Adventure Forums - View Single Post - Game-design: Open or narrow START of a game?

Intense Degree · 01-13-2012, 09:50 AM

I really love the way this is done in Gabriel Knight, which is kind of a hybrid of the two.

You wake up in the shop and there are some (but not too many) locations which you can go and explore. However, Grace gives you several leads to follow up on at about 3 other locations (from memory) and you can choose where to go and what to do first. Therefore you are not totally at a loss in a big unfamiliar world, but are not stuck with dealing with completely linear puzzles in one location straight away.

One of the things I love about the game is that each day (for the most part) you get these objectives to deal with straight off from Grace or the newspaper etc. and it feels like there is so much to do as more locations become available.

Not too linear, not too open.

01-13-2012, 09:50 AM	#7
Intense Degree Failed Birthday Elf Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: London Posts: 1,032	I really love the way this is done in Gabriel Knight, which is kind of a hybrid of the two. You wake up in the shop and there are some (but not too many) locations which you can go and explore. However, Grace gives you several leads to follow up on at about 3 other locations (from memory) and you can choose where to go and what to do first. Therefore you are not totally at a loss in a big unfamiliar world, but are not stuck with dealing with completely linear puzzles in one location straight away. One of the things I love about the game is that each day (for the most part) you get these objectives to deal with straight off from Grace or the newspaper etc. and it feels like there is so much to do as more locations become available. Not too linear, not too open. __________________ "Please don't spam. If you have nothing relevant to contribute to the topic, don't post, or I'll have to close this thread." - FantasySci5 in The Thread Must Die. "That said, I bought a lot of biscuits in 2011 that I didn't really need" - Hammerite