In today's fairly straightforward episode of Speak Up on Kotaku, commenter Monsieur Froid wonders why so many people have a problem with linear gameplay.
Why do so many people dislike linear gameplay? If I'm going to buy a game, then I want for it to have a good story as well as good gameplay. Movies are linear, books are linear...why can't games be linear, too?
A lot of the time people use the map of one of the DOOM games juxtaposed against a fake map of a modern FPS, showing the mass amounts of corridors and walkways next to a single path cut up with cutscenes. This picture is used more often than not to poke fun at the 'problem' with modern FPS games. Why is it a problem, though?! I enjoy these games *because* they are action-packed stories with pretty visuals. Yes, it's linear...but that's not a dirty word. It just means that there is a story that the developers made for you. Take the time to enjoy it, I say.
