Darknacht said:
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alphamalet said:
Pretty scary when this many people consider the story, something that doesn't even define a game, as the most important part for them. You can have a game with no story. You can't have a game with no gameplay. Which do you think is more important? Sheesh!
You can have a movie without a story too but most people like movies with stories.
You're still missing the point. Yes, story can compliment gameplay in the same way the story can compliment a film, but that does NOT make story the most important part of either of these.
What differentiates a game from other mediums of entertainment is its gameplay. You can't play a movie, a book, or a painting. If you took gameplay away, then you wouldn't have a game, and the entire medium of entertainment disappears. I don't care how compelling or how well a story compliments the gameplay of a game, if you say that story is more important than the aspect that makes a game a game, then you're wrong.
Like I said earlier, your example misses the point. Yes, a story can compliment the visuals of a film, but it is the unique way a film displays its visuals that makes a film a film. If you remove a plot from a film, you still have a series of captured frames being played in quick succession to convey to the viewer some sort of imagery that occurred in a specific place and time. An example might be some of the home movies taken by the people who witnessed some of the events in World War II. There is no story to these, but what they convey is powerful and the way they convey it can't be done by a still image or by a sound byte. Now what if you took away the film's unique way of conveying information? What if films were no longer a series of captured images played in rapid succession to give the appearance of motion? You don't have a movie anymore, you have either a still frame, or a sound byte. So is story still the most important aspect of either of these artistic mediums?
I'm all for story in games. I think a story can be powerful, and emotional, and help motivate a player to keep playing. I don't want you think that I am advocating that there be no stories in video games. What I am advocating is to put this specific aspect of video games into perspective.
As someone who is currently studying video game design at a university, it has always confounded me how avid players of video games seem to understand so little as to what makes a game tick. Worship what makes a game a game and sets it apart from all of the other mediums of entertainment you could be experiencing instead! Don't worship one of the pieces that does nothing to define the medium of entertainment you enjoy so much!