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<blockquote data-quote="Mordhau" data-source="post: 8466195" data-attributes="member: 7032137"><p>To be clear I don't think these are opposites.</p><p></p><p>A good non-linear dungeon will still have chokepoints at certain places. That was the point I was wanting to make. The chokepoints offset the linearity and provide meaning to it.</p><p></p><p>Say we have two dungeon areas.</p><p></p><p>A and B. A and B are both extremely non-linear regions with lots of loops. However, there is only one obvious connection between the two. That is a highly guarded corridor with a very tough fight. This signals to the players that going from A to B is a signficant step. Without this kind of chokepoint there is no clear way to know this.</p><p></p><p>There might also be a secret door from A to B, which the players can find if they explore enough, or if they've done someone a service. There could also be a way to open up another passage from B back to A once they've reached B. These don't take away from the fact that it's easy to find the main passage from A to B but hard to get past it (Making it an achievement to do so).</p><p></p><p>Another example would be the Temple of the Serpent that lies in the dungeon. If the temple is entirely porous to the rest of the dungeon then it will sort of fade into the rest of the dungeon. The players will wander in and potentially wander out again without really engaging with the sublocation. Again putting boundaries around this area and chokepoints at entry doesn't mean the temple region itself is not non-linear.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mordhau, post: 8466195, member: 7032137"] To be clear I don't think these are opposites. A good non-linear dungeon will still have chokepoints at certain places. That was the point I was wanting to make. The chokepoints offset the linearity and provide meaning to it. Say we have two dungeon areas. A and B. A and B are both extremely non-linear regions with lots of loops. However, there is only one obvious connection between the two. That is a highly guarded corridor with a very tough fight. This signals to the players that going from A to B is a signficant step. Without this kind of chokepoint there is no clear way to know this. There might also be a secret door from A to B, which the players can find if they explore enough, or if they've done someone a service. There could also be a way to open up another passage from B back to A once they've reached B. These don't take away from the fact that it's easy to find the main passage from A to B but hard to get past it (Making it an achievement to do so). Another example would be the Temple of the Serpent that lies in the dungeon. If the temple is entirely porous to the rest of the dungeon then it will sort of fade into the rest of the dungeon. The players will wander in and potentially wander out again without really engaging with the sublocation. Again putting boundaries around this area and chokepoints at entry doesn't mean the temple region itself is not non-linear. [/QUOTE]
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