chaosfalling said:
I've come to a realisation that some of my favourite ever games have nothing special going for them in the gameplay department, but they all have one thing in common - and thats a strong, gripping plot as well as terrific characters you care for.
On the flipside no matter how polished or technically brilliant a game is, I sometimes get bored and uninspired if the story is of little substance.
Anyone else agree with these sentiments?
A game is based upon it's play. No gameplay, no game.
Sure, the story can be amazing, but if getting to those plot points is a total slog, then it would simply be more prudent to watch those bits on youtube or something.
However, some of the most popular games on planet earth are mainly just gameplay, with little to no plot. Bejeweled, Tetris, Pong, and the whole slew of internet/haldheld games are about as simplified as it can get, yet people play them more than anyone plays all those narrative-based games. Because they are, above all,
fun.
Now, I love having a great story in my games (heck, one of my top games of all time is Suikoden 3, which has veritable mountains of text). But people have to remember that the narrative, the experience of playing the game, adds more story that any amount of writing. Sneaking past your opponents in the dead of night, holding your breath and silently praying to any deity listening when the guard walks right up to your location and scans the shadows, is just as tense as any thriller movie. Carving though waves of enemies in God of War can offer more exhilaration than any plot scene in the series.
The game designers may make the constituent parts of the game, but it is the players who truly make the game. There is nothing without the player there, so we might as well make what the player does most often the most important and polished aspect.
