Tetris is the deepest story ever. It is obvious a parallel to real life how we can't stop living until we die even though there is no way to win. No other game is as realistic as Tetris besides maybe like Pacman (but did someone beat that? Not sure)
But on a less serious note-
I do appreciate good stories in video games. Some of my favorite games such as Planescape: Torment depend a lot on its story.
Not all games need a story but those that don't could still simulate reality better than those games with stories. Tetris for instance is great at replicating real life because no matter how hard you try you will die but you keep on trying anyways. In fact, I think stories are often quite unrealistic because they force a pattern that doesn't exist necessarily exist in really exist. Yet, if you tried to read a novel or movie without a story it can be rather quite annoying. This is perhaps why video games are the superior medium for entertainment. They can best get around the false ideals of a story while still being entertaining to a large numbers of people such as with the game Tetris. But yet, for anything more complicated than moving blocks around it seems that video games still are best off with a good narrative. Hopefully once AI and technology advanced significantly we will have really good complex simulations of reality without the forced nature of a narrative.
Narratives at the current level of technology should be ambitious but not in the sense of a story being great but in a story being more integrated with gameplay. Having good story telling in a game is different than a movie or book. They should be ambitious but not in the way a classic piece of literature or movie is.
Story can be separate from the game such as in a JRPG but I think even though it uses mostly text Planescape: Torment has a good integrated with story. Such as the fact your character normally can't die and how your character changes depending on the choices you make. I prefer well done story and gameplay integration. I almost think a video game perhaps shouldn't even try to have a story if it doesn't have a good integration with gameplay. Or if it is a JRPG where the regular game is so boring that it needs a story to carry it.
One of the most brilliant moments of integration of story and gameplay is in the game Arcanum.
Planescape: Torment I loved the way story works with gameplay with how you level up more based on the decisions you make than the combat you have. I like how not being incapable of dying is part of the story and gameplay. Bioshock's setting and story add a lot to the game and with the plot twist it helps intertwine the forced actions that a player must do to progress with the story in a very cool way.
Most games are aided greatly by a well done integrated story because stories are the kind of lies we need to make ourselves feel better and be happier and part of the appeal of a fictional experience compared to a real life one. If a video game has no story then we have to tell ourselves it probably but then part of the appeal of fictional experience is gone. My favorite video game experiences are ones that have a pretty structured story such as the Deus Ex, Planesape: Torment, Jade: Empire, etc but at the same time take advantage of the none linear aspects of video games. Also, the fact unless there is a structured story line it seems that the game design and AI aren't quite good enough to have enough of a facsimile of reality yet unless the game is quite simple and fun such as Tetris.
But on a less serious note-
I do appreciate good stories in video games. Some of my favorite games such as Planescape: Torment depend a lot on its story.
Not all games need a story but those that don't could still simulate reality better than those games with stories. Tetris for instance is great at replicating real life because no matter how hard you try you will die but you keep on trying anyways. In fact, I think stories are often quite unrealistic because they force a pattern that doesn't exist necessarily exist in really exist. Yet, if you tried to read a novel or movie without a story it can be rather quite annoying. This is perhaps why video games are the superior medium for entertainment. They can best get around the false ideals of a story while still being entertaining to a large numbers of people such as with the game Tetris. But yet, for anything more complicated than moving blocks around it seems that video games still are best off with a good narrative. Hopefully once AI and technology advanced significantly we will have really good complex simulations of reality without the forced nature of a narrative.
Narratives at the current level of technology should be ambitious but not in the sense of a story being great but in a story being more integrated with gameplay. Having good story telling in a game is different than a movie or book. They should be ambitious but not in the way a classic piece of literature or movie is.
Story can be separate from the game such as in a JRPG but I think even though it uses mostly text Planescape: Torment has a good integrated with story. Such as the fact your character normally can't die and how your character changes depending on the choices you make. I prefer well done story and gameplay integration. I almost think a video game perhaps shouldn't even try to have a story if it doesn't have a good integration with gameplay. Or if it is a JRPG where the regular game is so boring that it needs a story to carry it.
One of the most brilliant moments of integration of story and gameplay is in the game Arcanum.
In Arcanum, you can use a resurrect spell to resurrect a party member who dies in the story. The character actually talks about dying and what death was like and this can actually effect the final conversation with the boss of the game. Just compare this to FF7 when Aeris dies yet you have phoenix downs but they only work in battles.
Planescape: Torment I loved the way story works with gameplay with how you level up more based on the decisions you make than the combat you have. I like how not being incapable of dying is part of the story and gameplay. Bioshock's setting and story add a lot to the game and with the plot twist it helps intertwine the forced actions that a player must do to progress with the story in a very cool way.
Most games are aided greatly by a well done integrated story because stories are the kind of lies we need to make ourselves feel better and be happier and part of the appeal of a fictional experience compared to a real life one. If a video game has no story then we have to tell ourselves it probably but then part of the appeal of fictional experience is gone. My favorite video game experiences are ones that have a pretty structured story such as the Deus Ex, Planesape: Torment, Jade: Empire, etc but at the same time take advantage of the none linear aspects of video games. Also, the fact unless there is a structured story line it seems that the game design and AI aren't quite good enough to have enough of a facsimile of reality yet unless the game is quite simple and fun such as Tetris.
