Is linearity really so bad?

[Vault Dweller]

Gamasutra attempts to analyze this exciting topic and experience that deferred success thing that everyone's raving about:

I have often noticed that game reviews mention that the game X is non-linear as if it deserved kudos for that alone, or that the game is linear as if it were a bad thing. Is it really?

In the end, it boils down to the kind of game the game designer is trying to make. If the designer wants to take the player on an intense emotional roller coaser ride - well then the game has to be linear. You can't control what the player feels until you keep tight control on which places the player visits and in what order, which persons player meets and in what order etc. Even then it won't work for all the players.

Games which revolve tightly around a storyline have to follow the story and are therefore linear. You can have the story branch - typically near the end - but the game itself tends to be linear. Eg Deus Ex, Baldur's Gate 2, Bioshock, Mass Effect etc.

Baldur's Gate 2 and Mass Effect are interesting because they provide the player with some amount of non-linearity. There are many quests/places which can be taken/visited in any order, and yet the game follows a strong story line. But the game itself is linear, no matter in which order you do the quests, you end up going down the same path.

Then there are the games which are purportly non-linear. Examples being Morrowind and Two Worlds. In these games you may visit any place in any order, this gives you a feeling of freedom, at least initially.

So if the designer is aiming to give the player a feeling of freedom, then it makes sense to design a game like this. But this also means that the designer needs to design interesting places for the player to visit, tough monsters to conquer, and worthwhile loot. If all you get is yet another cave with skeletons as monsters and skeleton knuckles as a reward, then the exploration gets boring soon. And, unfortunately, if the player can go anywhere and meet any one in any order, then it becomes impossible to design an emotional experience.

Alas, in the end, these games too are linear. In Morrowind, you will end up facing Dagoth Ur eventually. Maybe there is a choice near the end of the game, but it is the same kind we see in the so-called linear games! Maybe we should say that these are 'free exploration' games instead?

Maybe we should say that Morrowind is a sandbox game with a very linear plot? Unlike Daggerfall, which was a sandbox game with a non-linear plot?

 

[Malakal]

No, linearity isn't bad. Mainly because sandbox games most often lack sense of a immediate goal or some important quest. And linear games tend to have much better story to tell. Actually the only good non linear game I can remember is probably Fallout.

 

[Squeek]

Maybe we should say that Morrowind is a sandbox game with a very linear plot? Unlike Daggerfall, which was a sandbox game with a non-linear plot?

I would agree with that and would add that the plot in Morrowind is there waiting for the player if and when he ever decides to pursue it. As it turned out, most folks who played it never pursued it at all, right?

So I think you would have to conclude that Morrowind would have benefited by having alternative lines of plot.

As a matter of fact, Morrowind was improved a myriad of ways by modders. To me it's probably the very best example of a sandbox game that was improved through collaboration that included redundancy.

In other words, fans recreated chunks of Morrowind in a variety of ways, many of which could never be contained in a single version (due to conflict), and that took Morrowind to a whole new level. It became something greater than a single game, and that was and is the coolest thing about Morrowind, IMO.

Bethesda should get a clue and develop the next intallment of TES in redundant iterations, IMO.

 

[Emotional Vampire]

In an RPG linearity is just horrid

 

[racofer]

GTA Vice City / San Andreas are superior TES in any way you put it.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Daggerfall:

Morrowind:

Oblivion:

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivionain_Quest

 

[Saxon1974]

No, linearity isn't bad. Mainly because sandbox games most often lack sense of a immediate goal or some important quest. And linear games tend to have much better story to tell. Actually the only good non linear game I can remember is probably Fallout.

Im fine with a linear story for the main quest but I want a world that I can freely explore.

Examples:
Ultima Games
M&M games
Wasteland

 

[Malakal]

No, linearity isn't bad. Mainly because sandbox games most often lack sense of a immediate goal or some important quest. And linear games tend to have much better story to tell. Actually the only good non linear game I can remember is probably Fallout.

Im fine with a linear story for the main quest but I want a world that I can freely explore.

Examples:
Ultima Games
M&M games
Wasteland

Well I haven't played any of those so I can't tell (I strongly dislike fpp rpgs), but I don't think we have any newer examples do we?

 

[Malakal]

In an RPG linearity is just horrid

Torment was extremely linear with some c&c. The same can be said about Bloodlines and erm dunno I ran out pf good examples.

 

[Emotional Vampire]

I feel you.

 

[DraQ]

Technically untrue.

First, while it would be retarded to fap over how non-linear MW's plot is (not particularly) it nevertheless has some token branches - there is a shortcut for nerevarine/hortator parts depending on reputation (so you can effectively substitute other questlines for this part), and you can kill Vivec then learn to use Wraithguard from Yagrum, so some non-linearity is there (same with some other questlines). On the other hand diagram overstates the nonlinearity of horatotr/nerevarine part, that only allows you to pick order, but force you to complete all quests.

 

[Martin]

Non linear is a very risky bet considering the majority of the current RPG market.

Its that simple, couple that with added efforts for coders and potentially ( but not necessarily) for artists...and you got the reason true non linear games arent being produced with maybe a couple of exceptions.

Its a risky bet not necessarily because the designers are retarded cunts, but because designers have limitiations imposed upon them by retarded cunt suits who do market analysis and give funds and deadlines based on them.

Most of all the "next-gen" rpg faults referred to by older gamers is a result of acessibility being a prime requisite over game difficulty, depth and player choices.

Because complex statistical character development systems are confusing for the present market ( you might make a gimp), because an automap without a quest marker/arrow might allow the player to get lost, because challenging combat will force the player either to backtrack, to redesign his character or learn how to handle the combat properly.

Linearity is another aspect, the whole "choice and consequence" thing is either something that most of the new "rpg gamer" market doesnt appreciate coming in contact with or something that makes most players "frustrated" because they dont know how their "choices" will affect their game progress in all levels and they cant be absolutely sure if this is the better choice ( kiddie powergamer instinct) or ...they might lose some of the awesome content and *gasp* be forced to replay the game with a different character ( although to be fair replay value is very subjective even in classic rpgs).

There is no solution to this because market economy rules, the most that can be expected by people who have different standards is to create pressure for the creation of titles who take risks in some of these aspects or at least to create a distinction between themselves and the mainstream market, and to do so in large enough numbers so that some competent developer studio ( not a garage/basement indie studio) might come to the conclusion that making a game for the oldschool rpg gamer "niche" might actually be profitable, and profitable game franchises could be established in the long run for that market niche.

 

[Raghar]

Technically untrue.

Well, you forgot about a random bug which would prevent you finish Morrowind. A linear game would be finish able. Morrowind occasionally isn't thus it's non linear.

 

[DraQ]

If a moron fails when trying to be a smartass on the codex, but no one even cares, should he still an hero?

 

[Gragt]

So their main point is that it all comes down to the emotional experience? What kind of post-modernist furfagottry is that?

 

[DraQ]

So their main point is that it all comes down to the emotional experience? What kind of post-modernist furfagottry is that?

Just faggotry. :glare:

 

[Murk]

So their main point is that it all comes down to the emotional experience? What kind of post-modernist furfagottry is that?

They may claim that but they still fail at any deliver - flashing lights and whiny emo bullshit aside, modern gaming fails at providing any believable characters and so any emotional attachment to.

I remember feeling sorrier for the little npc soldiers in Urban Strike on the SNES than any modern RPG pity case.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

In an RPG linearity is just horrid

Torment was extremely linear with some c&c.

Which is why I wasn't able to replay Torment a single time.

On the other hand, I've replayed Fallout, more than 200 times and I run out of character ideas faster than I get bored with it, because I don't have to follow a linear story.

 

[Kaanyrvhok]

No, linearity isn't bad. Mainly because sandbox games most often lack sense of a immediate goal or some important quest. And linear games tend to have much better story to tell. Actually the only good non linear game I can remember is probably Fallout.

Should have said Fallout 3 FTW.

 

[Volourn]

"If the designer wants to take the player on an intense emotional roller coaser ride - well then the game has to be linear."

Bullshit.


"On the other hand, I've replayed Fallout, more than 200 times and I run out of character ideas faster than I get bored with it,"

FFS Do you really think people are so gullible to belive your exaggerated bullshit? Stop the lies, start the truths. FFS

 

[Murk]

Stop the lies, start the truths.

Oh man, I love you.

 

[janjetina]

Ultima Games
M&M games
Wasteland

Well I haven't played any of those so I can't tell (I strongly dislike fpp rpgs),

Trolling, cluelessness, or an irrelevant tangent?

 

[Volourn]

"Oh man, I love you."

Stop the lies, start the truths.

 

[obediah]

I have often noticed that game reviews mention that the game X is non-linear as if it deserved kudos for that alone, or that the game is linear as if it were a bad thing. Is it really?

They are two different ways to make a game. Any comparison between them is completely subjective. But they are quite different, so a reviewer should definitely mention which a game is and if they execute their choice well. Slamming or praising linear/non-linear by itself is rather unprofessional for a reviewer, unless the game misrepresents itself.

Maybe we should say that Morrowind is a sandbox game with a very linear plot? Unlike Daggerfall, which was a sandbox game with a non-linear plot?

I'm not getting back into the "how to classify linearity" thing until we're working on something official. But yeah, it would be nice to have 4-5 dimensions to judge the openness of any game on.

 

[janjetina]

If you want to have player's actions affect the game world and the storyline (and you want that, since it is one of trademarks of a RPG and by itself is a feature that increases player involvement and fun factor), these actions should lead to different outcomes, hence nonlinearity. Also, we can look at it from the "value for money" angle - a game with a greater replayability provides potentially greater value than a single trick pony. So, the RP game should enable multiple playthroughs and for different playthroughs to be worthwhile they should be radically different experience for the player. The player will make different choices with respect to the choices he made in the last game and the game should reflect that by changing the storyline, the setting, NPC reactions etc.