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Forums - Gaming - Linear vs Non-linear games. Which is better?

 

Which is a better game progression strategy?

Linear 32 28.83%
 
Non-linear 43 38.74%
 
See results 36 32.43%
 
Total:111
outlawauron on 25 January 2013
wfz said:
outlawauron said:
wfz said:
In Ocarina of Time, you could finish some of the Adult temples in any order you wanted. Doing so did not detract ANYTHING from the story.

The idea that you need a constant forward-moving linear game in order to tell a good story is very silly to me.

those choices are meaingless though. Which dungeon you finish first makes zero impact on a largely absent story.


It appears we're speaking in different terms. I meant non-linear gameplay/progression. You are talking about a non-linear story. If a game has an overall story that I cannot change, I prefer having a bit of flexibility in the way I can complete it (i.e. OoT. The opposite would be Uncharted). If a game has a story that I can change, then I love that as well (i.e. The Witcher).

I see. I've always thought that if it doesn't have a non-linear story, then non-linear gameplay is pointless. Its inclusion is neither good or bad, but just there (its inclusion can lead to lack of development as I mentioned earlier).



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And snuggle the girls be they short or tall,
Then follow young Mat whenever he calls,
To dance with Jak o' the Shadows."

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wfz on 25 January 2013
outlawauron said:

I see. I've always thought that if it doesn't have a non-linear story, then non-linear gameplay is pointless. Its inclusion is neither good or bad, but just there (its inclusion can lead to lack of development as I mentioned earlier).


Really? I adore the original LoZ and ALTTP for this. The story doesn't change, the characters don't change, but you can explore the world and do what you want how you want to on your journey. I love that exploring aspect.



Andrespetmonkey on 25 January 2013
Soleron said:
Story should be made by the player's imagination not the developer's.

Why?



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KungKras on 25 January 2013

The more a game tends to let players express their personality, the more I tend to like them.



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Mnementh on 25 January 2013
outlawauron said:
fordy said:
outlawauron said:
Linearity is neither good or bad. You can do linear well and poorly, just as easily as you can do non-linear well and poorly.

@ Soleron

Then why not write a book or act if its all up to the player's imagination.


Forgive me if I start to sound like an old codger, but back in the days where the system was limited in terms of detailing a game story out, the game would generally provide an "oversight story" and the player would fill in the details themselves. Despite the system limitations, the instruction manuals provided for the first 3 Zeldas with their incredibly detailed illustrations really got people imagining.

I know it's a completely different era now, but it can give some insight on how powerful the mind can be when playing such games.

At this point in tech and development, it just comes across as super lazy to me.

Yeah, I agree. Gamers these days are super lazy.



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Soleron on 25 January 2013
Andrespetmonkey said:
Soleron said:
Story should be made by the player's imagination not the developer's.

Why?

Because you're better at feeling it. That moment when you 'barely missed that guy and survived on 1 health to the end of the level' is much more meaningful than 'You are a Knight Templar sent to kill this Bad Guy'. The player's decisions can affect their game much more deeply than any 'moral choice system' of recent games, if you let them.

If there is be a developer made story, it should be delivered through the game world, fragments of text and colour that you find around. Not big narrative exposition or cutscenes that take the control away from the player. What if the player could have saved Aeris?

You save on writing, animating and voice acting, yet you get something much deeper. I still feel Mario 64 or Metroid Prime (PAL, which had most of the story removed) much more than Sunshine or Prime 3, even though the gameplay was very close.



DigitalDevilSummoner on 25 January 2013
KungKras said:
The more a game tends to let players express their personality, the more I tend to like them.

 

I don't want my personality on game !

I am paying good money and i want competent writers.



outlawauron on 25 January 2013
Mnementh said:
outlawauron said:
fordy said:
outlawauron said:
Linearity is neither good or bad. You can do linear well and poorly, just as easily as you can do non-linear well and poorly.

@ Soleron

Then why not write a book or act if its all up to the player's imagination.


Forgive me if I start to sound like an old codger, but back in the days where the system was limited in terms of detailing a game story out, the game would generally provide an "oversight story" and the player would fill in the details themselves. Despite the system limitations, the instruction manuals provided for the first 3 Zeldas with their incredibly detailed illustrations really got people imagining.

I know it's a completely different era now, but it can give some insight on how powerful the mind can be when playing such games.

At this point in tech and development, it just comes across as super lazy to me.

Yeah, I agree. Gamers these days are super lazy.

If I wanted to make the story for them, then I'd rather play pen and paper RPGs.



"We'll toss the dice however they fall,
And snuggle the girls be they short or tall,
Then follow young Mat whenever he calls,
To dance with Jak o' the Shadows."

Check out MyAnimeList and my Game Collection. Owner of the 5 millionth post.

outlawauron on 25 January 2013
wfz said:
outlawauron said:
 

I see. I've always thought that if it doesn't have a non-linear story, then non-linear gameplay is pointless. Its inclusion is neither good or bad, but just there (its inclusion can lead to lack of development as I mentioned earlier).


Really? I adore the original LoZ and ALTTP for this. The story doesn't change, the characters don't change, but you can explore the world and do what you want how you want to on your journey. I love that exploring aspect.

Demon's Souls is the same exact way, but even more open ended. I never considered it a good thing, but it certainly didn't allow for a lot of deliberate storytelling until the end.



"We'll toss the dice however they fall,
And snuggle the girls be they short or tall,
Then follow young Mat whenever he calls,
To dance with Jak o' the Shadows."

Check out MyAnimeList and my Game Collection. Owner of the 5 millionth post.

Mnementh on 25 January 2013
outlawauron said:

If I wanted to make the story for them, then I'd rather play pen and paper RPGs.

Well, I do. It is really a lot of fun. Basically because I can do something completely different to what the DM intended.



3DS-FC: 4511-1768-7903 (Mii-Name: Mnementh), Nintendo-Network-ID: Mnementh, Switch: SW-7706-3819-9381 (Mnementh)

my greatest games: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

10 years greatest game event!

bets: [peak year] [+], [1], [2], [3], [4]