WARNING: This could get long as I'm doubling this as a rant to vent with.
Alright, so after a very lengthy, very heated debate with my sister, we established that she has absolutely no care for the story in a game, and will sometimes refuse to admit that there is a story in the game, just because the ending is terrible. She says this when I get to explaining that there IS a story in the Pokemon games, as she thinks that just because technically, as soon as you become Pokemon Champion, Gary/Rival, etc, takes the throne again, and you will have to fight them after you beat the Elite Four. While this is obviously just a gameplay ploy, as it makes for good grinding to fight the side quests, it is of course much akin to Lord of the Rings, as in there is the story in the journey, instead of wondering why the giant eagles didn't just took them to Mt. Doom in the first place. I even broke it down as:
You go to the tall grass on the day you're supposed to leave to became a Pokemon Trainer, as is the customs of the place you live. You wish to become a pokemon trainer.
Wild pokemon act up with you/etc, you are whisked off by the local expert and given your first pokemon, plus, given the journey to complete a pokedex; something only you or very few others have. You wish to complete the pokedex.
You encounter your first gym, wish in some way, is blocking your path. You wish to continue forward.
You learn about the pokemon league from your rival, who wishes to best you at it. You decide to collect the badges and become champion to beat your rival.
You encounter the criminal organization of the game, who is stealing pokemon, making the land dry, making the land wet, blowing up reality, extorting from orphanages, etc. You stop them because they're the bad guys...and probably did something asshole-ish to you.
You finally become the champ, but you continue on, because as the champ you look for further challenges, or else you'll get bored.
And so, there is a story driving you throughout a game which my sister sees as just 'a series of battles' towards where you 'beat' the game. As a writer, roleplayer, future-game designer and avid reader, this frustrates me so much that I can't even begin to explain. There is ALWAYS some underlying plot, no matter how bad, which is maybe even subtly gesturing you to move onward, even if it's only in your head.
I just feel that if you simply perform tasks like a drone with no motive, that it would be extremely dull.
FYI: She dislikes games like Bethesda's, BioWare's, and even more linear titles like Square Enix's because she can't fathom playing anything other than the best/quickest way to 'beat' the game. She does not like shooters either. She liked Fire Emblem, and it's characters, but nothing sticks to her. And she isn't a toddler, she's almost 16 years old.
With that rant out of the way, what do you guys think?
Do you think that games should have that interactive feeling to them, or should it simply be tasks, even if they are really fun?
PS. I REALLY like my shooters, too. As always, I just insert my own plot into the multiplayer/etc, when I'm not doing the single player.
Alright, so after a very lengthy, very heated debate with my sister, we established that she has absolutely no care for the story in a game, and will sometimes refuse to admit that there is a story in the game, just because the ending is terrible. She says this when I get to explaining that there IS a story in the Pokemon games, as she thinks that just because technically, as soon as you become Pokemon Champion, Gary/Rival, etc, takes the throne again, and you will have to fight them after you beat the Elite Four. While this is obviously just a gameplay ploy, as it makes for good grinding to fight the side quests, it is of course much akin to Lord of the Rings, as in there is the story in the journey, instead of wondering why the giant eagles didn't just took them to Mt. Doom in the first place. I even broke it down as:
You go to the tall grass on the day you're supposed to leave to became a Pokemon Trainer, as is the customs of the place you live. You wish to become a pokemon trainer.
Wild pokemon act up with you/etc, you are whisked off by the local expert and given your first pokemon, plus, given the journey to complete a pokedex; something only you or very few others have. You wish to complete the pokedex.
You encounter your first gym, wish in some way, is blocking your path. You wish to continue forward.
You learn about the pokemon league from your rival, who wishes to best you at it. You decide to collect the badges and become champion to beat your rival.
You encounter the criminal organization of the game, who is stealing pokemon, making the land dry, making the land wet, blowing up reality, extorting from orphanages, etc. You stop them because they're the bad guys...and probably did something asshole-ish to you.
You finally become the champ, but you continue on, because as the champ you look for further challenges, or else you'll get bored.
And so, there is a story driving you throughout a game which my sister sees as just 'a series of battles' towards where you 'beat' the game. As a writer, roleplayer, future-game designer and avid reader, this frustrates me so much that I can't even begin to explain. There is ALWAYS some underlying plot, no matter how bad, which is maybe even subtly gesturing you to move onward, even if it's only in your head.
I just feel that if you simply perform tasks like a drone with no motive, that it would be extremely dull.
FYI: She dislikes games like Bethesda's, BioWare's, and even more linear titles like Square Enix's because she can't fathom playing anything other than the best/quickest way to 'beat' the game. She does not like shooters either. She liked Fire Emblem, and it's characters, but nothing sticks to her. And she isn't a toddler, she's almost 16 years old.
With that rant out of the way, what do you guys think?
Do you think that games should have that interactive feeling to them, or should it simply be tasks, even if they are really fun?
PS. I REALLY like my shooters, too. As always, I just insert my own plot into the multiplayer/etc, when I'm not doing the single player.