The big draw for me with games is the idea of video games as yet another storytelling medium. I treat them like books and movies, which is reflected in the sort of games I like to play. I mentioned in my game profile that I am into RPGs, especially à la Bioware. I will be honest, I’ve tried playing Skyrim, but I was never able to really get into it because the stories were so disparate and I could never connect to my character. With the fully voiced playable characters in Bioware I have a greater connection to the playable character- and the game (this is one of the reasons I prefer Dragon Age 2 to Origins).
With all of the work, school and otherwise, that I have to do, it is difficult for me to find any time to play games, but I do like to stay a bit current with the games that interest me. So every once in a while I will watch a “movie” version of the game to experience the story without actually having to play it. This is especially handy not just when I don’t have the time to play the game, but also when I don’t have access to my console of choice (XBox) or if the game is, say, a PlayStation exclusive, as is the case with the Uncharted series.
My best experience with watching the “movie” version of a game has been Uncharted. The story is linear and so watching the movie version I don’t feel like I’m missing out on side plots and making choices that could effect other parts of the game. As such, my attempts to see what’s going on in the world of Dishonored did not go as well, since an RPG by its very nature is about making choices. By limiting myself to watching the “movie” version, I wasn’t able to get the full experience of the game.
Along those lines, there was a controversy not too long ago surrounding Jennifer Helper (formerly of Bioware) about an interview where she said that the most important part of a video game is the story. Here’s a link that describes the situation: http://kotaku.com/5886674/bioware-writer-describes-her-gaming-tastes-angry-gamers-call-her-a-cancer
I pretty much agree with Helper. The story is what is most important. The interactivity of the game is nice, but if I went the whole game without having to mash buttons to kill stuff in order to advance the story, that is mostly fine by me. Sure, every once in a while a girl can get the urge to shoot some pixels in the face, but for the most part I need a story that I can truly immerse myself in.
What do you guys think?
I’m not saying that story is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR ALL GAMES EVER. It depends on a variety of factors and it really depends on what the player wants. I think that’s one of great things about the industry and all the different game development studios- there’s something for everyone out there.
For me, story is one of the most important things for a game, for someone else it might not be. Story does not need to be the greatest cog of every game machine, but for me personally, that’s what keeps me playing for hours on end.
Another point I want to make though, is that “story” doesn’t always equal cut scenes and fully voiced characters. There are many games out there that don’t have these things and still have fascinating stories. The first example that comes to mind for me is Amnesia: the Dark Descent. There are no cut scenes and no voice over, but throughout the game you get the sense of a really cool story. Another cool example is The Room, a mobile puzzle game that has a delightfully creepy story without being anything like a movie with buttons.
I do agree with you in the fact that I love a good story in the games I play. This is why the ME games are my favorite (I also like sci-fi but that’s beside the point). But, I do not think that ‘Story’ is the most important part of games. I like to the of ‘story’ as just a cog in the machine that is a game. And depending on how big you make the cog is how important it is. Some games, like ME and Uncharted, benefit from a good story that plays a big part of the game. But if story was the most important part of a game, then there would be a high emphasis on story in every good game out there. Sure, some of last years ‘best’ games had heavy stories (Bioshock, Last of Us) but I do not think that every game that has a little bit of story needs cut scenes and fully voiced dialog. Sometime a subtle story works best, whether its to go save a princes or to become the pokemon master.
I think the idea was more to make the fighting and such OPTIONAL, not remove it entirely. The game play is also important, and I think that as game players, we all recognize this. But sometimes you just don’t want to have to deal with the fighting, or you might find it too challenging even on the lowest difficulty setting. If that is the case, then it might feel like you are being sort of punished by the game for not being “good enough” and thus not allowing you to get the rest of the story.
Yes, the interactivity is what distinguishes games from other mediums, but it is also unlike any other storytelling medium in that it can actually keep you from finding out the rest of the story if you can’t get past some sort of fight or level. Books don’t prevent you from reading ahead and movies don’t stop. There was a joke somewhere on the internet along this line, but that was the gist of it.
Ultimately, I don’t think that making fights or boss battles optional would really diminish the game playing experience. If the player is looking for a more “traditional” experience, then by all means, they can do the fight and play the game straight through, gaining extra experience. But if you’re just in it for the story, why not just skip the fight and go straight to the cut scene and/or dialogue choices?
Storytelling has become a huge part of games and will probably continue to grow. I do feel that many games with long linear stories can be watched like a movie. With million dollar budgets and high end voice actors there is almost no difference. One key difference is that games have interactivity in them by definition. Removing that element would make them movies and not games. Many games have gone the other way on this spectrum. God of War for instance has many cut scenes, but these cut scenes include game play in them as a quick time event. In Mass Effect, one could argue that the dialogue choices you make are in fact game play. The interactivity of the medium is what makes games, games. As an addendum removing game play, I feel results in less re playability. Parts of them game where you are in control of the character and being awesome are usually the most satisfying. Watching a cut scene where my character takes out 3 guards in one move is cool, but actually doing it was much more satisfying.
It’s a shame that Bioware writer got harassed, but I have a feeling she got targeted from the ME3 ending hate that was prevalent at the time, people are still up in arms for who to blame (see EA). I think its more likely she was a target of opportunity with an unpopular opinion. Overall it’s a shame, she wrote large parts of the dwarf story for Dragon Age and that was one of my favorite parts of the game.
Geez those crazy internet people were really heckling Hepler. Do I sense some sexism fueling it? I think she, and you, have a great point though. Uncharted is a good example of a game with an interesting plot with some memorable characters, that at times was bogged down with difficult combat sequences. I played all of them, and I do remember at times being frustrated at parts where they would throw you in a big room with 20 bad guys to murder. I would die repeatedly during these scenes, when all I wanted to do was progress the story a little further and get to the next awesome cutscene or giant puzzle.
Quite frankly, it’s kind of silly when you finish the game and are satisfied with the ending, but then you think, “Damn, Drake killed at least like 300 people throughout that storyline, all the while remaining cheerful and relaxed.” But alas, it is a videogame based on combat after all, so you can’t read into it as much as that. Uncharted is a great series though, and some of the action sequences are quite thrilling. But for me, it’s the story that keeps me playing, and not the combat sequences.
-Neil