Current Events > Why do people lament the death of linearity in gaming?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Open worlds are superior to just a one and done game linear games in almost every way, I don't understand this new meme of hating on open world games and shilling linear games.

Open worlds have so much to do and see when compared to linear games, is it really a surprise they're dying in an era where people expect 100+ hours out of a single game?
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There are benefits to linearity.

It's much easier to have a compelling plot, for instance. Granted, that opportunity was often squandered.
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There's pros and cons to both open world and linear games

And some games just do not need to be open world
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Going to the extreme of either side results in shit. There's a balance.
FFXIII was linear to a nauseating, fun murdering degree.
Zelda BOTW is open world to the point that the story and pacing suffers terribly. Also stuff like DA:I and FFXV. Granted the story was shit in both those regardless of design.
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DarthAragorn posted...

There's pros and cons to both open world and linear games

And some games just do not need to be open world

Your opinions always fucking suck. You must be a troll.

you need both. You need a fine balance between the two in games.

See Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask for the correct way of doing it. It feels like it's open world and there's open world things to do, but the majority of it is linear.
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WalkingLobsters posted...

you need both. You need a fine balance between the two in games.

See Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask for the correct way of doing it. It feels like it's open world and there's open world things to do, but the majority of it is linear.

Yeah pretty much this. Zelda games have some exploration but they're still linear in some ways like in the dungeons and stuff
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Linear games generally have better design because developers can focus on a single path. You get a lot of filler quests in open world games.
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I honestly become far less interested in a game when it's announced to be open world.

Yes, you are absolutely correct when you say an open world game has much more content. Hours, upon hours of it.

However, I would rather replay ten hours of compelling, high quality content than sit through two hundred hours of dull repetition. Which is what most open world games end up feeling like.

Not to mention the fact that plot benefits far more from a linear structure. There's also the issue of budget allocation now going to all of this uninteresting padding, taking away from the rest of the experience.

Don't get me wrong. You can do an open world very well. Look at The Witcher 3 as a recent example.

But having an open world game feel compelling to explore, play, and experience really is such a rare thing these days. More often than not it's a sign that I'll find the game boring.
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ZombiePelican posted...

Open worlds are superior to just a one and done game linear games in almost every way,

Open worlds don't mean a thing if there's nothing interesting to do or see in them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyVdldXN6pE
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It's not that people don't like open world games anymore, it's that people don't like massive open worlds where most of it is just empty space.

Giblet_Enjoyer posted...

WalkingLobsters posted...

you need both. You need a fine balance between the two in games.

See Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask for the correct way of doing it. It feels like it's open world and there's open world things to do, but the majority of it is linear.

Yeah pretty much this. Zelda games have some exploration but they're still linear in some ways like in the dungeons and stuff

Same with final fantasy. There's an open world you can travel for side quests or backtracking but you're largely still on a linear path.
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open world games are mostly terrible empty wastelands

they're garbage
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I do not want every single game to be 100 hours long. I only play a couple of those a year. If that.
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this is more fun than open world crap

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVvKqJrU7N0
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In general, I prefer not having to choose between 10 different places to go at any time. Sometimes it works though.
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