It’s one of the biggest complaints gamers level at developers these days – that games are too linear. The word is almost used to describe a sin, or a regrettable attribute. If a game is too “linear”, it’s seen as another reason to avoid it.
After all, who can blame anyone for thinking this way? So many games now rely on making choices, or types of morality systems, and several come with a number of different endings. And most of the linear games, (many of which are now corridor shooters), are so bland and rife with lazy level design that it’s no wonder they’re seen as a lesser quality product.
But the truth is, linearity is a good thing…but only when it’s done right. For most gamers, when they complain about a game’s story being being too streamlined in the one direction, aren’t actually saying the linear story itself is bad. They’re only complaining because it’s been done in a lazy way.
Gamers want to be taken on a journey, but they don’t necessarily want it to be obvious. The millions of Call of Duty games sold clearly shows what gamers want – a gripping story driven by captivating characters. But there’s no doubt the CoD series has taken its fair share of blame for pushing players in the one direction.
However, there are arguably benefits from making a game’s story linear as opposed to having the player dictate each individual choice. The developer has more control over the character and the story, which enables them to have much more depth – linear games provide a better possibility for higher quality art.
Linear games also provide a collective experience for gamers. Continuing with the CoD metaphor, most people will remember the nuclear weapon detonating in COD4: MW. These type of scripted experiences allow something shared between other gamers – you’ve all gone through the same thing rather than choosing your each outcome.
Gamers can be fatigued from being forced to make too many choices. Once in a while it’s nice to sit back, relax, and let the game do most of the story-telling without having to worry about whether your dialogue choice will affect what happens later on down the road.
Of course, there are pitfalls. Too many developers rely on a few cheap tricks to keep the player moving forward. Linearity provides a great fertiliser for story and pacing – but how can this be achieved? I think there are a few different principles developers can play by:
Linear games only work when there is a good enough story to propel the gamer forward.
While having only one storyline allows the creator more control over what is happening, it also means that more people are less likely to follow it if they can’t decide on their own where the story is going. In a linear game the story needs to be as compelling as possible – you should make gamers want to see what happens next.
This needn’t be difficult – investing time and money in quality writing is a good start.But this also relies so much on various other gameplay elements – pacing, lighting and even overlooked aspects such as characterisation.
Give your characters a compelling backstory, an actual development arc and then put them in situations where they are forced to overcome conflict in the pursuit of a single goal, and you can create barriers for them that naturally act as pacing devices.
When you combine all of these tools, having a linear storyline isn’t a hinderence to the gameplay, but rather acts as a conduit for a gripping storytelling experience.
Dead Space does this particularly well. The game gives you a specific goal to achieve by the end, but along the way during each chapter you are given new obstacles. You have to power up a train, or shoot asteroids, or open some new doors to the next section.
They provide natural pacing devices and keep the tension running high, which risks running out during a long, narrative-based linear game. Dead Space’s mini-missions are also tied into the plot and aren’t just thrown at you randomly – they are actually part of the story and are delivered to you by the other characters.
BioShock also does this extremely well. The game itself is as linear as linear can be, but the wonderful art deco design and the backstory, drenched with rich characterisation, keeps the gamer’s mind off the corridor format.
Give your game a solid story, and the player won’t care about not making choices.
Your character has to be interesting enough to justify foregoing multiple storylines.
It’s ironic that characters in linear games, which are meant to be some of the most interesting, are often the most dull and boring. On the other hand, decision-based RPGs such as KOTOR, Mass Effect and Alpha Protocol all have rich and fascinating protagonists.
This isn’t surprising – the sheer amount of branches the story can take in an RPG dictates that more backstory be dedicated to each character.But why isn’t more attention being paid to the corridor gamers?
Call of Duty, (up until Black Ops), Half Life and the new Medal of Honor games are prime examples. Do the actions of these characters propel the player forward? Hardly. Instead, the plot does more of the work when the two elements should be in sync.
For all its flaws, The Force Unleashed accomplishes this quite well. Starkiller is extremely well written and voice-acted, and he provides the gamer with a motivation for going forward through the linear story because you actually care about him. The Prince from Sands of Time also does this, as the developers give him a clear and distinct story arc through the course of the game.
Story is important, but gamers won’t follow a linear narrative unless they are playing through the eyes of an interesting and sympathetic character.
The level design needs to make the gamer believe he or she is exploring everything without prompt.
A good story really depends on a good complicated level design.
It’s perfectly fine to have the gamer move in one direction, but the design of the environment needs to ensure they have enough areas to explore. The more room you have to play in, the more you can learn about the context of the game and the backstory – elements which will help strengthen the main narrative.
Additionally, having a linear storyline doesn’t mean the level design needs to be linear as well. You can provide the gamers with multiple ways for attacking situations and taking down enemies – and for all of its flaws, the CoD series does this quite well.
This dependence on level design also means developers need to step up when it comes to creating new and fascinating worlds. Consider Half Life 2 – Gordon’;s journey represents a rich tapestry of locations from the gringy City 17 to an eastern-European style jail. These are varied and diverse locations so different they could represent an entire portfolio – that’s what keeps the gamer moving forward.
The narrative can be linear, but the level design doesn’t have to be. Make the gamer believe that he or she is exploring a path that no one else has, and the story will do the rest.
Linear gaming does not leave any invisible walls – it requires good design.
If you want to take the gamer down a specific path, then you can’t be lazy about it. Invisible walls are one on the laziest pieces of design in gaming and they really shouldn’t be tolerated by studios looking to tell a good story.
This is plainly obvious in games such as the latest Castlevania, and Alpha Protocol. There’s nothing wrong with sending gamers down a specific path, but developers need to make sure that path is polished.
This is similar to the previous point regarding level design, but is also so important that it needs to be stated outright. Games need to have enough time to be polished, or otherwise, the story suffers.
And everything else…
Linear games are a great opportunity for developers. They can allow them to do great, cool and interesting things they can make sure every gamer experiences when playing, not just the ones who happen to choose that particular dialogue choice in an RPG.
But these also denotes on them a heavy responsibility to make sure the narrative, characters and design elements are all wrapped up in an attractive enough package to keep them going forward.
Once again, it all comes back to story. You won’t keep gamers going for 15 hours on the promise of shooting a particular weapon over and over again. They need context, interesting level design and a sympathetic protagonist to keep them moving forward.
There is a place for linear games today, but they will only work of developers and writers give them the attention they deserve.