linear or nonlinear

[Exiblade7 1,917]

Just what the title says, what game structure do you prefer? I honestly prefer linear video games. I'm not saying that I hate non-linear games though.

[Sora96 17,256]

Majority of the world prefers non-linear. This is fact.

[Exiblade7 1,917]

Majority of the world prefers non-linear. This is fact.

so apparently I'm just one of very few people who prefer linear games. This sucks. 

[Rinax 473]

I don't have a preference. As long as I have fun playing.

[Sora96 17,256]

so apparently I'm just one of very few people who prefer linear games. This sucks. 

 

Pretty much. Open-world now the norm. Even KH3 is looking a lot less linear.

[BlankShell 638]

so apparently I'm just one of very few people who prefer linear games. This sucks.

Not necessarily. Part of the reason people gravitate towards open-world games is the option of freedom. The majority of people who buy open world or non-linear games never "do everything" that the genre entails. Plenty will play through the main storyline, or play through once, and never touch it again (if they make it that far at all). But when you're dropping 60 dollars a game, you like to be secure in the fact that you're getting your money's worth, even if that's in quantity instead of quality. This is why you see (certain franchises like Call of Duty aside) a lot of games being open world, because it can hit a lot more demographics.Personally, it depends. Lately I've been gravitating towards more linear games because I don't have time to get everything done in an open world game, or don't feel like vaguely or directly retreading things I've already done (BBSFM excluded, because of the narrative, although even then I wouldn't leap into the next story right away). But there's a host of factors, especially what the world actually is. If I can fall in love with an open-world, then no matter what I do in there is tedious, just because of the way I love the design. Edited November 17, 2015 by BlankShell

[Headphone Jack 1,147]

i'd say i'm probably more partial to linear games. most of the time with non-linear games I don't care enough about the side content to do it and having too much of an open world leaves me feeling lost and not invested in the story. however if a game can get me interested in the world it has to offer then i'll be more likely to explore it. 

with a linear game i feel like i'm a part of the story, as opposed to an open world game where the story is put on halt until you reach the designated point and confirm that you want the events to continue. 

[Exiblade7 1,917]

i'd say i'm probably more partial to linear games. most of the time with non-linear games I don't care enough about the side content to do it and having too much of an open world leaves me feeling lost and not invested in the story. however if a game can get me interested in the world it has to offer then i'll be more likely to explore it. 

with a linear game i feel like i'm a part of the story, as opposed to an open world game where the story is put on halt until you reach the designated point and confirm that you want the events to continue. 

that's exactly how I feel about nonlinear games. I play an open world video game to me it just feels like I have nothing to do. I guess I'm the kind of person who likes being told what to do in order to next to this part of the game. When the game is layed out that way, it feels more like I'm in the game itself experiencing what the character experience in the game.

[PrinceNoctis 1,011]

Depends if the game has a lot of content or if it's really really fun! 'Cause linear games with little content can get boring after a while

Edited November 17, 2015 by PrinceNoctis

[MythrilMagician 6,963]

I really don't care. As long as it has good gameplay and an immersive story, I don't care whether it's linear or nonlinear.

[Isaix 924]

I prefer non linear games.I like it in games like Zelda when I can just ride my horse and go wherever I want and find heart pieces and sidequests,I like it when in FFVII I can fly on my airship looking for secret locations on the map and randomly encounter Ultima Weapon,I like it in Xenoblade Chronicles when I explore the Gaur Plains and I find a random secret arena with hard enemies to fight and gain lots of exp because of it.Linear games are fine too,I prefer Crisis Core over FFVIII or FFIV despite it being a lot more linear.My problem with linear game is that unless the story is fantastic like Crisis Core or Final Fantasy X,I can't get immerse into them as much,in platformers like Mario or Sonic its not an issue but in beat em ups games like God of War or RPGs like FFXIII or ''exploration'' games like Metroid Other M that's when linearity becomes an issue,the games starts to get a bit boring after a while even if they are fun to play,it doesn't feel like an adventure to me even in games like Tales of Xillia when its all about adventuring.

 

Developpers should take notes on Xenoblade Chronicles,I'm not sure if its the first game that's ever done this but Xenoblade is an open world game but at the same time its very linear,if you were to view a map of the entire game it would most likely look like an hallway no different then Final Fantasy X and XIII,but because that hallway is so huge you can explore for hours and hours,this structure allows the game to have a great story like in linear games while having lots of sidesquests and places to explore and the game has an arrow that tells you where to go at all time so you can't get lost if you want to move on with the plot or you can just ignore it if you want to explore,I think more games should be structured like this,its the best of both world.

[ShadowKeyblade 219]

Nonlinear. With that said, I prefer games that are more at a middle ground. Games that the focus is still on the main campaign, but I can take a break and do side things occasionally. I kinda don't care for the bethesda style open world where it's so easy to get off-task. 

[catmaster0116 2,676]

Too linear and you'll feel the game is too restrictive

Not linear enough/too open and you'll find that the game lacks direction or has a weak story

 

Striking a fine balance between both is whats needed imo

[Trece the Xam ( ▀ ͜͞ʖ▀) 3,859]

My favourite game is the FFXIII saga, and the first one is straight linear, although it stops beeing that linear at a ceirtain point, and in LR the game isn't very linear. With this said, I think I like games that are inbetween; I really like Xenoblade Chronicles, and, as Isaix has said, it's very linear, but with many sidequests and a very open world at the same time.

 

 

However, what truely counts is that the game is good, linear or not linear.

[KingdomHearts3 2,591]

Pretty much. Open-world now the norm. Even KH3 is looking a lot less linear.

Oh yes. Amen to that. As we learn more and more about it, there seems to be a whole story behind just the quest to gather the seven together to defeat the thirteen.

[Exiblade7 1,917]

Majority of the world prefers non-linear. This is fact.

I just realized something. That isn't a fact. That's actually your preference, therefore I'm not going to buy it. Right now the games that are popular are open world games because it is JUST a phase. in the 90s most people played platformers and fighter games and in the early 2000s, most people liked shooters. 

Edited November 18, 2015 by Luke Fon Fabre

[Sora96 17,256]

I just realized something. That isn't a fact. That's actually your preference, therefore I'm not going to buy it. Right now the games that are popular are open world games because it is JUST a phase. in the 90s most people played platformers and fighter games and in the early 2000s, most people liked shooters. 

 

LOL.

 

If you knew anything about me you'd know I love very linear games like X, XIII and The Order: 1886.

 

They couldn't exactly do open world that well in the '90s.

 

And check your shooters stats. Lol. Call of Duty dominated the past decade not the early 2000s where it didn't even exist.

 

Open-world is the norm now thanks largely to the hardware being able to do it well while most linear games are criticized.

[Exiblade7 1,917]

LOL.

 

If you knew anything about me you'd know I love very linear games like X, XIII and The Order: 1886.

 

They couldn't exactly do open world that well in the '90s.

 

And check your shooters stats. Lol. Call of Duty dominated the past decade not the early 2000s where it didn't even exist.

 

Open-world is the norm now thanks largely to the hardware being able to do it well while most linear games are criticized.

so basically people criticize linear games because they aren't the norm anymore? Well, that doesn't matter anyways. I'm still going to like games that are linear or at least try to be linear (Tales of xillia 1 and 2)

[Sora96 17,256]

so basically people criticize linear games because they aren't the norm anymore? Well, that doesn't matter anyways. I'm still going to like games that are linear or at least try to be linear (Tales of xillia 1 and 2)

 

No, because they want games to be open and give them freedom. The hardware is easily capable of it. Well those are becoming less and less. Your new Tales game was pretty open outside of dungeons.

[Exiblade7 1,917]

No, because they want games to be open and give them freedom. The hardware is easily capable of it. Well those are becoming less and less. Your new Tales game was pretty open outside of dungeons.

yeah, I noticed. If games are going to be like that for a while, then they're going to be games that are 100% open world(which I really don't like), but I might like the 100% open world game if it has good gameplay, has an awesome story, and at least tells me where to go since I like being told what to do rather than do whatever I want. 

[Shulk 8,623]

It depends on the type of game. With something like a shooter or a platformer, linear is perfectly fine. In an RPG, I don't see the appeal of a linear RPG in this day and age. They're not bad, but part of an RPG is getting immersed in the world and having a lot of options at hand. Games that are essentially hallways remove a lot from those aspects. I've played some linear RPGs that are good (Namely Pokemon), but nonlinear RPGs tend to be a lot more interesting.

 

I should also note that nonlinear doesn't mean open-world. It just means that you're not walking a straight path through the entire game. Chrono Trigger is a good example of a nonlinear game that's not like that. It still offers plenty of sidequests, especially towards the latter portion of the game. However, that doesn't detract from the ability to just play through the story, though the sidequests help a lot. They also give you more of an insight on the characters in the game, so they're still something that should be done. As others have said, Xenoblade fits that description as well. The areas in the game are massive and there's a lot to explore, but you still have a good idea of where you should be going for the overall goal of the game. Sidequests are still recommended from time to time, though, both for staying at a good level and for understanding more of the story.