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are video games even an appropriate medium for storyteling?
nebb1234
Member Posts: 242
Now don't get my wrong, I am all about art. I care more about art than anything. (except, well, ya know)
BUT
Games don't come from a place of story telling, do they? Did pong have lore? Why do I keep seeing such lame wannabe dialogue.... why do programmers/artists think they are writers?
The answer must and always be money. So they think that story is essential to the success of a game? Because WoW has a story and is successful? IMO WoW is a very special case, as few game companies have any sort of following like Blizz.
I have never really gotten into the story for a game (got NES when I was 5.... and it was new not the bargain bin... props to dad for scraping together the cash that christmas)
Although I am a huge fan of storytelling and it's power and necessity in our world, I don't think that video games should really bother trying to be a medium for this. I enjoyed the story for Diablo 1? Knew who I was and where I was going. Good enough.
For example in GW2. it's just a really weak version of a Pixar film every hour for 5 minutes..... why?
Do any games do story telling well? And remember that childhood is what it is. I had deep feelings for Link and Epona, and was concerned when Diddy Kong fell off a banana tree - but that was because I was a child.
Is it worth it for games to do storytelling? Why do they try?
Comments
I live in a world where the demand for story-driven games is extremely high.
What world do you live in?
I mean there are good and bad ways to present story in games, but that's a different question from the one you asked.
"What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver
its more of the modern times, most players right now dont really care about the story and just want to eat the content.
so in order to make content less "boring" they just strip most of the storytelling and just give watered down quests or cinematics that are fast to skip and dont make the player actually make an effort to understand.
it happens in all games of this era.
Story is content. Even when presented badly it's content.
It's best when story doesn't interfere with gameplay (happens in real-time while playing) but it's always content.
"What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver
Humanity seems to have always had some investment in storytelling. I don't think the first cave paintings had character development let alone secondary character arcs or denouement but they were there to depict important events.
Some games are about story and some aren't.
Pong isn't. Guild Wars 2 is.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
They guy who made pacman said he was trying to design a game women would also like. Because (HIS WORDS OBVIOUSLY) "women like eating, I'll make a game about that!" <----- I wonder if his wife/mom knows that
and thus pacman was born.... eating away for decades to come.
and those cave paintings were about when the aliens came duh :P :P
but yes good point, good point
play to the moon and try to see what u are wrong.
Games are perfect for story telling.
good games have both , a good story and good gameplay.
if u have an awesome gameplay but boring story is somewhat tolerable , because u enjoy playing it!
Good story bad gameplay ugh the story could be the best ever but if u dont enjoy the game ....
I think the issue is they need to know what type of game they are and if they want to depict a story, do it in a way that is natural to the game style.
Paintings can depict a story but it's done in a different way than a novel.
As for mmo's. part of the issue is that some players have an incredibly difficult time divorcing themselves from other players when the "story part" come into play. They say "I saved the world and I'm there with 100 other people who have saved the world".
When, for the sake of story, you were the only person who saved the world.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
Agreed. OP, did you bother googling this at all?
EDIT: OP, if you're genuinely interested in games as a medium for storytelling, I think you'll really enjoy this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajz_1TqccYA
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
Yes.
Bioware, Telltale Games, Kojima Productions, and many more. Ever play Asura's Wrath? It's an excellent action-anime in video game form.
Since when is Tuesday a direction?
Pong is an arcade game... it's medium doesn't require a story, just a construct.
Most non-arcade games have a story... otherwise they could not be classified as being science fiction or fantasy or the like. The characters, the world, the places in it are all part of a story. You may not read the text of the story, but you learn of it, merely by playing the game. Just what is a Paladin without a backstory? Or any villain or foe for that matter?
You are playing a character in a game and you are writing it's story every time you log in. You are acquiring items that tell a story to others... this person defeated Magnus on ultimate mode... this person has the flying mount that only drops from this dungeon... this person has seen every corner of this game.
You can't play these games without telling a story. You may choose to ignore the lore, but you cannot ignore the fact that everything you do in game, tells a story whether you intended to or not.
mmmm good list.
I strongly agree that it is often a small chunk of the budget thrown at the story. Leading to crappy stories to tell to begin with.
It is interesting how many different talents have to come together for a game, I find that music is often also under-funded/overlooked
So how many video games are based off of movies? How many movies are based off of video games?
I can think of multiple movies that have its origin based off of video games. Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Mortal Combat, Tomb Raider, Hitman, to name a few. So are video games a appropriate medium for story telling. I believe the producers of those movies thought so. I know I do as well!
So the answer to your question would be YES. Video games are a appropriate medium for story telling!
eh cool thanks! I added it my watch later, and I hit that every night before bed. I really, really, REALLY need to go level up my Venom in marvel heroes, be back in a while
Many people seem to agree! I wish it were better implemented.
Maybe it's the foul taste left in my mouth from the gw2 living story.
Many better examples of story telling in a game have been listed here though, so thanks for that ya'll.
Absolutely. I'm sure there are plenty of people with fond memories of stories they've played through in games.
My SWTOR referral link for those wanting to give the game a try. (Newbies get a welcome package while returning players get a few account upgrades to help with their preferred status.)
https://www.ashesofcreation.com/ref/Callaron/
Is story telling a absolute requirement to make a fun game? No
Do games as a medium lend themselves to story telling extremely well? Absolutely
Games are one of if not the best way to convey a interactive narrative and are a key distinguishing factor that separates games from each other. The whole last part of MMORPG is a player playing a role in a story inside a game. Sure there are a few cases where that story is mostly created by the player ala EVE but even than it's hard to believe players naturally creating the world they have in that game without some frame work to build around done by the Developers.
It's about time I check out this Marvel Heroes thing. Maybe I'll see you there.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
Go check out The Longest Journey and Dreamfall. The writing in these is better than a good portion of the novels I've read in my life.
That being said, there is no such thing as an inappropriate medium for storytelling. It's an integral part of our identity as a species.
I don't think that games which are made explicitly to tell a story are very good (I have played a couple "games" like to the moon and walking dead and was not impressed).
I do however think that if the story is just a part of the game then it can be great (The World Ends With You anybody?)
Story driven "games" just feel like such a gimmick to me, but I am not even close to the mainstream market so my opinion is worth less in the grand scheme.
Waiting for:
The Repopulation
Albion Online