Fallout co-creator says non-linear design is all about never assuming how players will act, illustrates his point by fantasising about an NPC guard he seems to really hate

Fallout co-creator Tim Cain has a new video going over some of his principles for game design, and as you might expect has some strong opinions on the intersection between design intention, and what players actually end up doing.

"Rule one, our game is non-linear—don't assume that players will go somewhere first or talk to someone first," says Cain in a new YouTube video called Eight Level Design Guidelines. "I wanted to remind level designers that just because you put a guard outside the town, don't assume that everybody will stop and talk to that guard."

Cain clearly has a bee in his bonnet about guards specifically, and is soon freewheeling through examples of why the above is bad practice: "If you want to force that, you can put a gate in the town that doesn't open until you talk to the guard or, worse, force the guard to go into conversation with the player."

So in Cain's world, it's time for that guard to meet their maker. "I point out that if you're capable of shooting that guard from long distance and killing them, I'm gonna go into that town without talking to the guard. And you may think well, at that point, it's OK because everyone in the town will attack you."