their surroundings.

The game Myst was a graphical step up from text-based games such as Zork, althought the gameplay itself was based more around puzzles and exploration than the more flexible actions of Zork. Movement was similar to Zork in that the player basically moved either left, right, up, down, foward, and back from the current position, although exits and items of interest are significantly more noticeable now that the gamer can actually see his environment. Moving around is accomplished by way of clicking on the edges of the screen where the player wants to turn, or move foward. Convenient as this seems, the entire game still feels as though the designers intended for Myst to be something of a guided tour due to the rigid paths that the player stays on, even though exploring a room can be more detailed compared to the simple 'examine' command in Zork. Virtual space in this game is created to be vast for exploring, as the player first begins on a large island from where he or she may access other 'worlds' by way of books scattered around. While traveling through book images may seem unrealistic, Myst uses this device to add even more space to the world while making the initial island the 'home base', where the game will eventually reach its climax and end. Sound also plays a big part in immersing the player into the virtual space, simply by adding birds singing, the clanking of machinery, or even gusts of wind. The worlds in Myst are places of great interest due to the nature of their layout and design, with colorful and intriguing artwork and images scattered throughout the game.

Grand Theft Auto:San Andreas is the latest step in the evolution of 'free-roaming' games, having the bragging rights to claim that the entire city of Los Angeles has been replicated within this game for the player to explore. This is mostly the case however, as Rockstar has recreated most of Los Angeles into the game as the virtual space that the player moves around in. Unlike both Myst and Zork however, the player is allowed to move almost anywhere they want to go within the city, whether its by driving, swimming, or flying. A map is included to tell the player where in the city they are, and names of the various neighborhoods and districts will appear. The experience that players expect to find through the game comes in the form of numerous missions, most of which advance the storyline as well as reward them in several aspects. The vast and colorful nature of the city also appeals to the player to explore outside of the story-driven missions, either for various mini-games or hidden secrets throughout the game. However, the virtual space created might even be too big compared to its predecessors, making long trips tedious making it easy for the player to get lost among the winding, confused mess that makes up the Los Angeles transit system.