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Linear is different to repetitive! aaaarrrrrhhhhhh! In that case you could call GTA3 linear, but then it isnt at all linear, because of the freedom that the game enviroment gives you, e.g. dont want to do that mission for Donald Love? Then go and do a phone mission. Dont want to do a phone mission? Run someone over. Dont want to run people over? Hire a prostitute etc,etc.
Resident Evil or Onimusha could be considered linear, because there really is only one route to completing the game. I was quite pleased with MGS2, the producers have managed to fit some variety into the missions (sniping, escorting, searching for pacemakers with a microphone, defusing bombs etc.) The whole point of MGS2 is that it provides a cinematic experience (you may have noticed that?? Or you may not have done.) If watching a film isnt a linear experience, then what is?? You have the beginning to a film, then of course you have the ending, and the rest in between has already been set out for you. Do you like films? Of course you do.
Most gamers complain about games being too linear, but then when a game provides them with a sense of freedom, they end up complaining that the game has no direction. Programmers cant win. If you ask me, most gamers need a sense of direction in a game, otherwise they end up getting frustrated and bored, simply because they just don't know where they are going.
Gamers dont really know what they want.
Neilc
Linear is different to repetitive! aaaarrrrrhhhhhh! In that case you could call GTA3 linear, but then it isnt at all linear, because of the freedom that the game enviroment gives you, e.g. dont want to do that mission for Donald Love? Then go and do a phone mission. Dont want to do a phone mission? Run someone over. Dont want to run people over? Hire a prostitute etc,etc.
Resident Evil or Onimusha could be considered linear, because there really is only one route to completing the game. I was quite pleased with MGS2, the producers have managed to fit some variety into the missions (sniping, escorting, searching for pacemakers with a microphone, defusing bombs etc.) The whole point of MGS2 is that it provides a cinematic experience (you may have noticed that?? Or you may not have done.) If watching a film isnt a linear experience, then what is?? You have the beginning to a film, then of course you have the ending, and the rest in between has already been set out for you. Do you like films? Of course you do.
Most gamers complain about games being too linear, but then when a game provides them with a sense of freedom, they end up complaining that the game has no direction. Programmers cant win. If you ask me, most gamers need a sense of direction in a game, otherwise they end up getting frustrated and bored, simply because they just don't know where they are going.
Gamers dont really know what they want.
Neilc
No one did this with my "Gaming Yips" and "Beware Coward" posts - which both won GADs by the way.
It's patronizing to other Newbies who write good posts.
Why should you be selective?
What gives you and SONICRAV the divine right to choose who is worthy?
-Quickly swallows relaxing pill-
Wow, check that gorgeous sunset man..... It's beautiful.
-Wanders off in dreamy haze never to be seen again-
V.V.V.V.V im sure they will post any newbies topic in prime if they find it interesting.
:D
I think the balance between linearity and openness is a fine one- no game has cracked it yet because the technology doesn't exist to do it!
Allow me to give an example. Shenmue may be one of the most complex games ever- allowing you to open any draw, cupboard and chest- but the whole game is completely linear. There is no scope to go on different missions (unless playing in the arcade counts).
Quite simply the game suffers from having too much time spent on making the objects you have to encounter in your quest real, but not thinking outside the box about other sub-quests to do.
Developers need a new way to make games that would allow them to generate such complex objects quickly, allowing them to carry on making a more complex set of quests to get involved with. Maybe Middle-ware (ie, buying pre-written code for objects) is the answer.
Whether this idea will ever work (or even whether games should go in this direction) is unlikely... but still an interesting idea.
I recommended him to the site:)
Anyway, good post again neilc- you'll be raking up the wins!
> I don't see why SR can't look through topics in Chat as well though.... but they
> can. So that means that this doesn't need to be here.
:D
Hey AfroJoe, I wasnt actually aiming to win a GAD. I just wanted to write a reply to old Ant, it wasnt really meant to be a brand new topic, just a continuation that ended in diversification. If someone thought it was worthy of becoming a prime topic, then thats cool. Do you like linearity in game (but then have you played a game that isnt linear in some way?).
neilc