Linear Games

[The Iron Ninja]

What i said

What's wrong with that ? did it ever prevent you from playing Sonic YET AGAIN ? or Super Mario ? or Mega Man ? or ZELDA ?

It's just another new form of nitpicking from people who got spoiled by the abuse of "freedom" and "branching storylines". Everybody and their dog started to make games when YOUR decisions were important, where YOU were in CONTROL (yet another fallacy), and people assumed it was the new black, and the new norm, just like Halo ruined their shield concept by making it Wolverine-type health, and now people have almost forgotten about games with life gauges...

In the end, linearity is not a problem, as long as it's not sold as "vast, freeroaming world with CHOICES", but choices are just a list of fetch quests.

Yeah, I was talking about games like Eternal Sonata. It follows a rigid storyline and there is nothing to do in the way of side quests, you just follow the same route through doing exactly the same thing, if you don't then the game doesn't progress at all.
The difference with those games you mentioned is that although they do have a good story, it can easily take a back seat to the gameplay, somehow games these days can have solid storylines yet lack in the gameplay department, a little open endedness should hopefully give more opportunitues to travel off the beaten path and have fun. Rather than just fight the generic slime monster number 217 on your way to beat the evil baddy while the exact same plot twists happen and you pretend to be suprised. (also Eternal Sonata's creators for some reason thought having a water temple would be a good idea)

What would be awesome is a game where the characters know what's going to happen once you play through it once, and it changes as they try to avoid the bad things that happened the first time through.

 

[Cyclomega]

Iron Ninja : Now that's a creative idea, there has been self-referential humour (see the intro tutorial of Rayman 3 or Crash Twinsanity), but this would be fun.*

I did not play Eternal Sonata yet, even though I'd like to, but it's true that game developers have seemingly lost something in the process or pumping steroids into the games...
I could play GoldenEye at least a hundred times and not care about linearity (never deterred me from replaying doom, or duke3D, hell I even played Discworld 6 times and Full Throttle 10, yet it's incredibly linear), I even like that in Perfect Dark Zero, as it's a straightforward game. Max Payne is linear and repetitive, but it's also awesome...

I wonder why making a video game seems to turn into a struggle between writers and coders, and in the end no one is able to strike a satisfactory deal...
I mean, the more I see it, the more I have the feeling you have pretentious scenarists wanking each other over their "so beautiful and insightful story" (read half of the time clichéed and borderline emo, or clichéed and borderline tasteless), and coders obsessed with tricks, skill and pro-gaming tourney feats, and they're bickering over who'll get favoured by the producer instead of working in teams...


*On a side note about referential humour, Psycho Mantis's act in MGS4 was hilarious, not being able to scan any memory card nor use the vibration function, and then snap, I lol'd hard, and I usually hate MGS...

 

[stompy]

I don't get it myself. I quite like linearity in games, since it means the game can focus on tighter narrative and gameplay.

 

[TheDean]

Linear games can be just as good as non-linear games, it depends on the specific game. FOr example, Oblivion would suck if 'twas linear, whereas Crash Bandicot is linear and is one of my faourite games.

 

[Knight Templar]

Replay value.

 

[insectoid]

Linear games aren't bad (when it's done right), but I think alot of people don't like them because more freedom generally gives replay value, and the feeling that the player is actually shaping the world/story which they are playing.

 

[karn3]

I have absolutly no problems with linear games, so long as they are executed well. A great example is the half life series. Brillienat linear gameplay, in fact about as linear as you can get.

 

[JaguarWong]

Apparently Heavy Rain is going to take non-linearity and run with it. No, scratch that, it takes non-linearity hostage and drives to Mexico. I may be wrong, but it might be the first game where death - as in, the physical death of the character you are controlling - is not a game over, but just another deciding factor on the plot.

There was a game called Michigan on the PS2 where the central characters death did not result in the end of the game.
It wasn't very good though, perhaps Heavy rain will fair better.

 

[Cyclomega]

Michigan had fun ideas, but was plagued by bugs, glitches and bad writing/controls :/

 

[Vortigar]

So I tried to think up some non-linear games...

VF4 and later with their arcade system (want to go for items or money or rank first? Want to beat everyone at the hardest arcade first?).

GTA2 was non-linear apart from the three cities following each other in order.

Non-linear with an actual storyline?

Uhm, yeah...

Really, 99% of all games out there are linear, hating on linearity is bull.

edit:
Fallout, Baldur's Gate, Oblivion, Vampire Bloodlines et al are non-linear apart from the main storyline.

 

[L.B. Jeffries]

Replay value.

I'll agree with that, but only in the sense that I think linear games should be cheaper than larger, broader ones. If a linear game is only going to last 6 hours, it should cost an appropriate amount. 25 bucks or 15 pounds or whatever. Instead developers just make everything cost the same amount (to cover their development costs) and I end up feeling ripped off because the game isn't worth that in terms of time.

 

[51gunner]

Nothing wrong with a linear game. Take story ---> play story. It's harder to have a good story told right when you have non-linear gameplay; you can't take 'the' character, just 'a' character.

Non-linear games can't tell a story quite as well in my experience, the software simply can't keep up to a malevolent human mind. For example, it breaks the immersion somewhat in Oblivion knowing that I can just never go save Martin from Kvatch, and everything will still be okay.

I wouldn't say that linear games aren't replayable either, I replay Half-Life 2 Episode 2 alot for the Antlion fight right in the beginning mines.

 

[Cyclomega]

There are strange things in some non-linear games... Such as in Baldur's Gate, there is no possible witness at all, you kill someone, BAM (THAT'S OXY-CLEAN !!!!!11one) the whole wide world knows it and scorns you... What the hell does that mean at all ?

 

[titus_barca]

I can enjoy both linear and non linear games, but it really ticks me off when you have a linear game which doesn't make sense... where you're doing something you don't want to, because it doesn't feel right for the character. Perfect example: The Force Unleashed.
I think having a story where you can be evil is fine, as long as you're given a choice. I mean, when the main character is in the sorta grey-ish area, it's a bit hard to see him doing certain things, it's not like he eats babies for breakfast or something.
But apart from when I have that feeling linear games are fine for me, as long as the story fits.

 

[x434343]

Well, if a game is too linear, change HOW you play it. HL2 Crowbar Challenge. Crysis with a pistol. CoD4 with a shotty. Ect.

 

[The_Spirit_of_Epic]

hey, i like linear gameplay. i get lost with open ended gaming, like oblivian. (im not saying Oblivian is bad)i like it when someone says 'go here' or a small pile of rubble that i cant get over. i have no probelm of that.

 

[Bellvedere]

I like linear games personally. I don't think I've ever replayed an entire game... Just reloaded at parts I liked. I get bored with non-linear games. I remember I played Oblivion for a bit and after about an hour I couldn't be bothered with the exploring and just completed the main quest and never touched it again. To this day my character is level 4.

And the choice is just an illusion. All you can choose it to be every npcs ***** or a murdering pychopath. At least with linear plots the character you play has some depth.

 

[Syphonz]

Well, if a game is too linear, change HOW you play it. HL2 Crowbar Challenge. Crysis with a pistol. CoD4 with a shotty. Ect.

This is what i do normally. Gives a great challenge, and satisfaction when you do them.

I recently just played through Uncharted only using handguns. Hard as fuck but well worth the trouble.

 

[-Seraph-]

I have no problem with linearity. I see linearity in the same way I see repetitiveness, in 2 ways: good and bad. There is good linearity, like in an RPG that sets out to tell a story and presents it in a fashion that does not make things boring or stagnant. Then there is bad linearity where the game does not give you freedom where freedom is due, where it's just plain boring doing what you are doing and the game decides to keep dragging you along when there is so much opportunity for the developers to have put in some sort of side mission or diversion. I like linearity and non-linearity where they work. I quite hate the illusion of choice in an RPG when it amounts to nothing in the end and gives you the same result. There is no affecting choice when a story is to be told nor should there be any or the story riskes becoming skewed and has unnecessary things tacked on.

In a sense, majority of games are linear if not all excluding obvious ones like GTA. What makes them not feel linear is the illusion of freedom that is given to the player which can give a sense of satisfaction, and THAT is what good linearity amounts to.