Elevators vs. Loading Screens

[Spammy]

So I was recently playing Portal 2, and by far the most jarring change to the game was the decision to replace the elevator loading sequences with Aperture WHEATLEY Laboratories logos. And it got me to thinking about how my games are loaded.

In Portal(And Half-Life 2), when you got to a level transition, it would freeze your view in place and there might be a little box that said, "Loading," but your view was kept on the gameworld. In Portal 2 that's replaced by a logo-on-black loading screen. The former method makes things feel like they're connected and flowing. They're all part of the same world and one area is just leading into the next. With the latter method, everything is chopped up. The testing chambers in Portal 2 feel more separated than the testing chambers in Portal 1. And I kind of prefer the former method. While there are times, I'll grant, that the feeling of separation that loading screen brings is a good tool for storytelling, by and large I prefer feeling that sense of connection. But that's just me.

Would you like to see loading screens, or have the loading take place in elevator-like sequences?

 

[Zypher]

I agree, the "freeze frame" effect made it feel much more like a continuous world, although sometimes I understand when having to traverse between "indoors" and "outdoors" settings like in Skyrim, where making it continuous would be a lot A LOT of work, so in that regard I don't mind the loading screens but for "continuous outdoor" games or where the interiors are minor I don't mind loading screens.

 

[MurderDeathKill]

Both are signs of poor level design.

There, I said it.

 

[Spammy]

Both are signs of poor level design.

There, I said it.

You said it, but I want you to defend it now.