Sequel, Prequel, Interquel

Sethran

Jedi
Jun 15, 2008
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Sequel - The continuation of a story in a later edition of the media
Prequel - The addition of previous events to a story in a later edition of the media.
Interquel - The addition of new events in the middle of a preexisting story via a later edition of the media.

There are nine variations of storyline additions, but I only felt like listing the first three.

With the recent release of Ninja Gaiden II, and the upcoming releases of Gears of War 2, Starcraft 2, Fable 2, and a new Dues Ex game somewhere along the horizon, a question has come to my mind which, when asked, receives a lot of different answers, so I'm curious as to the response it'll achieve here.

Firstly, with the upcoming release of StarCraft 2 and the like, along with the previous release of Ninja Gaiden 2, what are your thoughts on the future of sequels? Will they begin to top their predecessors, as opposed to the past era of sequels in general not living up to them, and maybe even bring the jaded population out of being underwhelmed by the announcement of sequels, or will not much change even if all of the previously mentioned titles end up being tied for greatest game of all time?

And secondly, what have been notable experiences been with additions for you? Have sequels often and repeatedly turned you off to a franchise in general, or made you go back to replay the older games to catch a few things you may have missed the first time?

[For those looking for an example of an interquel, Devil May Cry 4 counts. It occurs between Devil May Cry 1 and 2.]
 

Lvl 64 Klutz

Crowsplosion!
Apr 8, 2008
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I think there will always be a healthy mix of good and bad sequels/prequels.. fact is, most of the time if a game's story isn't compelling enough to account for one, then it probably won't be very good, but if it is compelling enough, and the developers keep the stuff fans loved, take out the stuff the fans hated, and add just a few new features, it might just be better than the original.
 

Sethran

Jedi
Jun 15, 2008
240
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Going off your statement, do you think sequels to a game with a bad story have the potential to make the story even better, or do you think that people will always psyche themselves out and say 'Since it's a sequel to this game, it must be bad'?
 

Lvl 64 Klutz

Crowsplosion!
Apr 8, 2008
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Sethran said:
Going off your statement, do you think sequels to a game with a bad story have the potential to make the story even better, or do you think that people will always psyche themselves out and say 'Since it's a sequel to this game, it must be bad'?
I think if a story has a strict beginning and end, then any sequel or prequel will make up some awful excuse of why the story should continue. However, even if the story of the original is "bad," as long as there is room for more to that story, then there's definitely potential to make the story better (e.g. Shadow Hearts 2)
 
Mar 26, 2008
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I think Mass Effect was written originally as a trilogy. The question that baffles me is why does Bioshock needs two more games? I love Bioshock and in my opinion if they had to make another one (which it seems they do) they should make it a prequel so you could witness the fall of Rapture; but I can't see what value a third one would bring to the table. I have ideas of how they could do a sequel to the original Bioshock but I think it is totally unnecessary and nothing more than Take2 thumbing their nose at EA.
 

Sethran

Jedi
Jun 15, 2008
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j-e-f-f-e-r-s said:
This is the age of the cash-cow. Any game that has turned a profit is being milked for every dollar it's worth. Look at Portal. It's the perfect stand alone game. It came out of nowhere, stunned the world with it's mix of gameplay and humour, and finished on the most perfect note possible. It's a game that really doesn't require any sequels, as it is so complete in itself. But games are big business, and those publishers have dollar signs in their eyes.

...Why does Mass Effect need to be stretched out over a trilogy?
Well, I think I know the answer to this...

Portal was indeed a fun game by itself, but I and many others have found ourselves asking one question.

'What happened next?'

Nobody likes a cliffhanger, and nobody can deny that Portal left many questions, and on both ends of the story. Who was the girl that you were taking control of? What really happened to Aperture Science employees? How does this tie into the rest of the Half-Life world? What happened to the evil supercomputer? According to the end credits song, it lived...

The same thing can apply to Mass Effect, because it too left a cliffhanger.

And to Programmed -- I've never played Bioshock, so I don't know but how could it have a sequel? Didn't the end pretty much end it?
 
Mar 26, 2008
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Sethran said:
And to Programmed -- I've never played Bioshock, so I don't know but how could it have a sequel? Didn't the end pretty much end it?
You are correct, the end pretty much did end it if you got the good ending. However without saying too much you could run a "return to Rapture" type scenario. The bad ending lends more scope to a sequel for reasons I won't mention for risk of spoiler. That said, I think it would be better off being left alone and kept pure rather than forcing it.