Look closer at the "non-linear progression system"

[razorace]

iD has something like a 2% royality fee of net profits in addition to the $250,000 up front. Makes you wonder why so many people take that deal over say, Torque.

 

Right now, Torque seems to be the best for smaller companies or even larger companies. $250,000 and 2% is a lot of money. Sure, having a premade engine saves a LOT of time but when you can get a pretty good engine for $100 instead of $250,000...Heck, you could go with Torque and spend the extra $250,000 on a couple more months of actual development to make sure the game is actually FUN and interesting to play.

 

Anyway, back on subject, I think the X-Com series is a perfect example of how randomized maps can improve the game.

[Fardreamer]

As has been mentioned, a distinction should be made between non-linear level design and non-linear gameplay. One is not necessarily the other. JK's, and for the most part JO's levels (meaning architecture and layout) were linearly designed, meaning you go down a corridor into a hall, that hall has a door leading into another corridor, then up an elevator, etc. 90% of the time you were following a single physical pathway throughout the level, occasionally having to backtrack a bit to flick that switch that activates another elevator that leads into yet another corridor.

 

On the other hand, take a look at a game like Metroid Prime (any Metroid game for that matter, or even Zelda games, but I'll focus on Prime because it's a FPS). There are no "levels" in the sense that you finish one amd move on to the next. The environment is comprised of a number of areas that are in no way linearly planned - there is no single path to take through any of the areas, and you can at all times go back and forth from one area to another. But the trick is that while the layout is not linear, the gameplay for the most part is linear - in other words, in order to progress you always need to get to a specific place in the map to collect a certain item, fight a boss, or solve a puzzle. The result is that the story unfolds linearly - compulsory when a prewritten storyline is to be conveyed - while there are no linear restrictions to physical movement throughout the game. New areas are discovered and accessed by completing an objective, and these new areas are added to the general accessible area of the map.

 

The obvious limitation to this approach is that you are confining the entire game to one "world map", meaning that seperate areas have to be logically connected to fit geographically. This might not work in a story that has the player travelling from planet to planet tracking down that ellusive bad guy, which is usually the case in the JK series.

 

So basically what I'm trying to say is that the type of level design - a sequence of changing scenarios that has you zipping through them down a predetermined path, or one large world map that has you going back and forth according to objectives - depends on the story goals of the developers. Each style should be used according to the story's requirements/

 

But keep in mind that in order to be playable the story is amost always going to be linear, because that's the nature of stories - they're written from beginning to end, and read that way too Naturally you can play around with certain parts of the story, if designed carefully - it might not matter what mission out of two possibilities is done first - but ultimately the story will have one conclusive ending.

 

If you want complete open endings and freedom to do whatever you want to do, go play a MMORPG.

[txa1265]

Postal 2 is somewhat non-linear. I've been playing around with it a bit, and you are in a town, with daily chores. How you get places is somewhat up to you - there are limitations, of course. The order in which you accomplish them is your choice as well. What you do in between is also up to you. Your actions determine - to an extent- how others react to you. Some you can't help - the 'parents for decency' and 'book burner' groups will hate you no matter what, but if you keep your weapons away and don't kill while the police are looking you can roam pretty free.

 

Don't mistake that for me saying that it is a good game.

 

Just that it has a certain open-ness.

 

Mike

[Solbe M'ko]

Hold on, folks. I never said the maps should be random (that would be ugly), just that new objectives and mini-quest style stuff should be, this way you never can really beat the game. Sorta like the Sims, but NOT.

[razorace]

That's even worse. You can't really randomize the missions because the game isn't intellegent enough to be able to alter the basic mission concept (find the ___, take ____ to____, etc.)

[Agen]

I would call GTA3 the most linear game.

If JA has it's SP "non-linear" system like JK1's then i will be reasonably happy, i just don't think that it will be that linear compared to what some people are expecting. The Force for one.. i belive we are getting to choose what we want which will bring some non-linearity to the game since they will have to cater for lots of people The storyline's are most likely to go 2 ways or just 2 sets that end up with the same end.

I just don't expect much but as long as it's a good game with good MP then i'll be sound as a pound

[Solbe M'ko]

The game COULD be intelligent enough, though, with some real work done on the subject. Just because it hasn't BEEN done doesn't mean it wouldn't work. Anyway, I think that non-linear gameplay is important as a goal for the future of games. In fact, anything new is welcome.

On the GTA3 comment, I think that GTA3 is linear if you just play through it to the end. I can revisit that game a couple times a month just for the police chases. It gets boring if you play it alot in a short period, but small doses are quite enjoyable, as with any lighthearted game like that. That's sort of my whole issue with the SW universe (or any other fantasy franchise). It simply isn't lightghearted enough to just be "FUN", it has to explore deeper into the universe; keep adding more depth.

Maybe I'm asking for too much too soon...