Non-linear video games

Non-linear video games
Basic Information
Type(s)	Terminology

The opposite of linear video games, non-linear video games are video games with a free-form system of progression. This includes sandbox and open-world games. A non-linear game or path is when a game lets the player affect where they go next. The path branches out, like a tree. Players have a choice of where to go, or what to do, next. Non-linear games are favoured in certain genres like role-playing video games.

List of non-linear games[]

Popular non-linear games[]

Early non-linear games[]

See also: Open-world video games

Go (c. 300 BCE)
Chess (c. 400 CE)
Jet Rocket (1970)
Chainmail (1971)
Dungeons & Dragons (1974)
Empire of the Petal Throne (1974)
Western Gun (Gun Fight) (1975)
Heiankyo Alien (1979)
Rally-X (1980)^[1]
Adventure (1980)
Flight Simulator (1980)
005 (1981)^[2]^[3]
Bosconian (1981)^[4]
Ultima (1981)
Time Pilot (1982)^[5]^[6]
Tutankham (1982)
Bega's Battle (1983)^[7]
Mega Zone (1983)^[8]
Mountain King (1983)
Nobunaga's Ambition (1983)^[9]
Panorama Toh (1983)^[10]
Portopia Serial Murder Case (1983)^[11]
TX-1 (1983)^[12]^[13]^[14]^[15]
The Battle-Road (1984)^[16]
Brain Breaker (1984)^[17]
Courageous Perseus^[18]
Dragon Slayer (1984)^[19]
Elite (1984)
Ginga Hyōryū Vifam (1984)^[20]
Hydlide (1984)^[21]^[22]
Mugen no Shinzou (Heart of Fantasy) (1984)^[23]
Atic Atac (1984)
Baraduke (1985)^[24]
Mercenary (1985)
Riglas: Tamashii no Kaiki (1985)^[25]^[26]
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (1985)^[9]
Star Luster (1985)^[27]^[28]
Alternate Reality: The City (1985)
The Legend of Zelda (1986)^[29]
Dragon Quest (1986)^[19]
Metroid (1986)^[19]
Out Run (1986)^[30]
Darius (1986)^[31]^[32]
Takeshi's Challenge (1986)^[33]
Vampire Killer (1986)^[34]^[35]
Wibarm (1986)
Miami Vice (1986)^[1]
Starflight (1986)
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (1987)^[36]
Mega Man (1987)^[37]
Megami Tensei (1987)
Sid Meier's Pirates! (1987)
The Goonies II (1987)^[19]
War of the Dead (1987)^[38]

References[]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Miami Vice (1986). (Translation)
↑ 005 flyer
↑ 005. “You first face cops in the "maze" segment, where you must hightail your keister into a building. Usually, you start out pretty close to an available edifice, so these mazey bits are really more of a hub where you pick either the "forklift" or "ice skate" building to tackle first.”
↑ Non-linear video games at Allgame via the Wayback Machine
↑ Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits - NDS - Review. GameZone (April 9, 2007). Retrieved on 2011-04-08
↑ Konami Arcade Classics: Well, at least it's classic. IGN (January 7, 2000). Retrieved on 2011-04-08
↑ Mark J. P. Wolf (2008), The video game explosion: a history from PONG to Playstation and beyond, ABC-CLIO, p. 100, ISBN 0-313-33868-X, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=XiM0ntMybNwC&pg=PA100, retrieved 2011-04-10
↑ Mega Zone video game. Killer List of Videogames. Retrieved on 2010-07-14
↑ ^9.0 ^9.1 Brooks, Evan (September 1988). "The Politics of War". Computer Gaming World (51): 12–13, 34, 48–49. "Both games come from Japan (Koei Corporation) and deal with the unification of countries during a feudal era and both games offer the sophisticated strategy player an opportunity to balance economic, diplomatic, and military decisions during a formative period of a foreign nation."
↑ Hardcore Gaming 101 – Blog: Dark Age of JRPGs (7): Panorama Toh ぱのらま島 – PC-88 (1983). Hardcore Gaming 101 (2013-06-02). Retrieved on 2016-07-23
↑ John Szczepaniak (February 2011). Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken. Retro Gamer. Retrieved on 2011-03-16 (Reprinted at John Szczepaniak. Retro Gamer 85. Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved on 2011-03-16)
↑ TX-1 at Museum of the Game
↑ TX-1 flyer
↑ TX-1 manual
↑ "TX-1" (in en). Computer and Video Games: 34. April 1984. http://www.solvalou.com/subpage/arcade_reviews/188/532/tx-1_review.html.
↑ The Battle-Road at Museum of the Game
↑ John Szczepaniak. Retro Japanese Computers: Gaming's Final Frontier. Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved on 2011-03-16 Reprinted from "Retro Japanese Computers: Gaming's Final Frontier", Retro Gamer (67), 2009
↑ Courageous Perseus, Giant Bomb
↑ ^19.0 ^19.1 ^19.2 ^19.3 Harris, John (September 26, 2007). Game Design Essentials: 20 Open World Games. Gamasutra. Retrieved on 2008-07-25
↑ Gingahyōryū Vifam at MobyGames
↑ IGN India discusses game design: Combat in open world games (2 November 2015).
↑ John Szczepaniak (2016), The Untold History Of Japanese Game Developers, Volume 2, pages 38-49
↑ 1982-1987 - The Birth of Japanese RPGs, re-told in 15 Games.
↑ Szczepaniak, John (2015). The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers. 2. p. 498. "Baraduke has a lot of iconic sci-fi elements, including from the Alien films. It's also a rather fun and intense free-roaming 2D shmup"
↑ Szczepaniak, John (2014). The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers. 1. SMG Szczepaniak. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-9929260-3-8. "Riglas: Tamashii no Kaiki – large free roaming RPG exclusive to Japanese computers, worth checking out"
↑ リグラス　－魂の回帰－for PC-8801 (1985), YouTube
↑ Star Luster. Virtual Console. Nintendo. Retrieved on 2011-05-08 (Translation)
↑ Szczepaniak, John (2015). The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers. 2. pp. 506 & 982. "technically impressive real-time first-person 3D space shoot-em-up (imagine Elite but without vector graphics); with intense combat and a large free-roaming map containing enemy bases and refuelling stations, players need to plan their attacks strategically."
↑ 15 Most Influential Games of All Time: The Legend of Zelda. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2010-01-24
↑ Brian Gazza. Outrun. Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved on 2011-03-17
↑ Darius at Museum of the Game
↑ Kurt Kalata. Darius. Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved on 2011-01-10
↑ Takeshi no Chousenjou, Giant Bomb
↑ Jeremy Parish, Famicom 25th, Part 17: Live from The Nippon edition, 1UP.com, August 1, 2008
↑ Kurt Kalata and William Cain, Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest (1988), Castlevania Dungeon, accessed 2011-02-27
↑ NES Games Begging For A Remake, IGN
↑ Gaming's most important evolutions, GamesRadar
↑ John Szczepaniak, War of the Dead, Hardcore Gaming 101, 15 January 2011

[elmundodelspectrum-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Miami Vice (1986). (Translation)

[2] 005 flyer

[3] 005. “You first face cops in the "maze" segment, where you must hightail your keister into a building. Usually, you start out pretty close to an available edifice, so these mazey bits are really more of a hub where you pick either the "forklift" or "ice skate" building to tackle first.”

[4] Non-linear video games at Allgame via the Wayback Machine

[5] Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits - NDS - Review. GameZone (April 9, 2007). Retrieved on 2011-04-08

[6] Konami Arcade Classics: Well, at least it's classic. IGN (January 7, 2000). Retrieved on 2011-04-08

[7] Mark J. P. Wolf (2008), The video game explosion: a history from PONG to Playstation and beyond, ABC-CLIO, p. 100, ISBN 0-313-33868-X, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=XiM0ntMybNwC&pg=PA100, retrieved 2011-04-10

[8] Mega Zone video game. Killer List of Videogames. Retrieved on 2010-07-14

[cgw-9] 9.0 ^9.1 Brooks, Evan (September 1988). "The Politics of War". Computer Gaming World (51): 12–13, 34, 48–49. "Both games come from Japan (Koei Corporation) and deal with the unification of countries during a feudal era and both games offer the sophisticated strategy player an opportunity to balance economic, diplomatic, and military decisions during a formative period of a foreign nation."

[10] Hardcore Gaming 101 – Blog: Dark Age of JRPGs (7): Panorama Toh ぱのらま島 – PC-88 (1983). Hardcore Gaming 101 (2013-06-02). Retrieved on 2016-07-23

[Retro-85-11] John Szczepaniak (February 2011). Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken. Retro Gamer. Retrieved on 2011-03-16 (Reprinted at John Szczepaniak. Retro Gamer 85. Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved on 2011-03-16)

[TX-1-12] TX-1 at Museum of the Game

[13] TX-1 flyer

[14] TX-1 manual

[15] "TX-1" (in en). Computer and Video Games: 34. April 1984. http://www.solvalou.com/subpage/arcade_reviews/188/532/tx-1_review.html.

[16] The Battle-Road at Museum of the Game

[17] John Szczepaniak. Retro Japanese Computers: Gaming's Final Frontier. Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved on 2011-03-16 Reprinted from "Retro Japanese Computers: Gaming's Final Frontier", Retro Gamer (67), 2009

[18] Courageous Perseus, Giant Bomb

[gsutra_20games-19] 19.0 ^19.1 ^19.2 ^19.3 Harris, John (September 26, 2007). Game Design Essentials: 20 Open World Games. Gamasutra. Retrieved on 2008-07-25

[20] Gingahyōryū Vifam at MobyGames

[21] IGN India discusses game design: Combat in open world games (2 November 2015).

[22] John Szczepaniak (2016), The Untold History Of Japanese Game Developers, Volume 2, pages 38-49

[23] 1982-1987 - The Birth of Japanese RPGs, re-told in 15 Games.

[24] Szczepaniak, John (2015). The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers. 2. p. 498. "Baraduke has a lot of iconic sci-fi elements, including from the Alien films. It's also a rather fun and intense free-roaming 2D shmup"

[25] Szczepaniak, John (2014). The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers. 1. SMG Szczepaniak. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-9929260-3-8. "Riglas: Tamashii no Kaiki – large free roaming RPG exclusive to Japanese computers, worth checking out"

[26] リグラス　－魂の回帰－for PC-8801 (1985), YouTube

[27] Star Luster. Virtual Console. Nintendo. Retrieved on 2011-05-08 (Translation)

[28] Szczepaniak, John (2015). The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers. 2. pp. 506 & 982. "technically impressive real-time first-person 3D space shoot-em-up (imagine Elite but without vector graphics); with intense combat and a large free-roaming map containing enemy bases and refuelling stations, players need to plan their attacks strategically."

[29] 15 Most Influential Games of All Time: The Legend of Zelda. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2010-01-24

[HG101-OutRun-30] Brian Gazza. Outrun. Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved on 2011-03-17

[31] Darius at Museum of the Game

[32] Kurt Kalata. Darius. Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved on 2011-01-10

[33] Takeshi no Chousenjou, Giant Bomb

[34] Jeremy Parish, Famicom 25th, Part 17: Live from The Nippon edition, 1UP.com, August 1, 2008

[35] Kurt Kalata and William Cain, Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest (1988), Castlevania Dungeon, accessed 2011-02-27

[36] NES Games Begging For A Remake, IGN

[37] Gaming's most important evolutions, GamesRadar

[Szczepaniak-38] John Szczepaniak, War of the Dead, Hardcore Gaming 101, 15 January 2011

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Non-linear video games

Contents

List of non-linear games[]

Popular non-linear games[]

Early non-linear games[]

References[]

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