Hukos wrote:I don't think FF8's system was that complex to be honest. Tedious? Yeah I won't argue against that, but the system wasn't any more complex than what FF6 used. If there's any current-day FF past 8 you should play, it's 9. It's definitely less complex in terms of battle mechanics (It has a fixed job system, but uses skills learned from equipment for a touch of customization) and is pretty fantastic all around!
Linearity isn't the issue, it's just something people like to point out because they can't quite articulate what they don't like about recent FF games. I've seen a full playthrough of FF13 on youtube, and while I've never played it I can definitely see why it's so divisive and I can't fault someone for either liking it or hating it.
Tedious may be a better word. Either way, though, FFVIII's systems, in the end, completely turned me off and I have absolutely no desire to go back and give it another shot. I've never played FFIX. I'll keep your recommendation in mind, but considering how many other games I have in my queue and my general disinterest in JRPGs at this point, I really can't say if I'll ever get to it.
And I can agree on execution, both for FFXIII and games in general. I find "linearity is bad" to be a bit simplistic, but if it's executed badly or doesn't fit with the context of the rest of the game, I think it can be a fairly easy thing to criticize since and open or linear world basically gives a game a large part of its overall structure. I mean, open worlds can be poorly executed as well. IMO, exhibit A there is No More Heroes. As much as I do love that game overall, the open world was pointless and made the game a lot more tedious than it needed to be in a few ways (not game breaking for me, but it's something I absolutely criticize). While I don't mind satire or artistic statements (really, I love both), doing either of those at the expense of gameplay is a gamble. I was glad when the open world was removed from the second game because it added nothing. It's all in execution and what anything brings to the overall experience. Neither linear nor open world is inherently superior to the other.
Bragatyr wrote:The only thing I don't like about attempts to make games more open-ended is that they often feel meandering to me. I probably do prefer something more structured, myself, there's nothing more annoying to me than wandering around trying to figure out what to do next.
An open world that does that would be first on my list in 'how to poorly design an open world'. Every open world game I've played that's good has some kind of journal or mission/quest list (Bethesda games) or mission markers (Rockstar games) so that when you're done exploring and sandboxing, you can just turn to that to see what to do next and where to go. I do like the freedom of open worlds, but they need some mechanic to give structure and not every game needs an open world. Fast travel systems can help a lot in that…though I have to admit I don't think I ever used fast travel in Red Dead Redemption because the world is just so beautiful.
Honestly, I've occasionally had more trouble figuring out what to do next in The Last of Us sometimes than I have in my recent open world gaming. But I'm pretty sure the designers intended it that way because it
works in the overall experience surrounding that game.