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Is it important for a game to be nonlinear?
- Thread starter kazebyaka
- Start date
Boss Man
Member
Depends on the game and who it matters to.
Linear RPGS are pretty boring because RPGs are about progression and exploration. If it's linear there's no point to either.
If it's a game like COD4, that game's focus is clearly on the action itself so it can pull it off. Adding extra elements might just get in the way of the arcadey fun.
Linear RPGS are pretty boring because RPGs are about progression and exploration. If it's linear there's no point to either.
If it's a game like COD4, that game's focus is clearly on the action itself so it can pull it off. Adding extra elements might just get in the way of the arcadey fun.
Sola Scriptura
Member
For a game to have the ability to convey a particular meaning or to tell a particular story, I would say it has to be linear to a certain degree. By that I mean that a game with a strong focus on story must progress in a particular way. Not all genres or even games are conducive to this. Some games that focus more on exploration have "bare bones" plots that simply serve as a backdrop to your own exploration. Others are carefully scripted and guide you along a predetermined path.
In my opinion:
For story-centric games, linearity is a necessity.
For games where the story is broad and open-ended, nonlinearity is more appropriate.
In my opinion:
For story-centric games, linearity is a necessity.
For games where the story is broad and open-ended, nonlinearity is more appropriate.
Not true. Hypothetically, a good story could be written that allows the player to choose the sequence of events they visit and affect the final outcome in a significant way.
The problem is it's not cost effective. Every player will experience only one potential plotline per playthrough. If you have 10, that means 90% of the narrative content is going to waste.
With the industry's obsession with cinematic sequences, this is a huge loss, even with heavy asset reuse.
Septimus Prime
Member
I actually prefer linearity, but I like it even more if I get the option to revisit old areas and pick up anything I may have missed.
solid mike
Member
Not always. Though I have observed that games that offer choices for the paths you want to take or ones that feature side quests and hunts are often the ones that have better replayability.
Dark Souls and certain JRPGs come to mind.
Dark Souls and certain JRPGs come to mind.
Sentenza
Member
That's a strange claim, considering that HL2's level/encounter design, in both the main chapter and the episodes, shines exactly when it becomes a bit more open and less linear, in those areas Valve itself describes as "arenas" (see: the Lost Coast commentary).
Examples of it: Ravenholm to some degree, the hunter fight, the ambush and the final battle in Episode 2, the Strider battle in HL2, etc.
dancingphlower
Member
Not necessarily. An RPG should be nonlinear as player agency should be a priority in those kinds of games, but an action game like God of War doesn't need to be nonlinear.
PlanetSmasher
Banned
I think that as long as a game gives the player the chance to stretch his/her legs a bit, it doesn't need to be totally nonlinear.
The problem comes from when a game is suffocatingly, overly linear to the point at which it ends up feeling basically like a cutscene with button prompts that's masquerading something deeper, yet is still only four to six hours long. Corridor shooters in particular tend to fall victim to this.
The problem comes from when a game is suffocatingly, overly linear to the point at which it ends up feeling basically like a cutscene with button prompts that's masquerading something deeper, yet is still only four to six hours long. Corridor shooters in particular tend to fall victim to this.
Not Spaceghost
Spaceghost
Eh I'd still argue as a whole Half Life 2 is a linear game, I think you're associating linearity as a negative term, and it shouldn't be. Linear and non linear should be treated like two styles of preparing food, you can grill or fry, you can be linear or not.
But then again I might be defining linear and non linear completely different than you are. From my perspective, just because you have choices on how to do event Y to get to objective Z doesn't make a game non linear at its core it is still a very linear game. Non linearity would be you have main objective Z and you can do W or X or Y to get there, each being completely different. Human Revolution is non linear, half life 2 is linear.
Basically the test of linearity is if you can fundamentally have a different experience in a subsequent play through beyond different combat options. The Last of Us, which is to me is the game of the generation is a linear game, sure there is exploration but your choices in that game are limited to stealth or not stealth, or how to use your equipment but that doesn't redefine the experience to make it non linear.
The Witcher 2 is non linear, because you can choose different options and view different events and participate in different KEY quests as well as side quests, yet you still arrive at the end of the game and watch the credits roll.
Basically linearity is a style, it should rarely be considered a negative. Not every game can benefit from being non linear because some times the experience has to be specifically tailored.
Sentenza
Member
No doubt about it. It *is* a linear game.
I'm arguing that it gets better exactly where it opens up a bit and the perception of complete linearity fades away.
The best battles and scenarios in the game are precisely those that can hide this linearity as much as possible and give you some convincing illusion of freedom and player agency.
There were rumors sometimes ago about HL3 being designed as a huge non-linear open world game and some people complained a lot about it. "I don't want my HL to turn into Skyrim". But that's dumb. Skyrim is not the only model of open world game; it's actually one of the worst in that sense.
Now, on the other hand, try to imagine a HL game that borrows a lot of strengths from STALKER (without ofrgetting what made it Half-Life, of course) and tell me if the concept doesn't sound compelling.
Not Spaceghost
Spaceghost
Yeah I can definitely agree with that.
But for the sake of the argument, I just want to be clear that I think that the implication that since non linear combat is more fun then a non linear game must be better than a linear game is not true.
I am sure it would work fantastically if it was built with the same fantastic design as HL2. If anything it is more important to design your game around linearity / non linearity than to tack on non linearity to a game originally conceived as linear.
IlludiumQ36
Member
It's more important for a game to be REPLAY-ABLE. Problem is, 95 times out of 100, a strictly linear heavily narrative focused game is not.
Take Alan Wake for example - I really enjoyed the "rock concert" scenario. Would love to replay that from time to time, but I can't. Not without having to start at a point far in front trekking mindlessly through previously explored real estate, enduring the same expository narrative, and dealing with all the other grating aspects of the game that one would never care to repeat - only to experience about 10 minutes of entertainment. Totally not worth it.
Take Alan Wake for example - I really enjoyed the "rock concert" scenario. Would love to replay that from time to time, but I can't. Not without having to start at a point far in front trekking mindlessly through previously explored real estate, enduring the same expository narrative, and dealing with all the other grating aspects of the game that one would never care to repeat - only to experience about 10 minutes of entertainment. Totally not worth it.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
No.
If this becomes the norm, then I see creativity being crushed far more than if it isn't.
You can't force good game design.
Conciliator
Banned
It's not important that a game be non-linear, but there are several things that it is important for a linear game to do extremely well that a non-linear game doesn't have to always nail. If you're making a setpiece action game with rollercoaster pacing, you have raw action mechanics and storytelling. That's all you got. And most games of any type have terrible storytelling. The odds are stacked against you(well, not in sales, but in making a legitimately compelling video game).
AmaterasuOkami076
Member
In my opinion, yes. But as good as they are, Tomb Raider, Uncharted, Last of Us get great reviews so the answer from the industry as a whole is no. But I would much rather see these games be less linear.