I would like it to be a continuous game, sort of like a saved game, but it does have a storyline. Here's a kind of example.
Player has a sword. They are low ability. They live in a town. They want to get to the other town. They walk through the forest in between. Variable: Sometimes they will be attacked, sometimes not. They can be attacked by different creatures.
They fight the creature. If they win, they get points. If they lose, they get 'warped' back to their town, and lose some points. They can move back and forth between towns when they want, moving through the forests and other such areas. Once they get a certain amount of points, they can move to other areas in the game.