Linear Space

According to my own words, this is what a linear space concept is.

Linear Space
Usually used in 2D spaces. No matter what you do, you start at point A and finish at point B. Pretty simple concept. Think about Snakes and Ladders, Super Mario Bros. and Contra.

This concept always have an obvious goal. You are at the left, then you go right. You're at the bottom, then you must go up. The space is the goal and often you will face other opponants (race) or have a time limit. This concept is the perfect one for action games; you don't need to think where or how to go to the next level, everything is about running, jumping and/or killing.

Well, this is bullshit. Yes, this concept is perfect for what we use it for, but unwritten rules like those prevents us from really creating. By identifying entities of a game (like space, as talked about in this article) we can learn understand how to avoid being ruled by conventions. Guitar Hero might show an interesting use of the linear space concept, since it uses it with what I'd call "Synchronized Play". Patapon is even more interesting, being half-way between Synchronized Play and Action Play (altough it's a little more on the synchronized side).

More about concepts of play later.