coolness of non linear games

[QueBert]

was playing Crysis at a friends, I was reloading this one part I couldn't pass, and about the 5th time I approached the area backwards so I couldn't see what was happening, and sure enough when I crossed the point where it triggers the dialog he started to go "what the hell is that thing!" Which I couldn't possibly see because I was facing the opposite direction. It really got me thinking about how much I like non linear games, that don't have all these scripted shits.

I remember years ago I was playing GTA III,, as I strolled down the street out of nowhere a plane came screaming out of the sky and crashed into the middle of the street hitting a car and causing people to start running around. I played the game countless hours after and never saw that happen again or anything even close.

 

[pontifex]

non-linear games tend to get boring real quick though as their usually isn't a story or much of one, because if it did, it wouldn't be all that non-linear.

 

[NaOH]

i always enjoy those types of games exponentially more too. I think this is why I hardly play any single player games anymore. It's all feels the same and you always have to finish them one certain way. Figures why I love GTA series, Hitman etc that much more.

Also, I usually play MP of games because it is so unpredictable (different things happen). One multiplayer that I got really sick of was bf2142. It was the same crap everytime, run around collect flags over and over until you get onto the mothership, then it's a camp fest. EVERY GAME!

 

[NikolaeVarius]

I like Linear Single Player stories. It allows the game to have a good set story, because the Dev's can count on you to get to point A. In Non Linear Games, it more jjust scattered missions and a story line cutscene here or there. It seems that story just isn't important in Non Linear Games

 

[GundamSonicZeroX]

Originally posted by: NaOH
Also, I usually play MP of games because it is so unpredictable (different things happen).

Yeah, I remember that one time I was playing SW: Battle Front (Mos Eisley map). I was protecting the spawn point. Eventually I ran off to kill an engineer and steal his ammo, when an anti-armour (ally) laid some mines down to help me. After a few minutes a regular soldier threw a grenade and blew up all of the mines, killing me and two other teammates! :Q

In SW:BF2 (Dagobah) our team was running out of people (many of them had to leave) and the enemy was coming straight towards us. Me and my teammates set detpacks (totaling 5) by the sunken Y-Wing and when the enemy came too close, we set those motherfuckers off, causing all kinds of splashing and other distractions. After the initial killing, when the members of the other team were shouting obscenities, (we were on a teamspeak server) and wondering why their 'mates have died, we came rushing in with shotguns blazing, giving us the edge we need to win.

Try to find experiences like that in a single player game.

 

[CP5670]

I don't like completely linear games, where there isn't so much as a single room away from the main "path." The levels and the stuff in them tend to have a very artificial feel, as if they exist just for you to go through them. In comparison, I think I prefer fully nonlinear sandbox-type games, but those can also get dull after a while. It's best to have a balance between the two. Deus Ex for example got it almost perfect.

 

[coloumb]

One of the reasons why multi-player games are so popular. Sure... there is still a certain amount linearity to them, but the games are different every time you play.

I wouldn't be surprised to start seeing better non-linear single player games within 10 years - to the point of not realizing you're playing with or against computer AI.

 

[NaOH]

Originally posted by: GundamSonicZeroX

Originally posted by: NaOH
Also, I usually play MP of games because it is so unpredictable (different things happen).

Yeah, I remember that one time I was playing SW: Battle Front (Mos Eisley map). I was protecting the spawn point. Eventually I ran off to kill an engineer and steal his ammo, when an anti-armour (ally) laid some mines down to help me. After a few minutes a regular soldier threw a grenade and blew up all of the mines, killing me and two other teammates! :Q

In SW:BF2 (Dagobah) our team was running out of people (many of them had to leave) and the enemy was coming straight towards us. Me and my teammates set detpacks (totaling 5) by the sunken Y-Wing and when the enemy came too close, we set those motherfuckers off, causing all kinds of splashing and other distractions. After the initial killing, when the members of the other team were shouting obscenities, (we were on a teamspeak server) and wondering why their 'mates have died, we came rushing in with shotguns blazing, giving us the edge we need to win.

Try to find experiences like that in a single player game.

Couldn't have given a better example myself. I guess just some of the random funny stuff that happens in Halo 3 MP is enough for me. Boy I love that game with a passion (especially the replays that get autosaved).

Also, I've had many days of enjoyment with CS by itself compared to single player games. It just feels so wack when an enemy actually gets you, you jsut reload the game and you can anticipate the same goddamn attack.

 

[skace]

This is an odd thread because Crysis is actually pretty sandboxy. The main character rattling off a few comments isn't really a big deal. Talking about the coolness of nonlinear games would make more sense playing something like Episode 2 instead of Crysis...

Linear and NonLinear games both have unexpected moments though, that is usually based on physics and AI. Or bugs that cause unexpected outcomes.

 

[Coldkilla]

The first 50% of Crysis was perfect for me. OFP in its non-linear game play struck me the most. You see, in games you need an objective, it works that way in real life too. "Hey Johnson, destroy that gas station", your going to go to the gas station no matter what, its how you get there. Once your there, a story has to be carried out somehow.

 

[ConstipatedVigilante]

I like Crysis - you have to go somewhere and do something, but it's up to you how to do it. CoD4 is great too, though.

 

[duragezic]

Crysis is really great in that respect. I am one who enjoyed HL2 campaign very much, and the episodes have been just as good. It's always been obvious it's been very linear, but I didn't have a big problem with that. Although I admit the replay value is much less because of that.

Yet playing Crysis for a few hours... damn is that awesome to have such freedom. I was stuck at this point where you cross a bridge and to get to a village, where Psycho is suppose to be helping you, then you find that girl and two tanks come into the village. I was having problems staying alive and getting into the village, which was surprising because it had been very easy until that. The stupid minefield really limited the options. I tried going stealth, run and gun, and neither worked that well. So after a while, I re-loaded a save and walked over to where you take that guy out in the water by the waterfall. I used a tranq dart on the guy in the machinegun nest, then got the bright idea that "oh yeah, that strength mode, I can jump higher", so I jump over the fence, able to stay away from the mines, and finally get into the village, completely stealth. It was so easy to do that compared to the things I was trying before that.

There is some scripted parts in Crysis, but those are necessary at times to trigger events for the story and such. What an amazing game!

And moreso than Crysis is STALKER. I started a new game with the 1.0004 patch and the faikes mod. So I talk to Wolf and go to meet up with the scouts to attack the bandits at the car park. Cept some sort of monsters took out the scouts, ah well thanks for the equipment boys. And before that, as soon as I started the new game, I get out of the trader's bunker and head up to walk to Wolf, stopping by to get a few of the first items like the Merc suit. Then I hear Wolf and his boys going nuts and I start taking fire (no bandages at this point). For some reason, these bastards are attacking the camp 2 minutes after the game started. I go to find Wolf to get the first quest and get out of there, cept he is dead already! Oops, had to start over!

STALKER is awesome like that. Although I personally find it flawed in a number of areas, overall it is exceptional, especially with how many weird and funny things occur, and it's rarely the same thing.

 

[Maximilian]

Originally posted by: QueBert
was playing Crysis at a friends, I was reloading this one part I couldn't pass, and about the 5th time I approached the area backwards so I couldn't see what was happening, and sure enough when I crossed the point where it triggers the dialog he started to go "what the hell is that thing!" Which I couldn't possibly see because I was facing the opposite direction. It really got me thinking about how much I like non linear games, that don't have all these scripted shits.

I remember years ago I was playing GTA III,, as I strolled down the street out of nowhere a plane came screaming out of the sky and crashed into the middle of the street hitting a car and causing people to start running around. I played the game countless hours after and never saw that happen again or anything even close.

You saw a plane crash in GTA III?? No fair, i never seen that once in any of the GTA's. Shot down helicopters yeah but never random planes

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: QueBert
I remember years ago I was playing GTA III,, as I strolled down the street out of nowhere a plane came screaming out of the sky and crashed into the middle of the street hitting a car and causing people to start running around. I played the game countless hours after and never saw that happen again or anything even close.

Reminds me of the Batmobile in King's Quest II. There's one specific cave that it would come out of every so often. We never figured out what the trigger was, but it was a cool easter egg

 

[QueBert]

Originally posted by: Soviet

Originally posted by: QueBert
was playing Crysis at a friends, I was reloading this one part I couldn't pass, and about the 5th time I approached the area backwards so I couldn't see what was happening, and sure enough when I crossed the point where it triggers the dialog he started to go "what the hell is that thing!" Which I couldn't possibly see because I was facing the opposite direction. It really got me thinking about how much I like non linear games, that don't have all these scripted shits.

I remember years ago I was playing GTA III,, as I strolled down the street out of nowhere a plane came screaming out of the sky and crashed into the middle of the street hitting a car and causing people to start running around. I played the game countless hours after and never saw that happen again or anything even close.

You saw a plane crash in GTA III?? No fair, i never seen that once in any of the GTA's. Shot down helicopters yeah but never random planes

yeah it was random as hell and made no sense, it was cool to watch it crash and the dumb ass AI chaos insue

 

[Wheelock]

Originally posted by: coloumb
I wouldn't be surprised to start seeing better non-linear single player games within 10 years - to the point of not realizing you're playing with or against computer AI.

Being a cynic, I don't think that'll happen so soon. It's always going to be easier to sell a product by showing pretty screenshots than by including captions of "Mind-blowing AI!"

 

[Wheelock]

Originally posted by: Soviet
You saw a plane crash in GTA III?? No fair, i never seen that once in any of the GTA's. Shot down helicopters yeah but never random planes

FWIW, I've heard that plane crashes are fairly common in the hilly "Mulholland" area of GTA: San Andreas.