No Sidepaths, No Exploration, No Freedom: Difference between revisions

[[File:linear.jpg|link=Star Wars: Dark Forces Saga|frame|Decisions, decisions...]]

Just as a gamemaster in a [[Tabletop Games|tabletop game]] may create [[Broken Bridge|artificial rules, boundaries and obstacles]] to keep his players on the game track that he has designated (a procedure known as [[Railroading]]), so too a video game may employ such tactics in order to force the player down a [[The One True Sequence|specific path or method]] toward the goal. And one of the easiest ways to keep a player from wandering off is, quite simply, to give the player nowhere to wander to.

Technically, [['''No Sidepaths, No Exploration, No Freedom]]''' is the polar opposite of the [[Quicksand Box]]; it describes level architecture which forces the player down a singular path. This trope is most common in [[First-Person Shooter|First-]] or [[Third-Person Shooter|Third Person Shooters]] (except, usually, tactical shooters) and platform games, wherein the challenge is generally supposed to be the enemies and/or [[Malevolent Architecture|obstacles]], not in figuring out which way to go. It can also crop up in RPGs as a very visual form of [[Railroading]]. The trope is forgivable in 2D [[Platform Game|Platform Games]]s such as ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'', which allow only forward progression due entirely to the limitations of the geometry; not everything is a [[Metroidvania]]. It only applies in situations where, intuitively, you'd ''think'' there might be other areas of a place to explore, but these are [[The Law of Conservation of Detail|not implemented because they are not plot-important]].

This is becoming [http://h-2.abload.de/img/thumbs_hornoxe_com_picnamg.jpg much more common these days], what with the enormous graphical detail of modern level design limiting the number of paths that can be [[Copy and Paste Environments|made at the required quality]]. Also, [[Story to Gameplay Ratio|story]] is much easier to place in a game that is linear as opposed to one that involves heavy exploration. A popular method for enforcing this type of level architecture these days is by the use of [[Locked Door|Locked Doors]]s, which adds a bit of verisimilitude by suggesting that, yes, other areas do normally exist in this location, but due to game constraints you won't be going in there; this can still be jarring if you're armed with powerful explosives or weapons ''designed'' for breaching doors and still can't get by a flimsy door, and more so if you destroy some such doors during the game but can't do anything to others.

Not to be confused with scripted games such as [[Adventure Game|Adventure Games]]s or [[Action Adventure]] which use more subtle techniques to keep the player from going [[Off the Rails]] of the game's plot. Some of them do have levels that resemble this -- Comparethis—Compare [[Maze]] -- or—or a [[Closed Circle]] series of rooms; but it's generally frowned upon in [[Interactive Fiction]] unless it's essentially a [[Cutscene]].

See also [[Broken Bridge]], [[The Law of Conservation of Detail]], [[Space-Filling Path]], [[The One True Sequence]], [[Rail Shooter]], [[Master of Unlocking]], and [[Quicksand Box]] for when developers go too far in the other direction.

* Most of ''Makeruna! Makendou Z'', with the exception of the jungle towards the end (where you could end up going in circles). Only one item pickup in the game, and you can't even revisit old areas. It's even mentioned in [https://web.archive.org/web/20100311084034/http://www.pcenginefx.com/PC-FX/html/pc-fx_world_-_game_reviews_-_m.html the review]

* ''[[Half Life]]'', like the ''Jedi Knight'' games, usually justifies this with such things as [[Space-Filling Path|collapsed ceilings]], [[Broken Bridge|Broken Bridges]]s and [[Locked Door|Locked Doors]]s. The justification loses any credibility after the Nth invocation.

** Twilight Princess as a whole can fit here. It departs from its predecessors by enforcing linearity with the plot and [[Brokenbroken Bridge|broken Bridges]]s rather than through implication and [[Cardboard Obstacle|obstacles]], and making [[Sequence Breaking]] nearly impossible.

* The regrettably forgettable ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]'' FPS ''Fire Warrior''.

* ''[[Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia]]'' has many levels that are very short and only have one path from left to right. It's a departure from the more recent [[Metroidvania|Metroidvanias]]s, but not too different from the 16-bit and earlier entries in the series.

* The first Xbox-[[PlayStationPlay Station 3]] Ninja Gaiden, while mostly linear, still allows for a bit of exploration and you can return in previously visited areas for hidden items or challenges. Its sequel however, plays this trope totally straight: don't think, just go forward and slaughter everything that crosses your path! [[Point of No Return|Points Of No Return]] are frequent not only between but also inside the chapters, and exploration elements are kept to the very minimum. Even the puzzles are never more complicated than opening a door with a key that you can find effortlessly. The first half of the last but one chapter consists litteraly in going through a straight line corridor; the [[PlayStationPlay Station 3]] port Sigma 2 takes it [[Up to Eleven]]: not only are the already petty puzzles outright removed, but the doors [[A Wizard Did It|open by themselves]], so combat is pretty much the only thing you have to do.

* Several levels in ''[[Dawn of War]] 2: Retribution''. You notice this very quickly if you add Jump Infantry or teleport infantry to your squads, as they will magically -- andmagically—and for no reason whatsoever -- bewhatsoever—be unable to use their abilities outside the one true path through the level. This gets especially bad during the {{spoiler|Exterminatus}} level, which teases you with multiple alternate paths that all get blown up immediately when you get close to them.