Readers and narrative games

A friend of mine is a great fan of open-world games like Morrowind or Skyrim, but he feels frustrated and constrained when playing more linear games like Baldurs Gate or Dragon Age. On the other hand, I feel frustrated by those vast worlds where the characters lack personality, the story is uninteresting and even the dialogue system is rather bland (I am talking about Morrowind; I haven't played Skyrim). I prefer games with a strong narrative and charismatic characters, like those Bioware titles I mentioned, and I am more forgiving with the limitations of their game mechanics.

It has ocurred to me that I like to read novels whereas he doesn't. Maybe that explains the difference in our tastes? But it can't be that simple. Do you think people who like to read fiction tend to prefer certain kind of games? If you like to read, what is your experience?

 

I think in a large way, it's actually that simple. Novels, movies, and extremely linear games (which are more or less interactive movies) are all variations on the theme of story telling.

Open world games are very different by nature.

 

As a fantasy novel reader, I find both linear (Dragon Age, ME) and Open world (Skyrim, Morrowind) to be equally satisfying.

 

But you might also like ice cream and jogging. Liking one type shouldn't preclude you from liking the other, but I think if you like stories you'll probably have a disposition to liking more or less linear, heavily story driven games.

I didn't mean to imply that you wouldn't like other types of games, too.

Like novels <-> like story driven, mostly linear games

There should be a bi-directional correlation there, but that's it. Hope that makes sense.

 

Psychologically speaking, most people like a good story and most people prefer it to be linear, or rather follow a strict path. The problem is probably that you're friend doesn't like other aspects of those games and so doesn't get vested in the story.

Of course, open world games exploit that whole notion that you have too many options to consider and so it's easy to get vested in the character you play rather than the story.

 

^ This. I also like both kinds of games.

 

This guy thinks games shouldn't tell stories unless gamers feel they are the narrators:

GameSpot Live :: (Twisted Metal) David Jaffe DICE Session - GameSpot.com

 

I'm a big reader, but I generally prefer games (read: RPG, FPS, etc.) that are more open-world, even if they miss out on character and story depth. I would say this is because I view reading as a linear, story-consuming experience, whereas I prefer the interactivity of gaming to be more story-creating. More linear games have to have branching paths that change the gameplay and story experience, like the original Deus Ex's multiple approaches to almost every situation, to really interest me as much, unless they've got a really engrossing or fun story ala Max Payne.

Then again, I'm also a big fan of Point-and-Click adventures, and they're generally about as linear as they come. Oh well.

 

I love to read and I love watching movies.

I prefer linear games to open world games...probably because it's a quicker sense of accomplishment and resolution.

I dislike critics who pan games simply because the games are "too linear" or don't offer the expected "modern sandbox style of play." That's a lazy review. There are great linear games, and there are great open world games. The design choice of "linear" doesn't relegate the game immediately to second tier status.

Resident Evil 4 and God of War 2 are both "linear" and some of the most enjoyable games that I ever played.

Frankly, Oblivion intimidated me. My OCD balks at a game where you can completely ignore the main (story) quest, and turn the game into a fantasy-based The Sims. I'm torn between doing everything, and completing the game. From the few days that I played, I thought the story telling was good. I thought my character was somewhat generic and faceless, but rescuing the king's unknown heir from the burning city after the king's assassination gave a sense of accomplishment and deepened the mystery about the villains. I'll probably never finish it though. I finished Baldur's Gate twice, BG 2, Planescape Torment, Fallout, and Fallout 2 among others...they're not exactly linear (not like Resident Evil 4), but I get your meaning.

My favorite open world games have been Crackdown 2 (360) and Far Cry (PC).

 

Oops...I think this was my first double-post ever on this forum. Sorry.

 

I prefer linear games to open-world games. I like a good story, and don't care about a lack of choice so long as I'm not being forced to be a d-bag. Arkham Asylum = good, God of War II = bad.

 

In God of War you could at least understand why Kratos was angry at the Gods because they basically had him running errands under false promises. GoW is where the morality event horizon was truly crossed.

 

I think you nailed down the main issue with open world games: not all of them are compelling enough to draw you in to do their 'open world activities'. And immersion is important because otherwise it (the open world game) feels tedious. With a tight-bounded linear game, a good story is enough to keep oneself interested (even if gameplay is not too godd, i.e. Resident Evil 1-3).