I just got finished with beating Riven for the first time. I adored the way the game seeped into my real life with pages of notes about the world I was discovering. Are there any other games that can match this feeling? That really work best when you have a journal in hand?
EverQuest - especially in the classic era (99-02) fit this for me. The quests were delivered through unsaved text interactions with no quest log type feature - epic weapon quests were notorious for requiring detailed notes, notably prior to any walkthrough websites being available. There were also no maps and players were compelled to draw their own for zones and dungeons. I filled multiple Franklin-Covey (sp?) leather journals during my adventures and look at them with much nostalgia.