Linear narratives follow a straight, chronologically correct story line, starting at the beginning, moving to the middle and proceeding to the end without flash backs and flash forwards. These narratives can be broken down into the four part.
- Part One: Call to Adventure
- Part Two: The Supreme Ordeal/Initiation
- Part Three: Unification/Transformation
- Part Four: Road Back/Hero’s Return
Linear has both positive and negative potential, these are as follow:
Advantage
- Complete narrative control
- Player sees all
Disadvantages
- Single use experiences with limited play ability depending on player ability
- No player choices or influence available
A prime example of this is Half-Life. The first within the Half-Life series: which began in 1998, with the science fiction first person shooter created by Valve and released by Sierra Studios for Microsoft Windows.
Players assume the role of theoretical physicist Dr Gordon Freeman, must fight his way out of a research facility after a teleportation experiment does disastrously wrong at the Black Mesa Research Facility, requiring players to performing combat tasks against enemies and whilst solving puzzles in order to advance within the game, whilst featuring uninterrupted control of Freeman and the story being told through scripted sequences as seen through Freeman’s eyes.
Half-Life has no “levels”; it instead divides the game into chapters, whose titles flash on the screen as the player moves through the game.
Nikki Mundy Portfolio 