[Poll]Linear
Author
Wtf? This forum can't make polls? oh well, I'll edit my post to keep it uptodate
Note: This is a poll for another thread on the game's linearity.
There are only 2 choices...
2 <--------- Non Linear ------- Linear ---------> 3
Note: You are voting on which end you're more likely to be on, not neccessary the extremes end of the line. Extreme end for non-linear is the sandbox model, and extreme end for linear are those old fashioned rpgs.
Edit: Maybe I should give more examples of what is non-linear and what is linear. Simulation games like The Sims are non-linear, and most offline RPG are linear. Also that multi-linear are more toward the non-linear side.
Post your vote as reply in a precise manner
One of the vote is from me ;)
[Edited by - lightblade on January 13, 2006 11:23:52 AM]
Would an interactive story with a multiplot (several main characters each have their own branching plot, plots affect each other somewhat) count as linear or nonlinear?
I prefer loosely linear games, where you have a suggested route (that you will almost certainly take the first time you play through the game), but observant and/or skilled players can take different routes, thereby accessing the different regions of the game out of order.
I'd vote for non-linear.
With games, I actually like both linear and non-linear games. However nearly all games are very linear, and I think non-linear games haven't really been pushed to their full potential yet. So I'd like to see many more non-linear games, since that's an area of development in game design that needs more work.
With games, I actually like both linear and non-linear games. However nearly all games are very linear, and I think non-linear games haven't really been pushed to their full potential yet. So I'd like to see many more non-linear games, since that's an area of development in game design that needs more work.
How linear is linear? All games are non-linear to some degree (otherwise there's no game) and linear to some degree (otherwise there's no game). Is Final Fantasy VII linear or no? How about Super Metroid? Deus Ex? Put me where-ever more of those lean.
I'd put Super Metroid down as "loosely linear" (and if I refer to that game a lot, well, it's my highly biased choice for #1 Game of All Time...). The constraints that are placed upon your movement are subtle, so you're exploring while simultaneously being guided down a specific path. Once you get a certain item (/beat a boss/press a switch/et cetera) new paths open to you, but those paths do not declare themselves, necessitating further exploration and/or backtracking. It's not truly nonlinear, because at any given moment, relatively little of the game is available to you that you haven't been to before, but it's not truly linear either.
Keep in mind the difference between "nonlinear" and "multilinear". "Multilinear" means that you have a certain number of discrete paths and subpaths which are open to you, and which may have different outcomes. "nonlinear" means that you have an infinite number of "paths" which were not specifically chosen for you by the developers.
Can you put me smack-bang in the middle of that? I'd like to register a "give me a good game, I don't give a rat's if it's linear or not" vote. I play and enjoy games of both types, and don't see any reason why I should have a preference for one of them as long as the game is well designed and delivers a good experience.
Quote:Original post by Sneftel
Keep in mind the difference between "nonlinear" and "multilinear". "Multilinear" means that you have a certain number of discrete paths and subpaths which are open to you, and which may have different outcomes. "nonlinear" means that you have an infinite number of "paths" which were not specifically chosen for you by the developers.
This doesn't clarify much for me. In some discussions about how games are about creating your own story, I've seen people say that you're creating your own story even in the old side-scrolling Mario games. Every game has, in a sense, an "infinite" (well, as near as can be expected of any computer program) number of paths.
If this distinction means what I think it means, then the only non-linear games I've really enjoyed are Civ II and Infantry. I think it even makes Fallout 2 and Morrowwing multi-linear games. If this is the case (it makes little difference, a rose by any other name), then I definitely prefer linear/multi-linear games.
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