Linear or Nonlinear?

[Umbra]

For me, Oblivion was just too non-linear, too open-world. I just lost track of everything; not only the main plot, but the world itself, as well. I wasn't a part of the story, because there's just SO MUCH STORY.

Linearity is something that should be balanced carefully. Not too much, and not too little.

[Boogieknight]

I prefer a mix-and-match of both. I like a linear objective without the linear play. I like when the game tells me "You gotta go kill General Ba'dass in Smalltown." and then leaves me to my devices afterward to farm, level, explore, massacre a small village of elves, etc. FFXIII is grating on my nerves and I'm battling to get through it because it tries to give you non-linear play in a linear environment. Some games work best in linear play like Gears of War and their ilk, true RPGs though shouldn't be linear.

[Archaeon]

I also didn't enjoy oblivion much because of the lack of objective and drive. I played for a couple of weeks and then just completely lost interest due to not having any goals.

As far as single player games go I'd say my favorite current games would be the Mass Effect series and the newest Deus Ex. Pretty linear story with straight forward goals and objectives, but you're pretty free about how you go about playing through the game.

[obdigore]

So at college i have a buddy that i sit by for this one class. We usually talk about what games are coming out and such during breaks. I mentioned something about Skyrim only being a few weeks away, he basically said meh. I said how can you not be pumped for skyrim? didnt you like oblivion? He said he didn't like oblivion or fallout because they were not linear enough and he didn't like a game where the objective was so vague. I never really thought that somebody would prefer linear games over nonlinear ones.

So i thought id come in here and ask, do you prefer sandbox type games? or do you prefer something like Uncharted where you basically just play through the game the way they wanted you to see it.

I like both types, but I have friends that cannot play one or the other. It depends on what you are looking for in a game I think.

[abovebeyond]

I love nonlinear RPGs, but I hated Oblivion. Skyrim graphics look impressive but I'm in no way excited or anticipating the gameplay. Just me, I guess.

[Meleti]

Linear games are fine if it's well done.

Take Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The plot's fairly linear with clear transitions between zones at given story points, but there's a moderate amount of sidequest content to be had and more importantly, the main plot can change quite a bit depending on the choices you make in the game. Linear games where you always have to go through the main plot and do things the same way every game are just dull.

[Powerogue]

I like choices, but I want some sense of direction. I think a good comparison would be fallout 1 vs fallout 2.

fallout 1 I got punted out of the vault as a level 1 rat slayer and basically pick a direction to wander until I bumped into a town. Never did find any sense of goals until I looked up a guide...

fallout 2 I got punted out, as usual, but it actually said something like "there are towns in these places" and eventually by going through them stumbled across crumbs that lead to a long term goal.

[jonte912]

you can play oblivion and fallout by just doing the main quests, that's pretty linear

[Meleti]

you can play oblivion and fallout by just doing the main quests, that's pretty linear

But they're all obviously on the far end of sandbox-style nonlinear games, so I don't get your point.

[Migey]

Linearity is all good, but some games are just suffocatingly linear. Of course if your playing a shooter or something, like Uncharted, then it's meant to be linear, but then you get games like Final Fantasy XIII which are just too linear and NEVER gave you any choice at all (to the point where it's impossible to go back and see old zones you went to before). Final Fantasy X was also pretty linear, but you still had free choice and it opened up somewhat towards the end, and there was alot to do after the game. Then say, the Zelda games are pretty linear, but you do always have some places to explore for stuff.

Games like Oblivion are okay, but the story definitely needs to be clearer and more directed, and for new players, the whole 'open world' stuff just has to be made more clear.

[saberon]

I prefer linear. As far as I'm concerned, you get a far better cinematic and story-telling experience.

AKA Gears of War.

[Lazy Gecko]

I prefer linear. As far as I'm concerned, you get a far better cinematic and story-telling experience.

AKA Gears of War.

And that's basicly my problem with those types of linear games. The game feels so ridiculously narrow and restrictive, it's closer to those infamous FMV games we had in the 90's. A lot of developers these days seem like they are more interested in making movies rather than games.

[Caiada]

And that's basicly my problem with those types of linear games. The game feels so ridiculously narrow and restrictive, it's closer to those infamous FMV games we had in the 90's. A lot of developers these days seem like they are more interested in making movies rather than games.

It's still better for telling a personal story, which most of those games are trying to do. Linear games are the best way of conveying stories like that by keeping you constantly in contact with the major story. Nonlinear games are better at developing a world by letting you be in contact with that whenever you want. It depends entirely on the story the devs want to tell, which fits better.