I have a suggestion on the map part of the game. When you start the game, instead of getting a map of the world, how about you only have the street you're on be visible on the map. Then, as you explore, each area you visit gets added. That way, there's some some sense of actually exploring.
I realize that the first few quests require visiting vendors, but perhaps you could give people the option of finding that vendor on their own, or asking the pet rock for directions.