We have seen three different models of linearity in traditional RPGs, and the most striking observation is that all three are extremely linear, even the two comprised mostly of NPE quests. FFIX is unabashedly linear, and does nothing to change or modify this. Morrowind is an linear game that attempts to obscure this fact by giving the player a choice between a handful of highly linear quest lines. From a practical perspective, however, nobody is going to buy a (then-$70) game and only play 18% of the content, especially since players are actively encouraged to undertake a House and Guild quest chain. This creates less of a nonlinear structure and more of a large-scale parallel quest structure between separate chains. KotOR is, surprisingly, the most nonlinear of the three simply because its NPE quests are organized by location rather than in discrete chains, which allows the player real flexibility when choosing quests.

So, KotOR is the great golden god of nonlinearity? Not so fast. Plot-related barriers are a significant hindrance to nonlinearity, and the game is rife with them. The first section of NPE quests, Taris, become unavailable after the player travels to Dantooine. The NPE quests in Dantooine, Tatooine, Manaan and Kashyyk are all inaccessible after the party travels to the Unidentified Planet. Within these periods the player has great flexibility, but this flexibility is artificially (for plot reasons) destroyed by progression along the PE quest chain. Then, KotOR falls into the same trap as Morrowind when the party hits Korriban; the parallel quests are almost all required in order to secure sufficient faction to proceed with the PE chain. This is certainly not what those using the term nonlinear had in mind.

I think what this demonstrates best is that nonlinear and linear are useless terms when describing traditional RPGs, but merely stand-ins for more artful and descriptive terms. The idealized nonlinear game would be no fun-- to describe games as shapes again, it would simply be a horizontal line with one PE quest, the quest which ended the game. There would be no plot advancement possible, because by adding plot you have instantly made the game linear. On the other hand, even “linear” games with significant hardware limitations have some NPE content, such as the promotion quest in Final Fantasy.

What it appears these terms really signify is plot focus, whether a game has a strong plot focus or a weak plot focus. FFIX has a strong plot focus not because it is linear, but because the vast majority of its quests are on the PE chain. Morrowind has a weak plot focus not because it is nonlinear (since, as we have seen, it is extremely linear), but because the overwhelming majority of its quests are on various NPE chains. KotOR falls in between. This is the preference that people have been attempting to express in terms of linearity: how important a centralized plot is to your enjoyment of the game. On an intuitive level, however, it appears that this should not be a consideration. Why is it impossible to have both in one game? What structural problems prevent a developer from giving us this game?