Do stories ever really 'matter'? I mean they are all just there for your entertainment. And the story in Overwatch is entertaining to see in the lore, visuals and cinematic videos.
Do you think Overwatch's story will actually matter?
- Thread starter happyninja42
- Start date
Well, I do think the story helps in a way. While it probably won't add much to the gameplay itself, the colorful personalities of these characters alone tends to spark a desire to learn more about them.
The characters from Team Fortress were given little more than an introduction and this sparked tons of fan videos, as people strove to fill in the blanks where a story was missing, simply because the introductions stoked the notion that there was a story there somewhere. I sense that the desire for a story is there among the players, even if it serves little purpose in the actual gameplay.
Also, from a marketing perspective, interesting characters can be great for luring in customers, even if they know nothing about the gameplay. Add an interesting world with a story to those characters and some people will be sold on the story alone.
The characters from Team Fortress were given little more than an introduction and this sparked tons of fan videos, as people strove to fill in the blanks where a story was missing, simply because the introductions stoked the notion that there was a story there somewhere. I sense that the desire for a story is there among the players, even if it serves little purpose in the actual gameplay.
Also, from a marketing perspective, interesting characters can be great for luring in customers, even if they know nothing about the gameplay. Add an interesting world with a story to those characters and some people will be sold on the story alone.
Not right now. Characters have some backstory that feels more like flavor and world building than actual lore; but it plays no part in the game. For example, Widowmaker's story portraits her like a villain, at the very least a hero turned bad, yet she can fight altogether with Winston against Zenyatta and Roadhog and nobody will even comment on that.
I guess the comparison with SF2 is pretty apt, because it is the same thing. Instead of "these people have to fight each other in a one on one fighting tournament because reasons", we get "these people have to shoot each other because reasons"
I guess the comparison with SF2 is pretty apt, because it is the same thing. Instead of "these people have to fight each other in a one on one fighting tournament because reasons", we get "these people have to shoot each other because reasons"
It only matters as much as you want it to be. But like others have said it will basically be like TF2.
The story may influence certain lines characters say to each other, items, stage environments, so on and so forth. But you don't really need it to enjoy the game.
It's there to simply add depth to the characters outside of their role in matches.
Stuff like this is important anyway. People love good stories and I've seen a lot of people invested in Overwatch who don't even have the game because it doesn't require a console to care about the backstory of Tracer or Mei.
For those who like to produce fanart having a solid basis for how someone is going to act and what their personality is makes it ripe for fanart.
And for those who like to play the game or involve themselves in all three categories it adds a lot more depth, relateability and enjoyment to the characters you're playing.
The story may influence certain lines characters say to each other, items, stage environments, so on and so forth. But you don't really need it to enjoy the game.
It's there to simply add depth to the characters outside of their role in matches.
Stuff like this is important anyway. People love good stories and I've seen a lot of people invested in Overwatch who don't even have the game because it doesn't require a console to care about the backstory of Tracer or Mei.
For those who like to produce fanart having a solid basis for how someone is going to act and what their personality is makes it ripe for fanart.
And for those who like to play the game or involve themselves in all three categories it adds a lot more depth, relateability and enjoyment to the characters you're playing.
A shit predictable, by the numbers, story, therefore proving that it doesnt matter.WinterWyvern said:
This just in: stories only 'matter' (whatever that means) if they can't be predicted.josemlopes said:
So that means basically every story without a twist that you don't see coming is terrible? So that means in your world Lord of the Rings, The Martian, Star Wars, The Avengers, etc etc are all terrible.
I don't think I want to live in your world. In mine a story that follows traditional tropes can be appreciated if its well told and well presented (tropes are not inherently bad things).
It doesn't have to be Heavy Rain, or Citizen Kane, that's not what I was trying to ask with this thread. What I'm trying to ask, and that some people seem to misread, is whether the actual conflict that they've created, with multiple cinematic trailers, totalling about 45 minutes worth of footage, establishing this global conflict. A world on the brink of annihilation, leaders being assassinated by mysterious agents, working for someone. A disbanded group of champions, recalled to try and save the world!...and then the gameplay is just King of the Hill, Payload, Deathmatch, etc. Where the players can be any mixture they want, including characters who would be at each others throats the moment they see each other. But hey, it's ok, because it's just a shooter game. Which basically, to me anyway, reduces the story that they put a lot of effort into creating, mere fluff. That has zero impact on the actual game itself. We're not fighting Overwatch vs Badguys, where the heroes you pick are actually slated down those lines, thus at least making it seem like they are actually fighting. We're not seeing maps that involve defending something that is actually relevant to the story at all. And as someone above mentioned, it's possible every match is just some sort of Danger Room training sim, which makes it all even less relevant to the story.WinterWyvern said:
Which is why I asked, do people think they will actually incorporate the story into the game. Not just as dressing for the game, but actually impact the game directly. Some new game mode, where it's factored in somehow.
No, it wont. The game will be little more than a Team Fortress clone. They've already said that all lore and story will only be out-of-game content. Anything new they add to the game will simply be more arena based modes and game types. The lore that you are being given right now, is all just fluff, flavoring to make the game more appealing to people.Happyninja42 said: