Game Design Novice

This is a term request. We're making up a word for a concept in RPG games.

Here's the concept :

This area an RPG character / party can move around in based on his / their ability to combat monsters.

Example: A player starts the game at level 1, doesn't stop at any towns, and just keeps moving forward. How far does he get before the monsters wear him down to the point of death?

What do you think this concept should be called?

— hartnell

Hm… Explorable radius, maybe? Or survival range?

Those terms really outlined the concept. :)

How about…

Explorable Space: The total game space currently available to the player at one time based on doors, key item uses, puzzles, etc that are locked and unlocked. (See also ability key)

Survival Range: The farthest a character / party can travel before being killed in combat with monsters if the character / party doesn't regenerate itself at any towns.

What refinements can be made?

— hartnell

Survival tactics/skill: The spacific action planning an learning ability that is required to increase your survival time.

@glasses: What is an example of the use of survival tactics/skill?

— hartnell

is it how far can a character/party go before monsters get too strong to fight (as in distance)? i would call that "safety zone", or is it how long can a character/party go before monsters wear him/her/them down (as in time)? i would call that "survavility time" :P

For the Survival Range, I was thinking along the same lines as Daniela: to me, it's the zone the party can explore without running into monsters that are too hard for the party's current level. I have very fond memories (insert sarcastic tone here) of certain places in Star Ocean 3, where while exploring a perfectly safe area, you could stray just a teensy bit and get owned by monsters that were suddenly twice your level. -_-

The distance that the party can walk without staying at an Inn (or equivalent) doesn't only depend on your level, after all. It also depends on the play style: a item hoarder can stay alive way longer, for example; and someone who has mastered all the subtleties of the battle system, who knows the monsters well and has a good sense of strategy, will also survive for a long time without needing to rest. So that kind of "survival time" is a bit subjective to be defined clearly, in my humble opinion. :)