I guess Age of Mythology has a decent story if you don't mind it just being a fake chapter from The Iliad at best and a total abomination and desicration of Greek, Egyptian, and Norse mythology at worst.
Homeworld, Homeworld 1 and 2 have argueable the best story line any RTS has ever had.Thaius said:Tomorrow I start my teaching job. One of the classes I'm insanely excited to be teaching is Video Games as Literature (the study of video games as a storytelling medium). I have a pretty good setup for the course, I think, but I have one friend who constantly laments the fact that I have no RTS games in the course. The reason I didn't include any is pretty simple; I have never (in my admittedly limited experience with the genre) played an RTS with a story worth studying in a literature course. Not even close. I've barely ever even heard story mentioned in relation to the genre; with very few exceptions, the mechanics and strategy seem to be all that matter.
But I certainly would be interested to see if there is an exception to this perceived rule. So then, Escapists, tell me: are there any RTS games with genuinely interesting storylines, interesting characters, and thematic depth?
personally, while I liked the games, I find that the story line is very basic and bland. It's not very original at any rate. Still does it job right, I guess.Combine Rustler said:Warcraft III and Frozen Throne, obviously. Heard good things about Homeworld,too (not that I ever played it).
And Age of Empires I and II do not really have a good story, but their campaigns are definitely fun.
From a video game perspective a lot of the classic RTS games have that. Starcraft, WC3, several of the C&C games. From a litterature perspective video games generally don't come with that kind of storytelling. There are a few exceptions but that often makes them bad games due to linearity.But I certainly would be interested to see if there is an exception to this perceived rule. So then, Escapists, tell me: are there any RTS games with genuinely interesting storylines, interesting characters, and thematic depth?
I was going to say "Bastion called and would like to talk with you". Then I remembered about 15 other good games that tell stories that are either on par with good storytelling in other media, or tell stories that you couldn't actually tell in other media.Bostur said:From a video game perspective a lot of the classic RTS games have that. Starcraft, WC3, several of the C&C games. From a litterature perspective video games generally don't come with that kind of storytelling. There are a few exceptions but that often makes them bad games due to linearity.
The storytelling is so dependant on what the players put into it, that an external point of view will miss most of it.
From an analytic perspective even the best storytelling of any game will struggle to reach the quality of the average action movie.
If you want to go back to genesis, look towards Dune 2, most of the other good series such as Homeworld already have mentions.Thaius said:Tomorrow I start my teaching job. One of the classes I'm insanely excited to be teaching is Video Games as Literature (the study of video games as a storytelling medium). I have a pretty good setup for the course, I think, but I have one friend who constantly laments the fact that I have no RTS games in the course. The reason I didn't include any is pretty simple; I have never (in my admittedly limited experience with the genre) played an RTS with a story worth studying in a literature course. Not even close. I've barely ever even heard story mentioned in relation to the genre; with very few exceptions, the mechanics and strategy seem to be all that matter.
But I certainly would be interested to see if there is an exception to this perceived rule. So then, Escapists, tell me: are there any RTS games with genuinely interesting storylines, interesting characters, and thematic depth?
Agreed, I love Command and Conquer (till EA fucked it up at Kanes Wrath it was downhill from there)AverageExtraordinair said:Red Alert 2 , easily the best RTS story ever written
I'd have to agree with this its the only RTS game I know that I actually felt had a good story after I completed it. Most RTS' seem just to drag you from location to location giving you the most minimalist reason to play a game against the AI before bringing you to the next location.Muspelheim said:I'd suggest World in Conflict. While it does hit a few silly notes, it's a very nice attempt at getting the feeling across. It's set in 1989, and follows the scenario that the Soviet Union demands aid from the west due to the economic collapse. When they recieve none, they invade Berlin. And everything hits the fan from there.
While it gets a bit ridiculous at times (One mission has you, the soviet player, defending a quarry near Murmansk from NATO infiltrators. Who can somehow send wave after wave of heavy battletanks at you. Somehow), it's a fairly nice story, and a fun game as well.
Oh, there are plenty of games fitting the criteria. Many of the best I can't use in the class (be it due to an M-rating since this is a high school class, or because system exclusivity makes them too inaccessible), but they certainly exist. Sure, most video games suck from an artistic standpoint, but so do most films. And books. And stageplays. It's just how art works. We'll be studying things like Beyond Good and Evil as a highly symbolic allegory, Lost Odyssey as an exploration of family, and the way that the differences in RPGs from Japan and the west expresses the cultural differences in design and artistic sensibilities. There is plenty there. For that matter, the games included are a mere fraction of the ones involved in my original designs for the course; it was whittled down for time and ease of accessibility. Point being, there's plenty. I just haven't seen any RTS games that qualify, but there are some good suggestions here.Littaly said:Genuinely interesting storylines, interesting characters and thematic depth? I personally wouldn't be able to think of too many games fitting those criteria, never mind an RTS-game.
Bostur said:From a video game perspective a lot of the classic RTS games have that. Starcraft, WC3, several of the C&C games. From a litterature perspective video games generally don't come with that kind of storytelling. There are a few exceptions but that often makes them bad games due to linearity.
The storytelling is so dependant on what the players put into it, that an external point of view will miss most of it.
From an analytic perspective even the best storytelling of any game will struggle to reach the quality of the average action movie.
I'll have to disagree on this note. You both seem to be talking about the concept of emergent storytelling, which is a valid concept (and is studied near the end of the first semester of this course), but is in no way the only--or even most important--way in which video games effectively tell their stories.Draech said:The whole point of games is that they require input so to have a pre-written story may seem counter to the medium itself.
Now because the story is generated through gameplay it wont have the storylines, chars and thematic depth, but I think it is worth bringing into your mix just for it having a more "game" approach to storytelling.
See, this guy gets it. Also, Bastion is in the second semester of the course. Because it's amazing (not to mention easily accessible on both Windows and Mac).Naeras said:I was going to say "Bastion called and would like to talk with you". Then I remembered about 15 other good games that tell stories that are either on par with good storytelling in other media, or tell stories that you couldn't actually tell in other media.
Gameplay or story don't exclude each others; in fact, they should complement each other if possible. Finding examples of that isn't hard.