Have games become too easy/mindless?

[Arch0wl]

Re: Have games become too easy/mindless?

I think this is maybe a good way to look at it -- quasilinearity. An overall linear game but with a sort of localized nonlinearity.

But, to be fair, against my own argument, OoT frustrated a lot of gamers when it came to stuff like the Water Temple. Even local nonlinearity annoys some, which is why the linear stuff does so well.

can you elaborate on the difference between quasilinearity and localized linearity? If you could explain the use of "localized", that would be great too.

I'm probably going to write an article about linearity for Gamasutra in the future and I would like to be able to credit you for this concept.

[Reincarnate]

Re: Have games become too easy/mindless?

I'd say there are many types of linearity. You can have "local" linearity/nonlinearity in terms of the immediate environment/gameflow, or you can have an "overall"/"global" linearity to the narrative. You can have a choose-your-own-adventure style of gaming with multiple endings, or you may force only one story onto the game. Your game may have a central objective, or you may go all-out with the nonlinearity and go with a sandbox-style game.

I use "quasilinearity" here in the way you used it -- to describe games that have a mix of both linear and nonlinear elements ("They need to feel as if you can go and do anything while still making the things you do have a guided purpose"). The "can go and do anything" would be a "local" nonlinearity within the confines of a "guided purpose" which would be a "global" linearity.

In contrast, Deus Ex might be a nonlinear game because it not only has local nonlinearity, but global nonlinearity too. You can beat a mission with stealth, take a brute-force assault approach, hack your way in, snipe people from afar, talk your way through, etc -- all within large, nonlinear maps -- and you get different endings depending on your actions and where you take the story. Same goes for something like Riven... many ways to get to the end, and with many different endings, and countless directions to go at any given point.

A quasilinear game with global nonlinearity but local linearity might be... idk, Starfox? You can choose different routes that result in different endings, but each route itself is linear in terms of how the game's levels and mechanics are set up. Super Mario World might be a good example of this because there are tons of levels and different ways to reach each set of levels (via hidden exits/other stages), but the levels themselves are pretty much one-way all the way through (the only localized nonlinearity being the hidden exits).

A quasilinear game with global linearity but local nonlinearity would be, as mentioned earlier, stuff like OoT, along with Duke Nukem 3D, Goldeneye 64, Doom, perhaps Command and Conquer, Half-Life, Lands of Lore: Guardians of Destiny, etc.

A linear game is just... linear all the way through. Everyone plays the same game the same way. See Halo, CoD, FFXIII, GoW, etc.

[Arch0wl]

Re: Have games become too easy/mindless?

That's awesome. Thanks!

[dAnceguy117]

Re: Have games become too easy/mindless?

man, when you break everything down like that... it really is sad to see how many recent games have been completely linear in just about every aspect. there's no way it's caused just by a lack of ideas on the designers' part. I guess the blueprint for a commercial hit has been laid out already, so devs/pubs can't be bothered to take a risk. another problem would be the issue of making nonlinear maps and levels with state-of-the-art graphical details, as has been mentioned already.

the fps genre is definitely experiencing a major lull in creativity right now, particularly in terms of single player modes. thankfully, most other genres are pretty well off, at least in my opinion.

[FFR4EVA_00]

Re: Have games become too easy/mindless?

the jrpg is a varied and developed genre with no lack of original ideas concepts and franchises
ok

[Reincarnate]

Re: Have games become too easy/mindless?

man, when you break everything down like that... it really is sad to see how many recent games have been completely linear in just about every aspect. there's no way it's caused just by a lack of ideas on the designers' part. I guess the blueprint for a commercial hit has been laid out already, so devs/pubs can't be bothered to take a risk. another problem would be the issue of making nonlinear maps and levels with state-of-the-art graphical details, as has been mentioned already.

the fps genre is definitely experiencing a major lull in creativity right now, particularly in terms of single player modes. thankfully, most other genres are pretty well off, at least in my opinion.

I understand that having a game have too much local nonlinearity can be really disorienting and hard to take in. It can be frustrating to run around like a headless chicken with no idea where to go next. But I don't feel like the right solution is to go off the deep end and make every level basically one long, winding corridor of scripted events.

Again, I feel like OoT had the right balance. Granted, the Water Temple was probably the stage with the highest amount of local nonlinearity, and that really confused people... but I can't think of too many other dungeons that were genuinely hard to figure out.

[Evnoir]

Re: Have games become too easy/mindless?

I found Demon's Soul on the PS3 to be quite difficult, mainly because it is a nonlinear game.
It kind of reminds me of the first time I played the original Legend of Zelda.