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Truths about video game stories

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Re: Truths about video game stories

#241

Post by kyriakos »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #74
Aaargh20318 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> (…) his comparison of game stories to movies. > How can you compare a 2 hour narrative with a 10-100 hour narrative? Not only the length makes video game stories different. Another huge difference is that in video games you actually get to be the character(s). You don’t just passively experience the story like in a movie or a book, you’re an active part of it. Even better: you can have the player make meaningful ch…

Exactly. And even if you don't have any real choices to make, you still get to experience the story as your story , not a tale. The author would probably think I'm a lunatic for it, but I consider the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare trilogy to have a good story . I thoroughly enjoyed it, and unlike with other shooters, and even though it followed multiple characters simultaneously, I was able to suspend disbeli…

Mass Effect storyline is really nice but if it was put into a movie format it would be a generic scifi flick without emotion. A lot of time is needed to develop the characters and the details possible more than what TV viewers would have patience for but because its a video game it means you get breaks from the narrative because yuou live the story.

Re: Truths about video game stories

#242

Post by teawrecks »

BashiBazouk wrote: post #204

I'd be in the opposite camp. Video game stories are those things I have to quickly click through to get to the next bit of action. Ya, ya, ya, bla, bla, bla, click, click click, don't care. My ideal is to create my own story rather than have it spoon fed to me. Let me roll a character then let me do what I want in an interactive open world. Sure, some curating and minor direction is OK, but the less the better. I don…

> there are plenty of video games that action wise I have no problem letting my kid play but can't due to the story and mainly the cut scenes.

Examples?

Re: Truths about video game stories

#243

Post by kyriakos »

shmde wrote: post #87

Here are some single player narrative/story driven games which are worth your time and money and also has decent to good storyline. The author seems way too salty over some games I think. - The Last of Us 1 & 2 ( Must play ) - RDR 1&2. ( 2 is must play ) - GTA IV - Mafia 2 - A Plague Tale: Innocence ( must play ) - Metro series. - Inside - Witcher 3 - A Way out ( needs 2 player ) - Night in the woods - Breath of the…

since you mentioned Alan Wake all games by Remedy seem to have good stories backing the gameplay. Control would easily make a nice twisted TV series.

Re: Truths about video game stories

#244

Post by krumpet »

Thank you for mentioning Ultima IV! My favorite game of all times and, to your point, a definite departure from what other games were doing at the time. Having to consider the long-term impact of the actions my character took changed everything about gaming for me in the mid-80s.

Re: Truths about video game stories

#245

Post by speeder »

pdpi wrote: post #18

We've had theatre and literature as narrative art for centuries. Film has been around for a tiny bit over 100 years, and it took them decades to find their own voices distinct from their predecessors. By comparison, video games are in their infancy. We've been at it for only a few short decades, and having the audience directly involved with the narrative is a radical shift from what we had before. We're looking at a…

I wonder how long it will take for someone to pull off what Chris Crawford been trying to do, that is find games own style of telling stories.

His own attempt was to make AI that writes the story as it interacts with the player, but lastest blog entries of his suggest he is unsure if that path that took him many years (he started the attempt in 1992 I think?) was the right one.

Re: Truths about video game stories

#246

Post by powersnail »

watwut wrote: post #95
powersnail wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Self-deprecating is the opposite of the article. The article “self”-deprecated others in the industry on their behalves. Of course he has the right to comment on whatever he likes to. I’m not suggesting that anyone should take away his freedom of speech. I was merely criticizing the quality of his criticism.

But you ended up taking offense on a single sentence where he says his own writing is not good enough for cheap fantasy novel.

I’m not sure what you mean by taking offense. I don’t feel offended; I’m not a game story writer, so whatever he writes cannot possibly offend me.

I also am not criticizing the first part of that single sentence (“I’m not great”). I find the paragraph in its entirety distasteful, when he said others are so bad that he was awesome.

Re: Truths about video game stories

#248

Post by BashiBazouk »

teawrecks wrote: post #242
BashiBazouk wrote: post #204

I'd be in the opposite camp. Video game stories are those things I have to quickly click through to get to the next bit of action. Ya, ya, ya, bla, bla, bla, click, click click, don't care. My ideal is to create my own story rather than have it spoon fed to me. Let me roll a character then let me do what I want in an interactive open world. Sure, some curating and minor direction is OK, but the less the better. I don…

> there are plenty of video games that action wise I have no problem letting my kid play but can't due to the story and mainly the cut scenes. Examples?

Endless examples. But currently Diablo 2 Resurrected and Assassin's Creed Odyssey.

Re: Truths about video game stories

#249

Post by Jensson »

Forcing people to read through the story or sit through cutscenes is like forcing people to play the hard version of a boss. Sure playing the hard version might be more interesting, but many people don't really care much about interesting gameplay and just want to relax and enjoy themselves. The same thing with the story, sure it might be more interesting for the player if they read through and properly embraced the story, but that is a lot of work and will just feel like a chore to many people.

You can make many more interesting games if you assume everywhere that the player cares about the story. Same as how you can make more interesting gameplay if you know the player wants an interesting challenge and always plays on hard, like in Dark Souls. But ultimately most people don't want to challenge themselves, regardless if it is trying to remember a lot of story content or practicing a boss fight.

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