Linearity in games

[Pumpkin]

So what is your opinion on this? Good/bad/don't care?

I think it depends. FFXIII felt very linear and constricting. Meanwhile FFX and Xenosaga are both very linear games, but they didn't feel like it to me and I still enjoyed them a good bit.

What are some example of linearity done well or done poorly?

[Formalhaut]

Meanwhile FFX and Xenosaga are both very linear games, but they didn't feel like it to me and I still enjoyed them a good bit.

You do remember the Mi'hen Highroad, right? My God that road stretched on forever. I have to say, FFX had pretty bad linearity. By necessity, because pilgrimage, but still.

[Pumpkin]

I actually love the Mi'hen Highroad

[Fynn]

It all depends on how you like a story. With a fantastic story, linearity can be a good thing as you get to experience it at an even pace. If it blows, you're screwed because you've got nothing else to keep you going. You're stuck with a story you don't like with nothing to distract you from it.

[Karifean]

I tend to lose interest if I'm just left out in the open with no directions, so a degree of linearity is essential for me. This also applies to things like the World of Ruin where I almost ended up dropping FF VI because I felt overwhelmed by all the options I had without any strong indication as to where to go first. Most open games however manage to avoid this issue in some form or another. FF X-2 and XII for instance did a good job at that.

On the other hand I've never really felt like strongly linear games actually suffered from their linearity in particular. The problems generally lie elsewhere.

The Mi'ihen Highroad is actually one of my favorite examples of linearity not feeling constraining There's something to do and find every single screen including an optional aeon fight, lore, talking with several named side characters, a boss fight where winning is optional, exploring with a chocobo, and it tops it all off with the completely optional Oldroad.

[Fynn]

Yep. You guys know how I feel about FFX. The Highroad is not among my complaints.

[Shauna]

It depends on what the game wants to do. Matt and I were discussing this the other day, actually.

I don't really care that much about whether a game is linear or not, as I enjoy games on all ends of the spectrum.

[Rez09]

It's a bit hard to answer, as what counts as linear varies from person to person and argument to argument, but I generally don't think a linear experience is the bogeyman some people make it out to be. From the perspective of story itself, I think linear progression is agreeable enough, as the developer always knows exactly what page the player is on at any given point and they have a better ability to control the narrative when they don't have to contend with possible side avenues a player may have taken.

That said, my preference is more for free progression, as I feel it plays better to the interactive nature of the medium, whether this be through alternate story paths, different routes through the same story, or simply the ability to stop and explore the world around. You can never tell what aspect of your game any given player will appreciate the most, and this freedom does more to accommodate varied tastes than dragging them along a fixed experience would.

[Del Murder]

I'm usually fine with it. In RPGs I'm fine with a mostly linear path as long as the game opens up at some point to allow me to freely travel anywhere. FFX did a good job of this. FFXIII did not.

Most games are usually designed to be linear or open world and I'm fine with either. I tend to gravitate toward the more linear games only because I get overwhelmed when the world is too 'open' since I like doing everything I possibly can in a game.

[Depression Moon]

I don't know why in our industry why we see linearity as a negative. I don't have a problem with it, it all depends how well made the game is.

[sharkythesharkdogg]

Seems most people share my thoughts.

The linearity isn't an issue as long as the story is engaging to the point where I don't feel I'm being led along, but that I want to keep moving along.

The best linear RPG stories left me grousing that I needed to do certain side quests or grinding because I couldn't wait to find out what happened next in the story.

[Colonel Angus]

Super Mario Bros. was crazy linear. The current ones are a little freer, but it still feels like I'm just moving from the left to the right.

[Formalhaut]

I'm usually fine with it. In RPGs I'm fine with a mostly linear path as long as the game opens up at some point to allow me to freely travel anywhere. FFX did a good job of this.

Did it, though? By the time you get the airship, there isn't really much point travelling to places you've already been to, sans bagging the Dark Aeons and the odd celestial weapon hunt.

[blackmage_nuke]

Agreed it depends on the game and what you're aiming for. Some of the best games out there are linear. The Portal series comes to mind. There was a time when I prefered linearity to branching/open world games but now if done right I can find any format enjoyable. As said before though in RPG I prefer things to start linear then open up mid/late game.

[Del Murder]

I'm usually fine with it. In RPGs I'm fine with a mostly linear path as long as the game opens up at some point to allow me to freely travel anywhere. FFX did a good job of this.

Did it, though? By the time you get the airship, there isn't really much point travelling to places you've already been to, sans bagging the Dark Aeons and the odd celestial weapon hunt.

Those are some pretty good reasons already. There are also other things you could have missed. I found myself revisiting areas quite a bit. I'm just saying, for a very linear game, it was nice to have that option at some point. FFXIII was just about as linear as X but took away the ability to check out older areas save a few you visit in endgame.