Poll: Does a game NEED a complex story to make it a good game?
- Thread starter Blazing Steel
- Start date
I'd say 'complex' is the wrong word.
I'd like to see more games with just a 'good' story. After we get that, then we can move onto complex. A few games have had good 'complex' stories, but really: Let's get good stories. I just want to actually care about what is happening. If I'm skipping a cutscene I've never seen before, that's a bad thing.
And while a good or complex story isn't needed to make a fun or good game, I'd say it's needed, for me, to make a great game.
I'd like to see more games with just a 'good' story. After we get that, then we can move onto complex. A few games have had good 'complex' stories, but really: Let's get good stories. I just want to actually care about what is happening. If I'm skipping a cutscene I've never seen before, that's a bad thing.
And while a good or complex story isn't needed to make a fun or good game, I'd say it's needed, for me, to make a great game.
I say that it depends on the game. There are some games that wouldn't make any sense with a plot. For example, the zombie apocalypse scenario. It's zombies! You don't need a plot! If there are only four people still alive, there isn't any room for a plot. Trying to add one would just lower the quality. However, even in shooters, I prefer to have a plot. It doesn't need to be complicated, because as stated above, complexity isn't quality. But it sure as heck had better be there, or I'll wonder why I'm even bothering to play the thing.
The pre-requisite for a game to be good in my books is that it must be good in terms of actual gameplay (if I wanted a deep and interesting plot with plenty of cutscenes then I'd watch a film on my ps2 while mashing buttons on an unplugged controller).
This means that games that have an unusual lack of a plot or a bad plot are not automatically bad (see Left 4 Dead, Doom and Unreal Tournament) just as a well written story does not guarentee a good game (see Final Fantasy and, allegedly, Half Life).
For those who aren't quite following, a game does not need a well written plot to be good, saying otherwise clearly shows that your expectations are far too high.
This means that games that have an unusual lack of a plot or a bad plot are not automatically bad (see Left 4 Dead, Doom and Unreal Tournament) just as a well written story does not guarentee a good game (see Final Fantasy and, allegedly, Half Life).
For those who aren't quite following, a game does not need a well written plot to be good, saying otherwise clearly shows that your expectations are far too high.
A game like a RPG is usually considered a genre that requires a good story. A shooter on the other hand, isn't expected to have a great story. It really depends on the genre and the story you are trying to convey. It's possible that a FPS has a good story, but it isn't very common.
though I prefer story driven games " and I mean good deep stories" I stand by the genre... I prefer story driven on level with bioware, not a big Jrpg fan for the main sake that they really just seem to repeat themselves alittle too much.
but some games dont need too deep of one, more so if it's the play itself thats the main focus, and sport games .... they dont need a story at all
but some games dont need too deep of one, more so if it's the play itself thats the main focus, and sport games .... they dont need a story at all
I would say it depends. fighting games never really need and curving in it's story. weather it's over complicated, unimmersive, or just hold to much simplicity, the plot of any action-oriented (FPS, TPS, adventure, etc) game's story is suppose to, at the least, generalize the gameplay engine.Lego Man said:
and you see the problem with story and gameplay is that some developers take one another forgranted. the metal gear soild series for makes it clear with hour long cutscenes that it's shining point is suppose to be it's storytelling and smooth, rich, humanly flawed characters. basically the game plays more like a novel (actually I think it's all ready been made into a gragpic novel) than a game.
then you bump into games like say gears of war 2. although the story is from afar looks like paper-machie pieces of different mediocre horror/action/sci-fi movies plots. however if you throw said specs of plot out the window for all the 5 year olds to catch and chock on, you'll come to find comfortable and fast paced gameplay, loaded with delicious carnage and bloodshed to satisfy even the most barbaric seven year old hellspawn (like my nephew).
as I've said previously, it really depends on what turns you on.(or off, if you like sexual frustration that's really your business)
In the seventh generation of businesses expanding it's entertainment ideas beyond pointless bloodshed and back I'd have to disagree.
it's all about choice mr. Anderson...just like how you have the choice to enter a world that essentially belongs to you I have the choice to tell you that I can make a better one. and then kill you in it.
Even in non-RPGs, an intriguing and interesting plot can keep me going long after I should reasonably have given up on it. A lack of same can kill any game before its grown feet. I kept playing Final Fantasy XII, despite finding the gambit system to be among the most annoying things I've ever dealt with in a game, mostly because I wanted to see where the plot went. Similarly, I stopped playing Halo when it became clear that the closest thing to a plot it had was "eh, go shoot some stuff that doesn't look human."
A great plot can make up for finicky controls or poor design choices (job system in FF: Tactics?), just because you want to see what happens. A poor plot can be a stage-weight around the ankles of a game. When I lost sight of anything I was actually trying to do in either Oblivion or Fallout 3, I gave up. I didn't care about the main character's struggles.
A great plot can make up for finicky controls or poor design choices (job system in FF: Tactics?), just because you want to see what happens. A poor plot can be a stage-weight around the ankles of a game. When I lost sight of anything I was actually trying to do in either Oblivion or Fallout 3, I gave up. I didn't care about the main character's struggles.
No. Case in point: Left 4 Dead.
As I believe someone on this forum described it:
"Here are zombies. You are not zombies. You have guns."
And it's the most fun I've had in a very long time. Granted, I do enjoy most games better if they do have complex stories, but I feel that in L4D it just would have got in the way.
As I believe someone on this forum described it:
"Here are zombies. You are not zombies. You have guns."
And it's the most fun I've had in a very long time. Granted, I do enjoy most games better if they do have complex stories, but I feel that in L4D it just would have got in the way.
NO, not at all because there are so many examples of good games that dont even have much of a storyline. Not that they shouldn't have a complex storyline but it wouldn't hurt to have one.
However some games so have indepth storylines that I believe if didn't exist, the games would be part fail. Because in some games you have to know what you're fighting for.
However some games so have indepth storylines that I believe if didn't exist, the games would be part fail. Because in some games you have to know what you're fighting for.
A GOOD (not complex) story will in my opinion always improve a game, but it will never fully make up for bad game play.
As for a COMPLEX story, I would usually disagree. A story doesn't have to be long and complicated to be good.
I give the example of the Half-Life series. First and foremost, the game play was amazing, so that's already most of the boxes ticked. But the story was itself brilliantly written.
When you think about it, not much happens (SPOILERS coming up, but if you haven't played it yet then I have nothing but pity for you). Gorden puts on a cool suit, fiddles around with an experiment, everything goes wrong, and he has to fight his way out Black Mesa. We learn about Xen, and the G-Man.
Then in HL2 (and I won't go into the episodes yet), Gorden wakes up on a train, learns (pretty quickly) that the Combine have invaded, and goes about saving the day again by destroying the citadel.
On the face of it there isn't really that much of a story. There aren't hundreds of twists and turns, and those that do exist fall much more into the category of level design, rather than story telling.
But what makes the story good is all the subtle things. The way Gorden always catches glimpses of the wider world around him. The sense of mystery and intrigue that is built layer by layer. All of this could be completely ignored by some players, and they'd enjoy a great FPS. But for those that do notice it, it's a blessing: without being bamboozled by hundreds of characters, tens of factions and journeying across the planet, it makes a great game amazing.
OK, Half-Life fanboyism over. The point is a well crafted story can only be a good thing for a game. BUT, to directly answer the post, a COMPLEX story can sometimes even make a game worse. So I voted no.
As for a COMPLEX story, I would usually disagree. A story doesn't have to be long and complicated to be good.
I give the example of the Half-Life series. First and foremost, the game play was amazing, so that's already most of the boxes ticked. But the story was itself brilliantly written.
When you think about it, not much happens (SPOILERS coming up, but if you haven't played it yet then I have nothing but pity for you). Gorden puts on a cool suit, fiddles around with an experiment, everything goes wrong, and he has to fight his way out Black Mesa. We learn about Xen, and the G-Man.
Then in HL2 (and I won't go into the episodes yet), Gorden wakes up on a train, learns (pretty quickly) that the Combine have invaded, and goes about saving the day again by destroying the citadel.
On the face of it there isn't really that much of a story. There aren't hundreds of twists and turns, and those that do exist fall much more into the category of level design, rather than story telling.
But what makes the story good is all the subtle things. The way Gorden always catches glimpses of the wider world around him. The sense of mystery and intrigue that is built layer by layer. All of this could be completely ignored by some players, and they'd enjoy a great FPS. But for those that do notice it, it's a blessing: without being bamboozled by hundreds of characters, tens of factions and journeying across the planet, it makes a great game amazing.
OK, Half-Life fanboyism over. The point is a well crafted story can only be a good thing for a game. BUT, to directly answer the post, a COMPLEX story can sometimes even make a game worse. So I voted no.
I'm not sure, but... I'd perfer a game with a good story, Like Silent Hill 2... Or... *Scratches her head* Eh... No or, not many games left with good story, sadly. However, I do also like games with pure action, Like Resident Evil 4... Metal Gear Solid 3, ect...
