Linear vs Open World

[lindbergh]

What types of games do you want - linear games that have a pre-determined path (like Final Fantasy) or open world games wherein you can choose whatever path you want and tackle things in any order you want (like Grand Theft Auto)? I prefer Linear games over open world games. That's because linear games mostly have better story lines than open world games. I do like open world games but I'm not that into them like linear games.

 

[AlphaHelix]

I definitely think there's room enough in the world for both. Sometimes I like games that offer a ton of freedom and let me do whatever I want like the Elder Scrolls series. Other times I just want to enjoy a good cinematic experience with a good story like the Halo games. What I don't like is when games try to do both, either give me freedom or tell me a good story. What I don't like it when games pretend to have a huge number of meaningful choices but really don't.

 

[Apollo10]

I like playing both linear and open world games. I enjoy playing open world more because I have more freedom. I can choose where to go and I don't have to focus on the main objective of the game. Games like Grand Theft Auto use the open world game type to keep the player entertained for hours. In linear style games, the player is suppose to go through the level and be done with it. They are not allowed to explore the level without having to restart it.

 

[Leeroy_MY]

Linear games are great when there's an awesome and moving story to be told, like the Final Fantasy series. I think when a game is open world, their stories tend to be less intense as much less effort and thought were placed into writing the script for each of the paths you can choose.

Nonetheless, open world games like Skyrim are interesting because you don't have to always play the good guy. Hahaha you have much more freedom to do whatever you want and see the consequences.

So I guess when I want a great story, I'd go for linear but when I just feel like messing around to spend some time, I'd log into my open world games and experiment for a bit.

 

[Oogles]

I like both. I've enjoyed the plot of Final Fantasy as well as I did with exploring GTA, although I never seem to finish any GTA game cause I always end up just going on a murder spree when I fire up the game. LOL. But I definitely think that games like GTA, Saints Row and Elder Scroll have more replay value and money value in them if you're looking into game hours. But then games like Final Fantasy, Devil May Cry or Kingdom Hearts definitely has the ability to capture hearts and immerse you into their story line as well as make you feel the emotion of the characters more than those open world games. Just my two cents but I definitely like both.

 

[Demon_skeith]

Give me linear with a splash of open world, I don't really like having to take many different paths or beat the game several times to see different endings.

As long as the story and characters are good, people don't mind if it's linear or not. FF 13 was pretty boring leaving gamers to complain how linear it was despite all the past FF games being the same.

 

[ciorex]

I think the perfect game can seamlessly incorporate both, too linear and you get easily bored, too open world and you get overwhelmed (Skyrim is a perfect example).
For me the more important elements are the characters and the storyline, if the characters are interesting and make you care about them and the story makes you go "dude what just happened!" (in a good way), then its done right.
I'm actually looking forward to games like Dragon Age Inquisition and The Witcher III that at first glance, look like they will strike a nice balance between the two.