Thread:Vorknkx/@comment-3547390-20120421171650/@comment-3547390-20120504163754

I was just stating based on the facts you presented how compariable everything is.

Quake, not predetermined? Most levels might seperate to have a slight ammo cache, but not much else. You have to go down certain corridors to unlock doors, switches, ect. You can't mix that up at all, thus it is pretty defined.

Nowadays there is just one path, but back then the paths couldn't be existant in many as most games were stuck inside claustophobic corridors, thus limiting it just as much. What's the difference between Quake and Codename Eagle in limitations? Only thing I see is an increase of cutscenes, but level design was pretty much as limited in both. You explore just as much in that game...

Now, Thief is very different. Take level 1. You can kill the guards at the gate, go through the sewers, or follow the streets (multiple ways). Later levels have so many roads that you can easily get lost in the City, but at the same time it is the most nonlinear experience you can imagine. The only thing linear is the actual objective location, but getting there has so many paths that it has high replayability.

I don't think I have made a mistake. The most you can justify Quake is with secrets, but those are usually small ammo cache's that don't contribute to the actual path of a level. Name one level that is nonlinear actually (besides start, that is kinda different but really small)... Maybe Shub's Pit, as you could try jumping around on the platform? Otherwise my mind is a blank for the entirety of the 4 episodes.