Nonlinear play

[Helix]

Hi.

Concerning the expected nonlinear gameplay in Episode Two, I'm sure a lot of us have run across this lengthy quote supposed to have come from Doug Lombardi:

You'll have to manage your cover carefully and pay attention to where all the enemies are. [...] They'll tend to circle around and expose you from multiple sides, so you find yourself moving around a lot more and rushing forward a lot less. You also have a lot more choice from moment to moment. We're working on scenarios in which we present the player with a set of high-level battle goals and a large nonlinear space in which to fight. These scenarios play out very differently for different players as they make choices about how to fight the battle: "Should I make my ambush here, or 100 yards up the road behind these rocks?" It's fun watching players formulate a strategy, execute it at a tactical level, and then revise their strategy based on the outcome.

In terms of the new gameplay features people are expecting in Episode Two, I think this stands out pretty strongly. I have a problem with the fact that I can't find a source for this quote, though. If it's on the Web, it's evaded my searches.

So, my question is: does anyone know where this quote is from?

 

[Narvi]

This is probably it.

Now go away.

 

[Helix]

An interview with Robin Walker which focuses mostly on Episode One, and which I'd seen prior to asking...

Good work.

 

[ríomhaire]

Sounds good, as long as the flanking doesn't get more annoying than fun.

 

[Asuka]

Man its been a slow few months from Valve.

Im aching for some real news and media.

 

[ríomhaire]

I'm glad. Too much was revealed about HL2 and EP1 prior to release.

 

[Asuka]

I'm glad. Too much was revealed about HL2 and EP1 prior to release.

Its not what i mean. Back with Half-Life 2 Tech demos where released show casing the new tech they are working on. It showed a lot of interesting and innovative things, plus it made people go crazy and want to play the game. Remember that E3? Everyone was on top of Valve's Tech and game. Look at it now, BEARLY and coverage, I'm starting to worry. We barley saw anything on new tech, only the QUAD core 30 sec video which as nice as it was is 1% of what they showed with Half-Life 2. I don't want Valve to fall behind in tech. They have one of the greatest engine and minds working on it. Watching Unreal Engine 3, Project Offset Engine, Cry Engine 2 is getting me worried about Valves lead on Tech. As much as we like to believe GFX don't make games, its just not true. GFX make most people want to buy and GFX add so much to a game, i wouldn't want to play Crysis or a future title that's good and with good gfx and have to go to a valve game that's far far behind. I'm not saying they are behind right now, I'm just expressing my worry. Plus if sales start to decline more and more it would mean the end of Half-Life and we all wouldn't want that. Anyway i have faith in valve and im 100% they will blow us away with a crazy surprise soon. Once they show what they are doing with QUAD core and DX10.

 

[ríomhaire]

Its not what i mean. Back with Half-Life 2 Tech demos where released show casing the new tech they are working on. It showed a lot of interesting and innovative things, plus it made people go crazy and want to play the game. Remember that E3? Everyone was on top of Valve's Tech and game. Look at it now, BEARLY and coverage, I'm starting to worry. We barley saw anything on new tech, only the QUAD core 30 sec video which as nice as it was is 1% of what they showed with Half-Life 2. I don't want Valve to fall behind in tech. They have one of the greatest engine and minds working on it. Watching Unreal Engine 3, Project Offset Engine, Cry Engine 2 is getting me worried about Valves lead on Tech. As much as we like to believe GFX don't make games, its just not true. GFX make most people want to buy and GFX add so much to a game, i wouldn't want to play Crysis or a future title that's good and with good gfx and have to go to a valve game that's far far behind. I'm not saying they are behind right now, I'm just expressing my worry. Plus if sales start to decline more and more it would mean the end of Half-Life and we all wouldn't want that. Anyway i have faith in valve and im 100% they will blow us away with a crazy surprise soon. Once they show what they are doing with QUAD core and DX10.

I don't really care much about the tech. I'm in it for the gameplay and story.

 

[Asuka]

I don't really care much about the tech. I'm in it for the gameplay and story.

As i said before, there wont be any story or game play if Valve doesn't make money.

 

[Laivasse]

I think what Valve mean in this quote by 'nonlinear play' is basically a 'wider route' - basically at some point your road is going to be, say, 300 yards wide instead of 100, and enemies are going to hunt you across it, with some obstacles and cover along the way. I'm basing this on little more than the gut feeling I get when Doug describes this 'nonlinear play', but that's the impression I get.

That's not to say I'm not excited by the news. I actually think HL2 and Episode 1 could have done with a lot more of this kind of thing. If we have some more open spaces and forest warfare to enjoy we might get less people complaining about Combine AI because it doesn't have a chance to fight back against them in point blank shotgun-in-face indoor encounters.

 

[Helix]

I think what Valve mean in this quote by 'nonlinear play' is basically a 'wider route' - basically at some point your road is going to be, say, 300 yards wide instead of 100, and enemies are going to hunt you across it, with some obstacles and cover along the way. I'm basing this on little more than the gut feeling I get when Doug describes this 'nonlinear play', but that's the impression I get.

That provides a nonlinear space for gameplay, in that there are more opportunities for varied tactics. But it's still essentially a linear route; just a wider one. I would imagine that "nonlinear play" implies not just a single A to B path, but a variety of paths: A to C to B, or A to D to B, and so on. (The antlion caverns look suited for just this thing.)

This provides the kind of linear/nonlinear balance which I personally prefer. Plot outcomes stay the same across the board, so the story can progress from one fixed point of departure in the next episode, but the gameplay, i.e. the ways in which an individual player can push the plot forward in their own personal experience, is varied.

 

[Asknoone]

I'm not sure there should be multiple routes, I'm not keen on that kinda thing. I mean, I think non-linear is good if you give players different ways to tackle a combat situation but other than that I think the linearity of the Half-life series will stay the same.

 

[Jintor]

Not in a Half-Life context, certainly. I thought linearity (in that all levels were, essentially, big-ass corridors) was one of HL1 and HL2's strong points, in that it dictated movie-like scenes.

 

[Tagaziel]

Non-linearity? Yes, please!

Points A, B, C and D and a multitude of options and places to visit? I'm down, dawq!

 

[Helix]

I'm not sure there should be multiple routes, I'm not keen on that kinda thing.

It should be within reason, obviously. Not to the extent where a player could potentially skip an entirely new location or a critical event because of choosing certain routes. Valve is probably experimenting to find what works best.

Not in a Half-Life context, certainly. I thought linearity (in that all levels were, essentially, big-ass corridors) was one of HL1 and HL2's strong points, in that it dictated movie-like scenes.

For me, thinking of them as big corridors takes something away from the experience of being in a big outdoor environment. On my first play through HL2, the feeling in certain chapters of being in a big, expansive space where a player could go lots of places was cool. In any case, the plot can't become nonlinear at this point... you can't have anything but a linear plot in episodic games, at least a high level.

Edit: so does anyone have a source for that quote?

 

[Asknoone]

Non-linearity? Yes, please!

Points A, B, C and D and a multitude of options and places to visit? I'm down, dawq!

Eww. That sounds awful, Mikael.

In any case, the plot can't become nonlinear at this point...

I don't think it will ever change; even when we move out of the episodic realm.

so does anyone have a source for that quote?

I don't have a Source but I've seen the quote before. What's more they have said it in more than one interview.

 

[Tagaziel]

What? A set of vast hub areas connecting to two or four side-missions and one crucial plotportant section leading to another hub?

It could be designed like the Hell's Kitchen segment of Deus Ex, simplified, of course.

 

[hamburgerphil]

I think that quote comes from an issue of PC Gamer from a while back, the one with the episode 2 cover story.

 

[General Balls]

It should be within reason, obviously. Not to the extent where a player could potentially skip an entirely new location or a critical event because of choosing certain routes. Valve is probably experimenting to find what works best.

I don't think they would make it so that you would be able to skip key scenes, I think the 'non-linearity' simply extends to the type of battle you fight. You can take a specific path through the forest to your goal, simply blowing a gap in the combine forces, or you could simply go everywhere and kill everything you find. In any case, we won't know for sure until it's released. Words can only tell so much.

 

[heer0]

Imagine E2P done in the style of GTA or Delta Force (the later two are a typical non-linear gameplay). Simply impossible!
The whole collection of HL games, begining with Hl1, are all based on linear gameplay.

The open forest area around City 17 gives Valve an oportunity to test with a new type of gameplay for the HL world - linear, with non-linear elements. Which means that the player will be 'forced' to complete an objective, and won't be able to choose to do it or not, but will have the freedom to choose on how to complete it. Example of this is seen in Gameplay Demo 2 where the player's objective is to escape the antlions hive, avoiding the antlions guards, while the labyrinth of tunnels in the hive is simply a non-linear arena.

 

[Sheepo]

^Genuis Post^
Finally someone who can explain Valve's new gameplay strategy in a paragraph! Well done, sir!