Poll: Your opinion: Linear or Open World gaming

[ManInRed]

I didn't really get the complaints about linearity from FFXIII. They were all pretty linear. XIII was just more blatant about it. And it lacked airships and the overworld map. We haven't really had those since FFIX, though.

I think the problem is FFXIII dungeons are all straight lines, with little icons on the maps pointing the direction to go in. There's only one area that is an exception. It's one thing to have a straight line to dungeon to dungeon, but linear dungeons really aren't dungeons at all.

 

[DexterNorgam]

I didn't really get the complaints about linearity from FFXIII. They were all pretty linear. XIII was just more blatant about it. And it lacked airships and the overworld map. We haven't really had those since FFIX, though.

I think the problem is FFXIII dungeons are all straight lines, with little icons on the maps pointing the direction to go in. There's only one area that is an exception. It's one thing to have a straight line to dungeon to dungeon, but linear dungeons really aren't dungeons at all.

Heh, excepting dungeons that made you go in circles, what dungeon ISNT linear?? Unless you're saying that any of the old school 8bit dungeons made you so happy when they dead-ended you so you could find the single linear path through it...

 

[Defense]

I prefer linear games for the most part. I find it hard to stay focused on a game if there's any other point to playing it other than having fun.

FPS linearity can go die in a fire though. I don't like Daggerfall sized worlds, but I'd kill for getting offered a few different paths every once in a while.

I didn't really get the complaints about linearity from FFXIII. They were all pretty linear. XIII was just more blatant about it. And it lacked airships and the overworld map. We haven't really had those since FFIX, though.

I think the problem is FFXIII dungeons are all straight lines, with little icons on the maps pointing the direction to go in. There's only one area that is an exception. It's one thing to have a straight line to dungeon to dungeon, but linear dungeons really aren't dungeons at all.

I don't get why they're called dungeons(since every single area had monsters), but in defense of Final Fantasy XIII the linearity actually made sense when looking at the story.

 

[ManInRed]

Heh, excepting dungeons that made you go in circles, what dungeon ISNT linear?? Unless you're saying that any of the old school 8bit dungeons made you so happy when they dead-ended you so you could find the single linear path through it...

Any dungeon that doesn't follow a straight line would be a nice start. An actual maze would be nice, but really I'm just talking about always having multiple paths where several need to be follow to complete the dungeon. A dead end is just a dead end until you find a switch or key in another room.

Some of the games with better dungeons have puzzle rooms, tools for over coming previous seen obstacles, dead ends with worth while treasures, a multiply floor dungeon where you need to drop back down to access secret paths, or a dungeon where every room shifts location as you move through it.

The last RPG I played had one section of the dungeon where there were 4 drop down entrances to a maze with invisible walls and 4 possible exits that were all visible. Turns out the only one of those exits that appeared to be a dead end, had a side wall you could walk through. If you went through other areas of the maze you would get additional clues about this false wall, as well as useful treasures. I would call that a non-linear dungeon.

 

[Saltyk]

I didn't really get the complaints about linearity from FFXIII. They were all pretty linear. XIII was just more blatant about it. And it lacked airships and the overworld map. We haven't really had those since FFIX, though.

I think the problem is FFXIII dungeons are all straight lines, with little icons on the maps pointing the direction to go in. There's only one area that is an exception. It's one thing to have a straight line to dungeon to dungeon, but linear dungeons really aren't dungeons at all.

Well, I wouldn't say FFXIII had any dungeons. It really was just one long hallway. Other FF games had the overworld map, so referring to areas as dungeons makes more sense there. In XIII, you just kept walking forward. Not a dungeon crawler, but a hallway jogger. Then again, almost all FF dungeons only had one path you could take to complete your objective. It was just more obvious with the small paths and the mini-map pointing it out for you. What was the mini-map for, anyway? Were they afraid we'd get lost?

Keep in mind, that I personally didn't mind the linear story or hallways. I'm just arguing for the sake of accuracy.

 

[DustyDrB]

I prefer linearity. It leads to tighter storytelling and usually better gameplay (due to it being more focused).

 

[Phlakes]

I like an open world that has a good linear story, especially if it involves the world. Like most FF games, where you're basically always doing the story, and going through it opens up parts of the world or changes it somehow.

 

[ultrachicken]

I feel like an extremely linear game is utter shit because it greatly aids replayability if you have a slew of ways to tackle a given objective, other than using your shotgun or your assault rifle. So I generally enjoy games that offer sandboxes, but not necessarily just one big sandbox. If the game has your progress along a path of small, compartmentalized sandboxes, where you have an area with your objective located inside and nothing restricting how you move about (for example, Crysis 2), then that's good enough for me.

 

[LeKiller]

I normally LOVE Open World games, though I like both as long as the game is good.
GTA4 and HL2 are two of my favorite games, while one is open and the other is linear.

 

[ShogunSam-R-I]

I want to view and understand all aspects of gaming, including my audience's thoughts and how to market a product to them. Questions like this mean a lot to me and the gamers I plan to market to. I dont want to be the guy that makes just another FPS.

 

[ShogunSam-R-I]

I want to view and understand all aspects of gaming, including my audience's thoughts and how to market a product to them. Questions like this mean a lot to me and the gamers I plan to market to. I dont want to be the guy that makes just another FPS.