The Power is Yours

Games that are often considered linear, often have a negative connotation that go along with that title. However, there's nothing wrong with a linear game when it gives the players options. Deus Ex, Dishonored, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves are games that are linear, but they give players options to complete their objectives in whatever way they see fit. Choice is part of what makes video games special.

Lately, I've been playing Dishonored and it is quite proud of the fact that it gives players multiple paths and choices in how they do things. Having options for your players is all well and good, but to tout them about in the manner that Dishonored does is just bragging. This is how games used to be designed. Deus Ex, System Shock 2, and Thief were all games that truly let the player play. Dishonored is a game that is comparable to those, yet boasts about something that all video games should have in the first place. Not all games have that element of choice, but those games aren't very good.

Contrast Dishonored with another game that I have been playing lately, Remember Me. Remember Me is a very beautiful and aesthetically pleasing game. However, the amount of choice and play that the player has is slim to none. This is a bad example of linear gameplay. Remember Me forces players to take the exact path that the game wants them to. The environments are confining hallways, and the acrobatic climbing sequences are marked with arrows directing players in the direction that the player needs to go. In order to break up the follow the leader pattern, the game has hidden small pick ups that minimally improve the character. Remember Me also offers the ability to customize fight combos, yet does not allow for variations on which buttons to press. All of the combos are set in their ways with the specific buttons. The level of customization comes down to the effect that the combo has, as players can assign damage, health regen, or special ability cool down effects to the combos. I'm no fighting game aficionado, but there is something genuinely thrilling and satisfying about hitting different buttons in a specific pattern that gives me a thrill. Because fighting is the main focus of fighting games, the combat is more refined, and can also allow for players to fight the way that they want to. Remember Me has none of this refinement. Combos are set in their ways, and cannot be altered or interwoven with other combos during combat, leaving players to do exactly as the game says, or there is no payoff.

While Dishonored differs from Remember Me in most regards, there is still a structure to how the story plays out. Players must go through a select sequence to get to the end of the game. Having order to a video game with where the developers take the player is okay to do. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a great example of how to properly pace a game. While it seems that, on the whole, Uncharted 2 is a nonstop thrill ride, the game does take time to slow down for moments of tension or serenity. The game also offers choice to the player with its combat and traversal. Level design is key when it comes to this element of a video game. Giving players large areas to figure out the best approach can give them many opportunities and routes to fight or sneak. Uncharted 2 has superb environmental layouts and enemy placement so that the player can make their choice of stealth or action. Even though a majority of the levels goes from one room to the next with confining hallways, the game does make an effort to make getting there interesting. Whereas Remember Me directly told players which ledge or pipe to grab onto next, Uncharted 2 lays out the ledges and pipes before the player but doesn't tell them where to go. There is a set path for the player to take in Uncharted 2 when it comes to climbing on things, yet the player has to find the next ledge themselves to figure out where to go next. Remember Me’s arrows leading to the next step, are unnecessary and makes the player frustrated because they definitely could have figured it out on their own.

Players are much smarter than modern game developers seem to give them credit for. By confining the player to a linear path with no options for experimentation and exploration, you end up making a bad game. Games should let players tool around, even if it's silly and doesn't go along with the narrative or the setting. Let the players play.