Yeah, fans loathe to admit it, but the overall level of storytelling quality in video games IS worse than other mediums. It's especially frustrating because I don't think video games are inherently incapable of telling stories that are just as good as what films or books are capable of.
And I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way about an Assassin's Creed game! I've only played Assassin's Creed 2, but I usually found myself spacing out during most of the dialogue and I could not for the life of me bring myself to pay attention to the letters or any other story-related text. (Honestly, letters in general are often really boring in video games.)
Walking Dead was really enjoyable though. I liked the game more than the actual series, lol.
(And thanks for the indie game reccs! I'll check them out.)
Baron of Terribad (Otaku Eternal) | Posted 01/20/13 | Reply
I still think many games are figuring out decent storytelling. Even today, many video game stories are quite rubbish. I can count on two hands (and that is being incredibly generous) the number of game stories I would call legitimately "good" (which isn't always the same thing as "enjoyable").
I would personally like to see more experimentation regarding breaking away from the traditional gameplay-cutscene-gameplay model of storytelling. It's really wearing on me, particularly in AAA games where it seems like you get tiny bites of gameplay in between these long, laborious cutscenes where sub-par writers laboriously build a storyline that is next to impossible for me to care about. This is not the worst offender for me (only the most recent), but I can't help but think of Assassin's Creed III here. I was so excited to play when I started; now, I'm so bored that I don't want to finish the game.
The main problem for storytelling in games for me is that I feel like a spectator. I feel like I am watching something unfold rather than actively participating in it. The biggest marker for success in gaming storytelling, in my mind, is to make me forget that I am pushing a bunch of buttons. That is basically what I want a story in a video game to do.
In this respect, I find myself most impressed lately by the minimalist storytelling of indie games. Hotline Miami, for instance, has a story that manifests itself through suggestion, mood, visuals, and music, and the tough, frenetic gameplay actively supports everything the story lays out. They work in tandem and make you feel like an active participant. Then there's also FTL: Faster than Light, which is an incredibly simple story about a ship escaping from a rebel fleet. The plot elements are randomly generated each game; however, that's the genius of it: Every game feels like a new ship, a new story. You're filling in the details yourself. It totally works, and it doesn't require massive cutscenes to work.
Of course, you can also succeed the old fashioned way if you actually have good writing like, say, The Walking Dead. :)
EDIT: I also find myself enjoying stuff that is simply outlandish. Like, I wouldn't call the story in Saints Row: The Third "good" (mostly because it's a series of set pieces more than an actual story), but god damn that game was a lot of fun.
Last edited by Shinmaru at 10:53:29 AM EST on January 20, 2013.
Thing is, what makes this issue even more difficult for me is that I do understand where these "gameplay is all that matters" arguments are coming from, since there are a few games that I value for the gameplay alone. The first example that comes to mind when I think of "a game that I really love even though the story is crap" is Resident Evil 4. The gameplay truly was ambitious for its time and it really felt like there was some new thing to discover every time you turned a corner. I can totally understand that feeling of wanting to continue a game just to see what other crazy stuff it'll throw at you.
And despite its ups and downs, I still consider myself a fan of the Devil May Cry series, and no one in their right mind plays those games for the storyline. When the franchise is at its best, the real draw and what the games are most known for (other than Dante I guess) is the unusually difficult and complex battle system. It really does take skill and some ingenuity to figure out how to play the game well. And I definitely understand the satisfaction of creating your own unique barrage of attacks that literally sends a boss flying into the air for twenty seconds straight. ^^;
So I do understand where these people are coming from. But at the same time, I don't ever want to lose the more story-centric games because I value them equally, albeit in a different way.
(...And I just realized that I praised a bunch of Capcom games in this post. The horror.)
What I've noticed games lacking these days is the "fun" factor. Remember when games were fun, when you enjoyed playing them because you were having fun? Yeah, I miss those days. I miss the day when playing a game wasn't doing a chore, when it didn't feel like going to a second job. The hell happened, industry?
A game with no story, no plot, no characters, is a game I don't find worth playing. Who the hell cares about the game if I have nothing to play it for? Why is it fun? If "the gameplay is solid", what does that mean? Does that mean I get to mow down rows of similarly-built enemies because ha ha killing people is fun? Is that supposed to be fun? Sure, I liked to dick around in GTA III doing nothing but driving around in the sandbox world, but then I got bored and stopped playing after about a half hour.
Video games are the beautiful opportunity to unite interactivity AND storytelling. It takes two to tango, it takes both to make a worthwhile video game. You look at the things like Call of Duty, and who do they mostly appeal to? The meatheads who can't form a cohesive intelligent sentence about the game outside of "WOOH, SHOOTIN' PEOPLE!"
On the flipside, just because a game has a "good story" does not mean it's fun. Why shove people from Cinematic A to Cinematic B? I can just go watch the damn movie if I want, right? So of course, you need to make the game fun to play, to make those cinematic scenes worth getting to and make them fulfilling for the player, to make it seem like their effort is paid off by advancing the story.
My experience with WRPGs is mostly limited to The Elder Scrolls. I enjoyed Oblivion immensely, and I felt Skyrim dull. Why? I'm not sure, I like to blame the color palette. But I found them enjoyable enough. Yet my beloved gaming series is Golden Sun, JRPG wonder. And I really loved Persona 4, it was like crack. The stories intrigue me, and I'm really gunning for the next plot point, but meanwhile, I enjoy the gameplay in-between. I like exploring places and I actually do like turn based combat, and I grow an attachment to characters based upon stuff that goes on in the game.
Gaming itself is in a rut, which is why I'm enjoying cruising around Steam and the Android market and seeing what the smaller developers are doing with new franchises. I'm tired of seeing the same crap, but I know innovation isn't dead. It's just that as long as there are people who buy Madden every year, then the gaming industry is going to keep having that segment of people who enjoy consuming mediocrity.
It makes sense...not that I agree it's a good thing...but I certainly have noticed that as well. I'm saddened when I see games that have amazing storylines and highly developed characters get poor ratings, and then the usual games like Call of Duty or uhh...whatever shooting games...or games that don't involve much plot, get super high ratings. >> I think it's also...well I think back to the old days of video games. Like really old days. XD 80's and such. Games back then were always just insta-play. Turn it on, shoot some stuff, or race, or make a burger, or whatever. Of course that was back when graphics and technology was really limited, but still...I think a lot of people still look for that in games today...something that they can get into easily, play for a score or something, and not have to bother with anything lengthy.
I am a huge fan of jrpg's...rpg's in general...and visual novels, which are obviously based around story and characters. XD And other games that are deeper...so yeah. I know what you mean. It's sad how things are. >>'
Pickle of the Year (Otaku Eternal) | Posted 01/19/13 | Reply
@:
lol, I don't mind the length, it was interesting! and yeah, I definitely agree with what you said about the industry being in a rut. Actually, it seems like many entertainment industries are in the same rut (e.g. "almost all big studio Hollywood movies are adaptations of existing franchises," a complaint that is more frequently being said about anime as well). No one wants to take risks/do something new because everyone is scared of losing money.
While a balance between gameplay and storytelling would be ideal, the thing is, a lot of gamers seem to be okay with a game having a nonexistent/shit-quality story as long as the gameplay is solid. Or at least that's what I keep hearing. And if gamers keep expressing that sentiment, then those are the types of games that developers will make. :/
Madman With a Box (Otaku Eternal) | Posted 01/19/13 | Reply
Can't say I was ever big on games with a detailed story. Not playing much beyond the original couple of generations of Nintendo does that. I usually played things like Mario, Donkey Kong Country, Bubsy, and Kirby. Go from level to level, kill baddies, kill bosses, etc.
bellpickle
Pickle of the Year (Otaku Eternal) | Posted 01/20/13 | Reply
@Shinmaru:
Yeah, fans loathe to admit it, but the overall level of storytelling quality in video games IS worse than other mediums. It's especially frustrating because I don't think video games are inherently incapable of telling stories that are just as good as what films or books are capable of.
And I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way about an Assassin's Creed game! I've only played Assassin's Creed 2, but I usually found myself spacing out during most of the dialogue and I could not for the life of me bring myself to pay attention to the letters or any other story-related text. (Honestly, letters in general are often really boring in video games.)
Walking Dead was really enjoyable though. I liked the game more than the actual series, lol.
(And thanks for the indie game reccs! I'll check them out.)
Shinmaru
Baron of Terribad (Otaku Eternal) | Posted 01/20/13 | Reply
I still think many games are figuring out decent storytelling. Even today, many video game stories are quite rubbish. I can count on two hands (and that is being incredibly generous) the number of game stories I would call legitimately "good" (which isn't always the same thing as "enjoyable").
I would personally like to see more experimentation regarding breaking away from the traditional gameplay-cutscene-gameplay model of storytelling. It's really wearing on me, particularly in AAA games where it seems like you get tiny bites of gameplay in between these long, laborious cutscenes where sub-par writers laboriously build a storyline that is next to impossible for me to care about. This is not the worst offender for me (only the most recent), but I can't help but think of Assassin's Creed III here. I was so excited to play when I started; now, I'm so bored that I don't want to finish the game.
The main problem for storytelling in games for me is that I feel like a spectator. I feel like I am watching something unfold rather than actively participating in it. The biggest marker for success in gaming storytelling, in my mind, is to make me forget that I am pushing a bunch of buttons. That is basically what I want a story in a video game to do.
In this respect, I find myself most impressed lately by the minimalist storytelling of indie games. Hotline Miami, for instance, has a story that manifests itself through suggestion, mood, visuals, and music, and the tough, frenetic gameplay actively supports everything the story lays out. They work in tandem and make you feel like an active participant. Then there's also FTL: Faster than Light, which is an incredibly simple story about a ship escaping from a rebel fleet. The plot elements are randomly generated each game; however, that's the genius of it: Every game feels like a new ship, a new story. You're filling in the details yourself. It totally works, and it doesn't require massive cutscenes to work.
Of course, you can also succeed the old fashioned way if you actually have good writing like, say, The Walking Dead. :)
EDIT: I also find myself enjoying stuff that is simply outlandish. Like, I wouldn't call the story in Saints Row: The Third "good" (mostly because it's a series of set pieces more than an actual story), but god damn that game was a lot of fun.
Last edited by Shinmaru at 10:53:29 AM EST on January 20, 2013.
Love thy Evangelion.
bellpickle
Pickle of the Year (Otaku Eternal) | Posted 01/20/13 | Reply
@Katana:
Thing is, what makes this issue even more difficult for me is that I do understand where these "gameplay is all that matters" arguments are coming from, since there are a few games that I value for the gameplay alone. The first example that comes to mind when I think of "a game that I really love even though the story is crap" is Resident Evil 4. The gameplay truly was ambitious for its time and it really felt like there was some new thing to discover every time you turned a corner. I can totally understand that feeling of wanting to continue a game just to see what other crazy stuff it'll throw at you.
And despite its ups and downs, I still consider myself a fan of the Devil May Cry series, and no one in their right mind plays those games for the storyline. When the franchise is at its best, the real draw and what the games are most known for (other than Dante I guess) is the unusually difficult and complex battle system. It really does take skill and some ingenuity to figure out how to play the game well. And I definitely understand the satisfaction of creating your own unique barrage of attacks that literally sends a boss flying into the air for twenty seconds straight. ^^;
So I do understand where these people are coming from. But at the same time, I don't ever want to lose the more story-centric games because I value them equally, albeit in a different way.
(...And I just realized that I praised a bunch of Capcom games in this post. The horror.)
Katana
Goggalor (Otaku Eternal) | Posted 01/19/13 | Reply
What I've noticed games lacking these days is the "fun" factor. Remember when games were fun, when you enjoyed playing them because you were having fun? Yeah, I miss those days. I miss the day when playing a game wasn't doing a chore, when it didn't feel like going to a second job. The hell happened, industry?
A game with no story, no plot, no characters, is a game I don't find worth playing. Who the hell cares about the game if I have nothing to play it for? Why is it fun? If "the gameplay is solid", what does that mean? Does that mean I get to mow down rows of similarly-built enemies because ha ha killing people is fun? Is that supposed to be fun? Sure, I liked to dick around in GTA III doing nothing but driving around in the sandbox world, but then I got bored and stopped playing after about a half hour.
Video games are the beautiful opportunity to unite interactivity AND storytelling. It takes two to tango, it takes both to make a worthwhile video game. You look at the things like Call of Duty, and who do they mostly appeal to? The meatheads who can't form a cohesive intelligent sentence about the game outside of "WOOH, SHOOTIN' PEOPLE!"
On the flipside, just because a game has a "good story" does not mean it's fun. Why shove people from Cinematic A to Cinematic B? I can just go watch the damn movie if I want, right? So of course, you need to make the game fun to play, to make those cinematic scenes worth getting to and make them fulfilling for the player, to make it seem like their effort is paid off by advancing the story.
My experience with WRPGs is mostly limited to The Elder Scrolls. I enjoyed Oblivion immensely, and I felt Skyrim dull. Why? I'm not sure, I like to blame the color palette. But I found them enjoyable enough. Yet my beloved gaming series is Golden Sun, JRPG wonder. And I really loved Persona 4, it was like crack. The stories intrigue me, and I'm really gunning for the next plot point, but meanwhile, I enjoy the gameplay in-between. I like exploring places and I actually do like turn based combat, and I grow an attachment to characters based upon stuff that goes on in the game.
Gaming itself is in a rut, which is why I'm enjoying cruising around Steam and the Android market and seeing what the smaller developers are doing with new franchises. I'm tired of seeing the same crap, but I know innovation isn't dead. It's just that as long as there are people who buy Madden every year, then the gaming industry is going to keep having that segment of people who enjoy consuming mediocrity.
"In Kat's wor we trust."
Angel Zakuro
bird nerd. (Otaku Angel) | Posted 01/19/13 | Reply
It makes sense...not that I agree it's a good thing...but I certainly have noticed that as well. I'm saddened when I see games that have amazing storylines and highly developed characters get poor ratings, and then the usual games like Call of Duty or uhh...whatever shooting games...or games that don't involve much plot, get super high ratings. >> I think it's also...well I think back to the old days of video games. Like really old days. XD 80's and such. Games back then were always just insta-play. Turn it on, shoot some stuff, or race, or make a burger, or whatever. Of course that was back when graphics and technology was really limited, but still...I think a lot of people still look for that in games today...something that they can get into easily, play for a score or something, and not have to bother with anything lengthy.
I am a huge fan of jrpg's...rpg's in general...and visual novels, which are obviously based around story and characters. XD And other games that are deeper...so yeah. I know what you mean. It's sad how things are. >>'
Take care~
Kaerlyn
Tea pixie (Otaku Eternal) | Posted 01/19/13 | Reply
No no no! I love games with a storyline and characters I can actually grow fond of. Grumble grumble...
bellpickle
Pickle of the Year (Otaku Eternal) | Posted 01/19/13 | Reply
@:
lol, I don't mind the length, it was interesting! and yeah, I definitely agree with what you said about the industry being in a rut. Actually, it seems like many entertainment industries are in the same rut (e.g. "almost all big studio Hollywood movies are adaptations of existing franchises," a complaint that is more frequently being said about anime as well). No one wants to take risks/do something new because everyone is scared of losing money.
While a balance between gameplay and storytelling would be ideal, the thing is, a lot of gamers seem to be okay with a game having a nonexistent/shit-quality story as long as the gameplay is solid. Or at least that's what I keep hearing. And if gamers keep expressing that sentiment, then those are the types of games that developers will make. :/
TimeChaser
Madman With a Box (Otaku Eternal) | Posted 01/19/13 | Reply
Can't say I was ever big on games with a detailed story. Not playing much beyond the original couple of generations of Nintendo does that. I usually played things like Mario, Donkey Kong Country, Bubsy, and Kirby. Go from level to level, kill baddies, kill bosses, etc.
Bazinga!