The Waystation is a game I was working on that was all about exploration. The idea was that the player would come upon a series of alternate worlds, all that had suffered various disasters. The player would then spend their time making then livable once more. For instance the starting area would be a desert, so the player would fix the irrigation, plant flora, etc. Another might be overgrown with dangerous plants and the player would deal with those by clearing out areas, constructing pathways and repairing overgrown buildings. Each world would require a new solution, and when the player wanted to return, they would come back to this home area which they could use resources to slowly fix up, upgrade and build new buildings. It would be a visual way to show your progress throughout the game. There's a lot of Animal Crossing in this, cause I do love that game. Only with more of a Moebius/Sci-Fi feel to it, and instead of building a new bandstand, you're fixing up worlds.