What is Nonlinearity?

[OldSchool_Boy]

I think he has a point.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1rWkqTzOJ4

[Jrecee]

I couldn't take more than 30 seconds of that guy so I have no idea what he's on about.

[Mozgus]

Talked to Anthony off and on for a couple years now, but he's always way too fast spoken and twitchy in these videos, so I can never really follow him. I much prefer him in text. Fucker is too smart for me.

[Overload]

Could scribblenauts be considered nonlinear?

[Reverend]

I enjoyed that. Pretty interesting video.

[DuManchu]

I gave up watching.

Apparently my crappy iBook can't handle YT vids anymore. I think the computer gods are trying to tell me something.

Linearity isn't really a bad thing though either. HL2 wouldn't be nearly as entertaining as it is if you were just allowed to wander where ever you wanted. Granted it would probably increase the replayability but meh, that's what mods are for, right?

[Citizin]

Scripted events are needed in a videogame or else it would just fall apart and wouldn't really have much of a story. I'm not sure if he realized this in his video since I didn't watch much of it. I'd rather not spend my time listening to that voice go on about sandbox games for eight minutes.

[MrPopo]

I didn't bother to watch the video, since I don't need to spend time hearing and watching some guy rant on about something without being funny. Now, if the rants are funny, like a certain British-born Austrailian, then I'm on board. But based on the posts in this thread he's calling sandbox games to be what everything should aspire to.

Really, were GTA and TES: Arena that much better than everything around them at the time? I don't recall it that way. Freedom can be good, but too much freedom is overwhelming. What's easier? Writing a story, or writing a story about cats? Limitations are a good thing.

[Gamerforlife]

That was a smart, though provoking video. Good stuff. What really grabbed me about this video is the idea of nonlinear games as being the kind of game where players have different ways of approaching a problem and can see different events play out as a result.

Unfortunately, most developers today think nonlinear just means creating an annoyingly large world where you waste way too much time just running around aimlessly. Then, throw in a bunch of pointless, optional tasks that are basically just repeats of the things you do in the main storyline and you have a recipe for a typical and boring modern non linear game.

I actually like how some of the old Dynasty Warriors provided non linear gameplay. In every stage, there were various ways to alter how events played out, who lived and died and whether or not morale was swinging in your favor or not. Manipulating events in various ways was often key to acquiring powerful weapons and useful, hidden items. Some of the games would even send you to different stages based on your actions in a previous stage.

[RCBH928]

I thought it was a good video, but longer than needed and the guy keeps talking for a long time about examples which was boring.

I always wished for a free world game where what I can do actually affect the game. Like I can shoot anything and pick my own strategy, not a strategy that was put by the developers that I have to figure out on my own.

I recall many missions/stages where you can not progress unless you do exactly the way they want you to do it. This for example like running on a bike in GTA and shooting your enemies but they won't die. If you do it outside the mission they die! WHY?
Then other weird things happen like in Simon the Sorcerer I can cut a sleep dwarf's beard and use it as disguise but I can't cut a rope! go figure...