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Every Thursday, (Reverend) Anthony Burch discusses something about the world of games that bothers him. They're not really rants, because they're not that angry, but "Anthony Discussions" would be the most boring series title in history.

This week's rant is about how most games that claim to deliver nonlinear gameplay actually do not. At some point in the video I say that I've only heard of one or two truly nonlinear games in my life, but I would love to be proven wrong about that.

But why does a video titled "true nonlinearity" include a shot of Frank Castle torturing a bad guy? I guess you'll have to hit the jump to find out.

Background videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP3FOdJMcLM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6EKBWVQYRY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5IRc9uPANo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOjBkl4n5gs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU8kl7xYd5M


Continue: More video stories





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101 comments | showing # 1 to 50

DJP3DRO's Avatar
DJP3DRO at 06/25/2009 15:22
lol private video
Marioland's Avatar
Marioland at 06/25/2009 15:23
Private video? Good show! :P
Stonedfox's Avatar
Stonedfox at 06/25/2009 15:23
We can't see your privates.
SpilledMilk's Avatar
SpilledMilk at 06/25/2009 15:24
^he is right yum yum
Mini-Boss's Avatar
Mini-Boss at 06/25/2009 15:25
cant watch gonna cry
VisMortua's Avatar
VisMortua at 06/25/2009 15:27
Totally can't see your privates. Like Stoned said. How DARE you tease US with them though! 0..0
Havoc Fang's Avatar
Havoc Fang at 06/25/2009 15:27
Layers of meaning. Our attempts to watch the video are open, wide and individual.
SpilledMilk's Avatar
SpilledMilk at 06/25/2009 15:27
Maybe he wants us to become his friends!
mrberns's Avatar
mrberns at 06/25/2009 15:29
Mind has been blow by this deeply complex action of offering us a video while denying us the ability to watch it.
mOnion's Avatar
mOnion at 06/25/2009 15:31
i watched it, it was awesome cuz me and rev are bff

that part when you said that thing about that game? that was awesome...
SpilledMilk's Avatar
SpilledMilk at 06/25/2009 15:33
I bought a cheap HK DVD bootleg, so if someone wants to watch I'm ustream the shit of it.
VisMortua's Avatar
VisMortua at 06/25/2009 15:34
@moreOnions

just because you got to tickle his balls that one time doesn't mean you should rub it in all our faces. >.<

=P
SpilledMilk's Avatar
SpilledMilk at 06/25/2009 15:36
* I ustream the shit out of it

can't write cause Rev destroyed my braincell with complexiteeeeeee
mario actually's Avatar
mario actually at 06/25/2009 15:37
Nice discussion! That is straight forward non-linear (get it?) presentation of a video.

...
DJP3DRO's Avatar
DJP3DRO at 06/25/2009 15:38
Truly he is sending us a message through this bit of performance art. True nonlinearity is found by us exploring the only nonlinear thing in the world, the world itself (and such, the Internet), and just clicking an article and then clicking a video is very linear and thus would be hypocritical of him.

...Fuck it, I'm going to GameFAQs for this one.
Syn's Avatar
Syn at 06/25/2009 15:41
NOBODY MOVE!


....I've dropped me brain....
Fury-Genesis's Avatar
Fury-Genesis at 06/25/2009 15:41
FAIL! Can't see it! Show me your privates!
Stonedfox's Avatar
Stonedfox at 06/25/2009 15:43
So really he wants us to watch the background images and form our own thoughts on his meaning using nonlinear thinking. THruly the only nonlinear game is that of the human mind.

I'ma go look at porn.
Barcode's Avatar
Barcode at 06/25/2009 15:45
Private video is private.
garison's Avatar
garison at 06/25/2009 15:46
lolfaillol haha you fail lol
PhazonYoshi's Avatar
PhazonYoshi at 06/25/2009 15:46
I'd make a joke about how not seeing the video is potentially more thought provoking in some ways, but it's already been done.
TheDRMaster's Avatar
TheDRMaster at 06/25/2009 15:51
Our reaction to the private video is completely up to us...truly nonlinear.

DAMN YOU ANTHONY!!!
SpilledMilk's Avatar
SpilledMilk at 06/25/2009 15:52
At least isn't "Co-op" that elite with their content~
konrad hazen's Avatar
konrad hazen at 06/25/2009 15:55
"private video", now that was an unexpected twist
D Sane's Avatar
D Sane at 06/25/2009 16:04
private video is private
ThunderHeartXI's Avatar
ThunderHeartXI at 06/25/2009 16:05
I'm sure this whole 'set to private' thing is supposed to mean something totally deep but I can't yet figure it out.
Reginald's Avatar
Reginald at 06/25/2009 16:07
really, anthony ? REALLY ?
Archwright's Avatar
Archwright at 06/25/2009 16:11
So... it looks like Anthony is the anti-spy.
DJP3DRO's Avatar
DJP3DRO at 06/25/2009 16:12
I made the "it's something deeper" joke first, screw you all.
Junpei Ace Defective's Avatar
Junpei Ace Defective at 06/25/2009 16:16
fixed
killias2's Avatar
killias2 at 06/25/2009 16:20
I agree with your general argument Anthony, but I don't think you get your ideas across well enough. Most of your examples of nonlinearity were not much less linear than inFamous and GTA. Also, when your main example is a game you, yourself, admit being unable to play.. you might want to go back to the drawing board.
Havoc Fang's Avatar
Havoc Fang at 06/25/2009 16:25
The majority of 'nonlinear' mainstream games are "You can kill the guy this way...OR this way...Or shoot that thing to kill him...or shoot THAT thing".

I guess the real divide comes down to nonlinear gameplay VERSUS nonlinear world.
mario actually's Avatar
mario actually at 06/25/2009 16:25
Allright, so the waiting paid of after all...

Great Rant. I am absolutely 100% with you on that. In fact, that's kinda what I tried to aim at in my "untapped potential"-blog. Sounds like Dwarf Fortress is really going in the exact direction I talked about, but fuck me, I need more visuals... So yeah, the Punisher Game sounds brilliant. In fact that's what I hoped for in the GTA-Series with every new game.
Brando's Avatar
Brando at 06/25/2009 16:32
Nice to see the beard making a comeback. Don't give into peer pressure this time :-P
jfbguy's Avatar
jfbguy at 06/25/2009 16:33
You bring up some very good thoughts and critiques. I would have to say that fallout 2 was the closest to nonlinear gameplay I've had. I will have to try out that Dwarf Fortress.
Anthony Burch's Avatar
Anthony Burch at 06/25/2009 16:35
Why the fuck was it private? That's never happened to me before.

killias2:
In what way does knowing of a game with immense emergent gameplay, but not having the time to learn it, somehow preclude me from talking about it when it's spawned literally dozens of fully player-generated stories and experiences?

And in what way is using about a dozen different interlocking mechanics to accomplish a dozen different things in Spelunky and DF "not much less linear" than just running around a wide open city, playing completely linear missions that can basically be solved only in one way within the confines of a large sandbox?
Wedge's Avatar
Wedge at 06/25/2009 16:40
So do you think non-linearity can only happen from largely emergent dynamic worlds, or is it possible to do this with some degree of conscious level design and intent? Generally speaking allowing larger varieties of things to happen in a game becomes exponentially more difficult with the complexity of the game world, which is why entirely generated games are much simpler. And in any case, Scribblenauts ftw.
PwnanObrien's Avatar
PwnanObrien at 06/25/2009 16:41
The GTA series really is one of the best when it comes to this sort of nonlinearity, I just wish they'd go back to exploring the gang mechanics from 2 because I think they'd hit on a lot of the stuff discussed in that hypothetical Punisher game.
SpilledMilk's Avatar
SpilledMilk at 06/25/2009 16:46
Am I the only one who found that Dwarf story absolutely horrifying?
PhazonYoshi's Avatar
PhazonYoshi at 06/25/2009 16:47
I think the closest we get to a properly non-linear game right now are MMOs, which by their very definition, have tasks that can be completed multiple ways, depending on who you have by your side. Wasn't it EVE Online where the biggest superpower in the game was taken down by a web of deceit? THAT is what I want in my games, just not MMOs because I don't like MMOs.

As for dwarf fortress, I can see it's brilliance, but jesus christ it's so complex it hurts.
etirflita's Avatar
etirflita at 06/25/2009 16:58
Nice rant, I see you decided to not go with a green shirt (I kid). I suppose the argument here is that there aren't enough choices in the games. Generally you get one, two or at most, three ways of accomplishing a mission with mostly the same result, which naturally makes it easier to program, problem shoot, and steer the player towards the manufactured result. How many ways of doing something would make it qualified as non-linear? Do we need ten different ways of taking down a crime boss, or do we need a complete revamp of mission structure in general? And the dwarf fortress baby story... I can see that as a prescripted flashback or scenario in a final fantasy-like game, but to have it occur naturally is chilling.
eskimo bob's Avatar
eskimo bob at 06/25/2009 17:00
a tortilla, eh? sign me up.

God, I love this series. when I watch these I'm mostly just sitting in my chair and am constantly nodding.
mario actually's Avatar
mario actually at 06/25/2009 17:03
@ wedge:

The complexity is definitely going to be a problem, if you build a larger world. At least if you expect the same amount of visual and audio feedback. Because if you have emergent gameplay, where the stories (like in the DF exmpl) emerge from within the gameplay, you can not possibly have it all pre-recorded by actors and stuff.
I wonder if it could work in a sci-fi scenario, where you could use the language features (like the one build into Mac OSX, dunno if Win has it too)...
Magnalon's Avatar
Magnalon at 06/25/2009 17:04
Anthony, I'll be damned if you're not smart enough to play Dwarf Fortress! You're just lazy! ;D

Prototype (lol) attempted it with the Web of Intrigue I suppose: you can choose not to murder innocent people to find out your true backstory, and it's an optional part of the game. I'm hard pressed to actually sit and think of real examples other than MMOs, but even then, they have scripted stories and scripted raids.
tgammet's Avatar
tgammet at 06/25/2009 17:09
Love Rev Rants!

P.S. No, eFF you man. Tomb Raider may have shit combat, but the exploration and platforming is great fun. There really aren't many games out there offering similar experiences. Yes, I have Uncharted, Mirror's Edge, Assassin's Creed, and Crackdown... What else is there though really? Help a brotha out instead of hating on the Podtoid.
frezned's Avatar
frezned at 06/25/2009 17:09
Basically every mission in the original Hitman (haven't played the others) carried out like that chef story. I think a lot of people didn't discover this fact because it was entirely possible for you to just run in Quake-style and gun a bunch of people down, and so they just did that.
vrplumber's Avatar
vrplumber at 06/25/2009 17:11
I thought Crackdown had non-linear gameplay. You could complete any mission(i.e. kill the crimeboss)in any order you chose, if you even chose to complete the missions. You could just go around doing races and leveling and collecting orbs and ignore the missions as you wished. I love that game:)
Rockvillian's Avatar
Rockvillian at 06/25/2009 17:13
nod nod nod
Dimly's Avatar
Dimly at 06/25/2009 17:17
Very nicely done. Anytime you mention that zombie game brainchild I get excited. Why hasn't it happened?
UglyDuck's Avatar
UglyDuck at 06/25/2009 17:18
Loved it. Great rant.
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