Linear and Non-Linear Gameplay

When game designers sit down to create a game, they wonder what kind of game play they should institute into their game. Should the designers go with a linear game, or a non-linear game? There are definitely many differences between the two types of game play options, and there are even some aspects they have in common. Though, the choice between these two types of game play can drastically change the way a game is played out. The types of aspects that need to be weeded out, when deciding on which method of game play to go with, are storyline, character type and actions, game challenges, and the game world.

Linear game play is probably the most simple of the two options. A linear game has a storyline that the games character must typically follow to a “T”. The storyline consists typically of puzzles, challenges, enemies, allies, and whatnot that are all part of the story, and do not deter from it in any way. This means that there are usually no optional side-quests, or additional storylines to follow.

When it comes to character type in a linear game, the gamer usually doesn’t have a choice in playing the game as good or evil, the linear game play usually has it set for them. Sometimes, though, you can choose to play as a male or female. Every now and then you will even get to play as multiple characters that have to work together in some way to solve the story. One of the great aspects of playing a linear game is that you don’t have to worry about whether you made the right or wrong choices with your character, like you do in a non-linear game. The only real things you have to worry about are accomplishing each goal of the game to finally get to the end.

Game challenges in a linear game, from a designing standpoint, don’t have to worry about “what if” situations. For example: “What if my character decides to steal this sword, or what if he decides to buy it?” Your character pretty much has their type of morality chosen for them, and you have to play the game based on that morality.

Another great aspect of linear gaming is the game world itself, in the fact that gamers will see every part of the game you created. This is because a linear game typically takes you from point A, to point B, to point C, to point D, etc. The game itself is a progression of levels, story, and character building within the game world.

One of the problems with a linear game, though, is that you have your game, and your storyline, and they must go together. There can be really nothing else that deters from that aspect. For some designers that is a good thing, and others it is bad. Many game designers like the fact that you can give the gamer a choice of where to go, and of who they want to be like you can in a non-linear game.

In a non-linear game, the aspect of choosing is huge and probably the most dominate trait in that type of game. When designers put together the storyline for a non-linear game they have to think about the “what if” situations. The decisions that your character makes in the game directly affect the outcome of the game. Many non-linear games, for this reason, consist of more than one ending to the game. Though, you can have a non-linear game that has a linear story but not linear game play.

Most non-linear games consist of creating your own character. You can choose how you want to play that character, and choose where and when you want to play that character. Many non-linear games give you the choice of creating your character from the beginning, or changing them throughout the game, like a Role Playing Game.

In most non-linear games your character can actually choose whether or not to solve certain puzzles, or help in certain situations. There are usually set challenges and puzzles that have to be solved to help push the story forward, but that doesn’t mean you have to solve the challenge or puzzle a certain way. Many of these types of games actually give you many options to solving a puzzle or challenge that will actually affect the outcome of the storyline.

One of the great aspects about a non-linear game is that a game designer can truly create an open ended, breathing, and alive world. The designers would think of all the possibilities and choices a gamer would make in the game and try to incorporate them into that game. There would be many optional side quests, and additional story lines that the character could follow. The character can choose to play the game for 5 hours, or even 100 hours depending on how much there is to do.

The problem, though, with creating this type of game is that there is a lot more time involved. There is a lot more memory to consider, more design, more art, more characters, connecting storylines, loading times, and many other aspects that a linear game pretty much has set out for it. Another problem is making sure that the game is truly non-linear, whereas some games that claim to be non-linear have in fact been made in a linear way.

A lot of how the game needs to be determines the way it will be made and what type of game play will be used. If you have a specific story line that you really want your gamers to follow then linear game play is the way to go. If you have a story line that you don’t mind if people don’t follow right away, or even at all, then non-linear is the way to go. Game designers really have to sit down and decide, “What sort of game do we really want to make?”

Examples of linear games:

Prince of Persia, God of War, Stranglehold, Gears of War, Halo

Examples of non-linear games:

Fable, Mass Effect, Elder Scrolls, World of Warcraft, Grand Theft Auto

1 Comment »

1. jdfrost says:

   January 20th, 2009

   Well put. One great aspect of the new systems that are being created is with the expandability of non-linear games. For instance with Fable 2, there’s already dozens of hours of gameplay out of the box if you go down every backroad possible. And through XBOX Live you can continue to enjoy your game by downloading expansions.

   There was one non-linear game that I played on PC that ended up getting I would say over 300 hours of my time over the course of the past 6 years…Elder Scrolls III Morrowind. Not only did it come out with multiple expansion packs, but it also came with the ES3 Construction Program where you could create new places, new people, new missions, new weapons, spells…etc.

   Now I will have to say that I still enjoy some of the basic linears, but in today’s world non-linear is the money maker. Although it might take more investment for development and time, but in the end it leaves room for more residuals for the developers. On the gamers end, (non-linear) it’s the future of gaming. Going to the movies is practically obsolete when you can spend 200 hours instead of 2, unravelling a storyline that you’re in control of.

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