That's the point, it's the biggest thing going.Crunched said:CoD is the very definition of linear.
That's the point, it's the biggest thing going.Crunched said:CoD is the very definition of linear.
Crunched said:CoD is the very definition of linear.
a Master Ninja said:Linearity in storytelling is fine.
Linearity in gameplay is fucking awful. The most "linear" gameplay being QTEs, followed by shit like the train climbing sequence in Uncharted 2. There is literally one correct input. No decision making.
It seems more silly because it's the tutorial. I don't know that a game like Uncharted would benefit from a non-linear tutorial.mileS said:The Uncharted example seems kind of silly if you ask me. Would it really be better if there was multiple ways to climb up the train?
An optional one. First time do that, and never have the player have to go thru it again.Yeef said:It seems more silly because it's the tutorial. I don't know that a game like Uncharted would benefit from a non-linear tutorial.
Making a good game is hard, though.Paco said:I don't typically mind it. In fact, the only game that it's ever been a problem for me was Final Fantasy XIII...yuck, what an awful game. I hope SE learned a lesson.
Crunched said:Making a good game is hard, though.
DaBuddaDa said:To back you up here, for example, Mass Effect 2 got a lot of criticism for it's non-linear storytelling by being able to pick the order of your recruitment and loyalty missions.
Not that it didn't add to the canon, but that some people thought it felt like a stopgap and did not advance the story.Fimbulvetr said:I'm pretty sure the criticism for ME2 has to do with it non adding much to the overall canon.
Somnid said:Linearity is fine. The problem is less about linearity than an overly-scripted "roller-coaster" type game. If the narrative was driving the game once you experience it there is little reason to play it again. However, if the gameplay was driving then of course it can still be a great game. Super Mario Galaxy 2 is as linear as they come but you can definitely see the difference.
Also open-world games can be shitty especially when there is little direction. I'd say that very few do this type of game well.
seady said:I don't remember when this weird gaming trend started, but it seems that linearity has become a staple on the 'con' side of a standard review checklist, especially from gaming critics. Points are always being marked off for games that are linear.
Linear storyline always have the ability to provide a strong and long lasting impact in people's experience. Like many good books and films, the creator can determine what they want the viewers to experience and shape it in a way that every viewers will experience it the same way. However, the gaming community always favor games that are 'open ended', 'sandbox', 'multiple endings', 'emergent gameplay' and devalue games that are linear in nature.
While I appreciate the unpredictable/open nature of these (comparably) new types of gameplay, I don't think their existence should come at a cost to those games that are more linear. This trend in gaming shows how immature storytelling is in video games - that the industry are still obsessed with what were popular back in the 60-70s with those 'choose your own adventure books' storytelling.
will52 said:Grand Theft Auto is responsible for making the masses think that linear = old, boring, and bad.
les papillons sexuels said:You answered your own question, it's because linearity is something that's akin to a less dynamic medium. Like all forms of 'art' videogames have their own positive aspects and for a videogame to truly make the most of the medium it needs to avoid relying on the same methods of other form of media.
It's a lot like the reason photo realistic painting was largely abandoned by artists after the invention of the camera, painting was no longer the best medium to portray real life, and so new forms of painting boomed and became popular. If a movie does a much better job at telling a linear story, then videogames should rely on non linear methods.
Fimbulvetr said:I'm pretty sure the criticism for ME2 has to do with it non adding much to the overall canon.
Redbeard said:MGS1 and 3 have great scripts for videogames. It's not perfectly edited for most of the series, and it can be inconsistent, but it actually brings up interesting, relevant topics and tends to treat its audience as adults.
With most modern day shooters, it's all dudebro military jargon nonsense. "alpha six, we need you to get to that evac point!" ad nauseum.
GTA pretty much defined the sandbox genre so I agree that it brought the thinking that linear now suck.HK-47 said:Joke is that all the GTA are extremely linear in story and mission structure. Open world and sandbox rarely mean nonlinear.
PepsimanVsJoe said:I needed a nice place to keep my stuff so yes.
Fantasy Final said:GTA pretty much defined the sandbox genre so I agree that it brought the thinking that linear now suck.
jman2050 said:Frankly if your goal in making a video game is to tell a story then you're clearly doing it wrong from the beginning.
HK-47 said:Most games are best off somewhere in between.
MMaRsu said:Love can bloom on the battlefield
"you're a ninja"?
Don't make me laugh. MGS 1 is one of my favorite games of all times, and MGS3 is a close second, but great scripts/story? :lol
Literally every game should be Mario Bros.Gravijah said:Please tell me the rules of making a video game.
Gravijah said:Please tell me the rules of making a video game.
Fantasy Final said:GTA pretty much defined the sandbox genre so I agree that it brought the thinking that linear now suck.
Fredescu said:Literally every game should be Mario Bros.
les papillons sexuels said:gameplay first.
jman2050 said:Frankly if your goal in making a video game is to tell a story then you're clearly doing it wrong from the beginning.
Well it's an entertainment. If it's done right and the story is really good, I don't see the problem. You can have fun watching a movie so in the end, the result is the same.jman2050 said:Frankly if your goal in making a video game is to tell a story then you're clearly doing it wrong from the beginning.
Gravijah said:What about text based games?
Unless it's an Interactive Fiction game.jman2050 said:Frankly if your goal in making a video game is to tell a story then you're clearly doing it wrong from the beginning.
jman2050 said:Frankly if your goal in making a video game is to tell a story then you're clearly doing it wrong from the beginning.
Agreed on this, for all its greatness, there a few times in UC2 when I wished the devs had just made a cutscene I could skip on replays, instead of hitting one button over and over for 10 minutes.a Master Ninja said:Linearity in storytelling is fine.
Linearity in gameplay is fucking awful. The most "linear" gameplay being QTEs, followed by shit like the train climbing sequence in Uncharted 2. There is literally one correct input. No decision making.
This is true. I don't automatically dislike linearity in a game level, but as someone said, when it is like MW where it is just arbitrarily blocked off by some knee high fence, or some other conceit that is totally immersion breaking, it just aggravates the hell out me.Teknopathetic said:Depends on the type of game. However, making the player think he has choices that he doesn't (invisible walls, exploding cars instantly killing a player preventing him from walking past/around a certain area) is just fucking hokey.
les papillons sexuels said:books are not videogames.
At some point yes, but if the music/story/graphics are horrible, gameplay can't save the game just by itself.les papillons sexuels said:gameplay first.
Yes.Gravijah said:The arcade game? Cool.
When the story is the gameplay, the story can come first. That works out nicely.les papillons sexuels said:gameplay first.
jman2050 said:Frankly if your goal in making a video game is to tell a story then you're clearly doing it wrong from the beginning.
les papillons sexuels said:gameplay first.
Gravijah said:One cannot interact with a book. One can interact with text based games.