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I'm writing to provide all of you with an alternative view of how games should progress in the future. A lot of television programmes about computer games have been criticising games for being linear, and citing the fact that with today's technology games should be more open-ended, providing you with the freedom to go where you want and do what you want. But when I play games I want to be entertained, and for this to happen the actin has to be paced evenly throughout (if you haven't guessed by now, I'm not a fan of god games). As far as I can see the only way to do this is to push the player through a series of events that the developers can control.
I bought Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis recently and this seems to be a game that's taken the "games these days are too linear" point of view to heart. Instead of pushing you through levels, you seem to have the freedom to travel anywhere and do anything. The only thing this does for me is dilute the gaming experience. Why in hell would I want to pay £30 or so for a game where I can get in a Skoda and drive 30 miles without seeing anyone? The fact that you can do this seems completely irrelevant to me. It's just a waste of time, and as soon as you realise this you go looking for the mission proper. A linear game would cut throught this superfluous bump and take you straight to the action.
My point is that just because a game is non-linear, it doesn't mean it is better than a linear game.
The moral of this story is, be careful what you wish for, it might just come true.
I bought Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis recently and this seems to be a game that's taken the "games these days are too linear" point of view to heart. Instead of pushing you through levels, you seem to have the freedom to travel anywhere and do anything. The only thing this does for me is dilute the gaming experience. Why in hell would I want to pay £30 or so for a game where I can get in a Skoda and drive 30 miles without seeing anyone? The fact that you can do this seems completely irrelevant to me. It's just a waste of time, and as soon as you realise this you go looking for the mission proper. A linear game would cut throught this superfluous bump and take you straight to the action.
My point is that just because a game is non-linear, it doesn't mean it is better than a linear game.
The moral of this story is, be careful what you wish for, it might just come true.
OK, Mr.Skin Disease here is making about as much sense as a Japenese VCR instruction manuel...
Spot the RD Quote!
:-)
Spot the RD Quote!
:-)
Jaundice1234 wrote:
"The moral of this story is, be careful what you wish for, it might just come true."
Muhh?
"The moral of this story is, be careful what you wish for, it might just come true."
Muhh?
I'm writing to provide all of you with an alternative view of how games should progress in the future. A lot of television programmes about computer games have been criticising games for being linear, and citing the fact that with today's technology games should be more open-ended, providing you with the freedom to go where you want and do what you want. But when I play games I want to be entertained, and for this to happen the actin has to be paced evenly throughout (if you haven't guessed by now, I'm not a fan of god games). As far as I can see the only way to do this is to push the player through a series of events that the developers can control.
I bought Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis recently and this seems to be a game that's taken the "games these days are too linear" point of view to heart. Instead of pushing you through levels, you seem to have the freedom to travel anywhere and do anything. The only thing this does for me is dilute the gaming experience. Why in hell would I want to pay £30 or so for a game where I can get in a Skoda and drive 30 miles without seeing anyone? The fact that you can do this seems completely irrelevant to me. It's just a waste of time, and as soon as you realise this you go looking for the mission proper. A linear game would cut throught this superfluous bump and take you straight to the action.
My point is that just because a game is non-linear, it doesn't mean it is better than a linear game.
The moral of this story is, be careful what you wish for, it might just come true.
I bought Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis recently and this seems to be a game that's taken the "games these days are too linear" point of view to heart. Instead of pushing you through levels, you seem to have the freedom to travel anywhere and do anything. The only thing this does for me is dilute the gaming experience. Why in hell would I want to pay £30 or so for a game where I can get in a Skoda and drive 30 miles without seeing anyone? The fact that you can do this seems completely irrelevant to me. It's just a waste of time, and as soon as you realise this you go looking for the mission proper. A linear game would cut throught this superfluous bump and take you straight to the action.
My point is that just because a game is non-linear, it doesn't mean it is better than a linear game.
The moral of this story is, be careful what you wish for, it might just come true.