It seems that people from the industry and people on this board are confused about Non-linear and linear games. So do you all agree that: -Linear games are the likes of Quake/Doom, Unreal...... There is no option whatsoever to change how the game/story unfolds. -Non-Linear games are the likes of Ultima Online. Where the games/story unfolds with a lots of people interacting together. -Quasi-Linear games are likes of Myst+, Deus Ex...... Where the game/story seems to give the player more choice, but are only supplements to make the game more exciting. -Ben

BZZZZZZZT!

Those are not the definitions of Linear and Non-Linear!

Non-linear simply means that events that occur are not in the same order every time or plot points that are told are not as they would be chronologically. Perhaps one should check with a resource or two first before settting the record "straight".

Edited by - SonicSilcion on November 18, 2000 11:03:38 PM

Wow. That''s very odd. All these years I''ve been playing Doom under the illusion that I was in control of the way the game unfolds. Which begs the question. . .then who was???
It''s mind-boggling.

I think that confusion sometimes blur the distinction between nonlinear gameplay and nonlinear plotlines in the interest of making some related point, but its pretty far from an industry-wide epidemic. Still, its funny when people moan that we should go back to the "good old" days of nonlinearity in games like PacMan and Asteroids, since all we''re offered these days are linear games like CRPGs'' and *yawn* First Person Shooters. Since, you see, the plotline is the same every time you play. . .

LOL! That''s confusing the issue.

quote:
Non-linear simply means that events that occur are not in the same order every time or plot points that are told are not as they would be chronologically.

I can tell you that this is not the definition of non-linearity.
Non-linearity would be when the game/story unfolds without any straight line. I have no idea where you looked non-linearity, but:

quote: Perhaps one should check with a resource or two first before settting the record "straight".

You are the one that really should.

Linear means straight, non-linear means non-straight. Do you agree? Thank you.

If you wanted to make a game/story that was non-linear with 8 chapters, where the game/story would have from the beginning 8 different endings that would be unrelated to each other it would be 8 power of 8, which would be 8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8 equals 16777216 plot-lines. Do you get the point? It would be more or less impossible. Look up a book called ''Trigger Happy'' by Stephen Poole, 2000. I think that you would get an idea or two. But please be not one of them that confusing people. Know what the words mean.

-Ben

I would have to agree eith the original posting.

linear = doom, quake, mario bros.

Even though each level gets completed diffrently you still will proceed to the next level. No matter how good you do or what you collect on that level the next level is fixed. A linear path to an absolute end.

non-linear = infocom, ff7, zelda,

Although there may be some untimate best answer to the game it proceeds to change and grow with each decision you make. Not all paths cover the same ground. These games may have a set number of paths, or may dynamically change as you go.

Gocontact: I don''t follow what you are saying. You say that non-linearity implies that the game unfolds "without any straight line." Then, would not a game whose events can occur in a different order (or not at all) depending on the player''s choices be non-linear? That was what SonicSilicon was saying. You say he is wrong, and then say something that seems to be right along the same lines.

Why are you guys attacking each other''s definitions as incorrect, anyway? There''s no need for that; who''s to say there is necessarily one right way to look at this? Making games isn''t about making your ideas conform to one exact definition, it''s about finding new ways to approach things. If you really need to be sticklers for definitions, then plot your game events on the coordinate plane somehow and fit a polynomial to the set of points. If the degree of the polynomial is less than 2, the game is linear. Otherwise it''s quadratic, cubic, or something else.

-Ironblayde
 Aeon Software

Next thing you know, they''ll take my thoughts away.

Hmm. FFVII isn''t really my idea of non-linear. For a non-linear game, I would pick Baldur''s Gate.

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/* todo: insert cool sig */
Martee
Magnum Games.NET

For something to be linear then it stands to reason that there can be no deviation in the storyline what so ever. I really can''t see how someone can disagree with that. So what we have left is discussing what non-linear is/correct? Hopefully this will simplify the task!

One more time for the dumbies
ar+gu+ment n. A discussion in which reasons are put forward in support of and against a proposition, proposal, or case; debate.

quote: For something to be linear then it stands to reason that there can be no deviation in the storyline what so ever. I really can''t see how someone can disagree with that. So what we have left is discussing what non-linear is/correct? Hopefully this will simplify the task!

Thank you for being here. Why do I get so emotional and almost out of sense when discussing this? Because I have a Dissertation to write and I want all the words and definitions to be as correct as possible.

I get quite fed up when I read that even people in the established industry mean that something that is not non-linear is non-linear, like Mary DeMarle:

quote: 2. How engrossing can a story line for a puzzle game be? Have you found that you''ve had to cut back on plot to accommodate a somewhat non-linear puzzle game?

I think a puzzle game''s story can be very engrossing, precisely because it *is* nonlinear.

On http://www.womengamers.com/interviews/demarle.html

How can we educate people what non-linear is and not?:@

True non-linear is x in power of x

Linear is a straight story

Quasi is something in the middle, almost like 3d graphics presented on your screen is 2 and a half.

What is the definition for non-linear game? There is no clear goal or plot or anything, that is?