Here's an interesting article that was posted on the blog of Wolfire Games, http://blog.wolfire.com/2010/02/Freedom-versus-Challenge

I'm curious what everyone thinks.

Quite a read, and I agree entirely. There MUST be equal amounts of challenge and freedom in a complex game.



I thought this line was especially true, making a totally free world is hard enough, and creativity can't be supplied in large amounts. This is because the player might not ever see your creations! On the other hand, a linear game can be boring but can have it's epic moments.
Since a player will see every bit of work you have put into the game.

My final opinion, the right line between freedom and challenge is in the middle, leaning a bit more towards freedom.

I enjoy both kinds of games. Fallout 3 was incredibly expansive and fun, while at the same time, the Call of Duty series has always impressed me more with it's stories(half of which seem to involve waking up in captivity) and visuals.

I'm like you, dshiznit. I really enjoy both types, leaning towards RTS and TBS games for the creativity oriented playing and RPGs for the freedom aspect.

However, one thing that I really like is the Fire Emblem series, which is a set of TBS games that feature a good amount of freedom in the gameplay. I'm also a fan of Command & Conquer, Super Robot Taisen, Battlefield, Final Fantasy, and Tactics Ogre (this is another one of my favorites).

My favorite games have all been RPGs or strategy games. I really enjoyed Warcraft III with it's combination of roleplaying and real-time strategy elements.

Probably my favorite game of all time is Super Robot Taisen Original Generation 2 on the GBA. I played through this game three times in two months (one playthrough takes 40-80 hours, depending on how thorough you are).