It’s Robust yet Linear
Nominated for and winner of multiple awards in the realm of game design and storytelling, Red Dead Redemption 2 helped make 2018 a stellar year for the industry. It was well received, critically, but the public hasn’t been so eager to sing its praises. Though it’s a technical marvel, fans and even fellow game designers found some glaring issues. More recently, an ex-Naughty Dog director.
Bruce Straley, who helmed such projects as The Last of Us and Uncharted 4, humbly offered his take on Rockstar’s Western. Over on Twitter, he shared a few comments on the game’s hyper-linearity. Red Dead Redemption 2 goes out of its way to make players follow specific paths in story missions, a fact Straley couldn’t help but note. “They need me to do what the story requires & continually remove my choices,” he wrote.
The game killed me when I tried to flank in that mission – like so many RDR2 story missions. They need me to do what the story requires & continually remove my choices. The env was open & I had the skills, but they punished me for thinking for myself instead of rewarding me.
— Bruce Straley (@bruce_straley) January 14, 2019
And many would agree. A YouTube video by NakeJakey, which currently sits at 2.5 million views and a high like-to-dislike ratio, shares the same stance as Straley, The video, titled “Rockstar’s Game Design is Outdated,” criticizes the game for its lack of player freedom. The Naughty Dog director echoed the sentiment in an exchange with software engineer Matthew Gallant.
Totally! But I’d argue removing player choice in order to achieve “epic stories” undermines the power of interactivity completely. So, it winds up NOT being epic, because I end up frustrated that the game just doesn’t trust me. Then I’m just ticking boxes to start cutscenes.
— Bruce Straley (@bruce_straley) January 14, 2019
Do you agree with Straley’s comments? I’m sure he, like many who’ve voiced their opinions on the game, don’t mean to take anything away from Rockstar’s achievements. Feel free to comment your own thoughts down below.
SOURCE: OnlySP.com