The Story Snob

[BlindMessiah94]

Experienced Points: The Story Snob

You don't have to put a story in your game, but if you do, try to make it not suck.

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Thanks Shamus, good article as usual. Hit my sentiments on the issue verbatim.

I get sick of people telling me that games aren't about the story. I like how you put it. If it has a story, then it better be good. Otherwise just have pacman eat some damn pixels and we won't question why there's no story.

 

[BlindMessiah94]

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

Ok! I'm going to ask this completely honestly:

What was the plot of PoP:SoT and why was it so good?

No seriously, I played the game and to this day it's one of the incredibly few games I couldn't understand why people praise it so much. Everyone mentions the story but whenever I ask "what story?" I never seem to get an honest reply.

To me the game was about the egotistical prince, who got tricked by an evil vizier (duh!), and needs to collaborate with the hot chick who he initially hates but falls madly in love with at the end of the day (I'll admit the prince/chick dialogue was well done, but it didn't excuse the fact that it was horribly cliché).
The above summary takes place around the 1st hour mark of the game. It was followed by about 8 hours of nothing of importance happening (including the bad guy being completely absent), and then the rest of the story takes place in about the last hour of the game, and was not only horribly anti-climatic (he passes around him? really?) but it undid the WHOLE game.

So, in complete honesty, please tell me what exactly was so good about PoP's story?

I think a lot to do with storytelling is its presentation. I won't argue that the story was cliche, but it was kept interesting by watching your character's struggle for survival and the reliance and romance that is developed by the two survivors. Throw in a few tragedies like having to kill his father and the fact that the whole adventure gets erased at the end, destroying the love they shared, and you have some storytelling gold.

Oh, and one thing that I really liked is how the whole game you think the prince is telling YOU his story, but realize at the end that he's telling the princess his story. Little, minute details suddenly become massively relevant like starting a new game by sneaking into the princess's chambers.

I think for me its the way that they seamlessly integrated the story into the gameplay. They story may have been simple with cliche elements, but cliche doesn't have to mean bad. If something is cliche it means its been done before a bunch. Why would people repeat it if it was a bad idea to begin with?
The game just focused on a simple story, a few characters that you could really get behind, and then went to integrate it with the gameplay in a way that was compelling and didn't separate the two from each other.

sry fer double post

 

[TsunamiWombat]

Whenever I bang on my "this story sucks" drum I invariably get someone asking me, "Why don't you just go watch a movie if you want to see a story so bad?" Which seems to imply that you shouldn't expect good stories from games. But if you think videogame stories have to suck, then you've been playing the wrong games. KOTOR, Jade Empire, Thief, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Max Payne, Sonic Unleashed and the aforementioned Left 4 Dead all manage to deliver both engaging gameplay and a well-written story.

SONIC. UNLEASHED!?

manwhat?

 

[DeadlyYellow]

My thoughts on it are that if the game is about story, then it better be a good one. Otherwise I just take a page from Carmack.

Story in a game is like a story in a porn movie. It's expected to be there, but it's not that important.

 

[Shynobee]

I was so confused when you listed Sonic as a game with a good story, I had to think, maybe I might want to check that game out. Thank God you came clean with that one at the end, I was worried.

 

[Waaghpowa]

Sonic Unleashedand

Umm... you thought Sonic Unleashed, the game that brought the most annoying character that the Sonic world has ever brought upon us, had a good story?

Took until comment #40 until we got one!

Excuse me?

sigh....

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

Ya know story can take a flying leap for all I care I am not watching a game I am interacting with it, if the game mechanics are fuckared or poorly implamaneted(Bioshock,Fallout 3, most AAA titles made in the last 5 years) what was the point of me playing it? I could care less about cinemagic,effect and the crap the media industry dose to distract you from the core of the media you are consuming ......

 

[Brainst0rm]

I think it speaks well of the Escapist that there is not a single "Holy crap, SONIC UNLEASHED?!" post. A legitimate one. It's so refreshing after using the RS forums for so long...just wanted to say that. I'm sure you guys know you're awesome.

Edit: Wait, no, there they are...but none on the first page! Go us!

Anywho, the article: exactly! I'm a story snob myself, I suppose, but I really don't mind when a game lacks one. As well as being a Nintendo fan, I'm a big flash gamer, and real plots are few and far between in that genre. It's just about gameplay, and when the gameplay works...that's all you need.

Probably the game I most regret buying in all my life is The Conduit. It is a competently-made shooter, but the story is GOD AWFUL, and they make you sit through cringe-worthy exposition after every mission. Honestly...games like that should always have a skip option. I don't even life shooters, with a few exceptions. Lord knows what possessed me to buy that game.

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

I think it speaks well of the Escapist that there is not a single "Holy crap, SONIC UNLEASHED?!" post. A legitimate one. It's so refreshing after using the RS forums for so long...just wanted to say that. I'm sure you guys know you're awesome.

Anywho, the article: exactly! I'm a story snob myself, I suppose, but I really don't mind when a game lacks one. As well as being a Nintendo fan, I'm a big flash gamer, and real plots are few and far between in that genre. It's just about gameplay, and when the gameplay works...that's all you need.

Probably the game I most regret buying in all my life is The Conduit. It is a competently-made shooter, but the story is GOD AWFUL, and they make you sit through cringe-worthy exposition after every mission. Honestly...games like that should always have a skip option. I don't even life shooters, with a few exceptions. Lord knows what possessed me to buy that game.

Bullet witch and dark sector are worse dailog/story wise

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

Sonic Unleashedand

Umm... you thought Sonic Unleashed, the game that brought the most annoying character that the Sonic world has ever brought upon us, had a good story?

Took until comment #40 until we got one!

Excuse me?

(Also, I was just trolling you with Sonic Unleashed. Let's see if anyone ragequits the article and comments without reading all the way through.)

In any case, brilliant article, Shamus. I could not agree more with your thoughts.

I think the problem with game developers is that they are unwilling to pay for top quality storytelling. They are willing to hire top-of-the-line artists, voice actors, musicians.....but when it comes to story, they are content with using a scribble a developer made during lunch.

Basically, if they want to convey good stories, they need to start hiring people that will make good stories. They should not be content with merely making something up as they go along.

Oh... I am a moron.

 

[GodKlown]

I'd certainly give credit to Rockstar with their sandbox games like Red Dead and Grand Theft Auto series respectively. Their racing games are... well, racing. What more story do you need other than you have to continue to compete? Why else are you playing the damn game if you DON'T want to race?
I also thought Saints Row didn't do too bad of a job telling a story. It wasn't quite top-notch, but provided enough motivation to continue playing.

However, I have witnessed some flash games with a more compelling story than some big budget titles. And what does that say? A couple of kids in a bedroom can craft a better story than hired professionals.
Also, I feel sometimes that some games focus entirely too much on a story, giving you the impression you are playing more of a semi-interactive movie than a game. Mass Effect 2 had moments like that, just moving from checkpoint to checkpoint to see a story unfold through cut scenes. Not that I am complaining because it offered a slight respite from the action, but there have been games that give you a little actual game time and a majority of cut scenes.

I too grew up in the 8-bit era where cut scenes weren't long drawn-out ten minutes mini-movies to tell the story. We used our imagination to fill in the blanks sometimes. But decent story-driven games like Red Dead Redemption (which I'm still currently knee-deep in) give me decent hope for the future.

 

[wonkify]

I reject the entire concept of a "story snob." There is only good storytelling or bad storytelling and people who enjoy it or are oblivious and just want to "Hulk smash!"

My excitement about video games is the raft of new and exciting ways we can interact with story. By tinkering with how much is exposition through cut scenes and the like and how much is experiential through game play.

This is another way the movie comparison breaks down. This is an entirely new and different form and it is just beginning to be explored by talented game creators. Each new success is really exciting and revolutionary and even the noble failures offer some instruction.

Shamus, I am enjoying everything of yours I have recently read and am eagerly backtracking through your work. It's like breaking open a treasure chest!

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

I have to agree with this article 100%. All my life I've been asking myself one question when it comes to games: If it isn't meant to be used, then why did they waste time on it?

That question isn't just about the story of a game, but about ANYTHING in the game. RPGs are the worst culprit for making me ask the question, and a lot of it boils down to spells. Specifically, status-ailment spells. They always feel completely needless or redundant. Anytime you see a "Sleep" or "Silence" spell in an RPG you can bet one of three things:

A) The spell has about a 10% hit rate.
B) The character casting the spell could be casting a spell that would just kill the target anyway.
C) All of the above.

Seems C tends to be the usual culprit. But seriously, load-up any RPG you play, ANY of them. You will have at LEAST one spell like that in your caster's spellbook (or if you have buy them, then it's collecting dust in the store's shelves), and with some RPGs you might even have dozens of them. Final Fantasy is probably the worst at this to varying degrees depending on which game.

And it isn't just spells. Sometimes it's character classes, sometimes it's a piece of gear that the developers HAVE to know is useless by the time you get it (they made the game for cripes sake), maybe a useless type of potion... basically just anything in any game where you ask about it and the common response is "It's garbage don't worry about it". My question at that point (assuming I could ask the developers) is "Why did you bother putting it in there, then?" If a game has even one flaw to it, then that useless spell or item is development time that could have been spent polishing that flaw.

Hoy... that turned-out a little more ranty than expected.

 

[Fearzone]

I'm in the "gameplay first" camp, but Sins of a Solar Empire is an example of a really good game that essentially has no story, and feels empty as a result. Playing it, I feel adrift without much motivation to conquer the system other than killing time. Story can make all the difference in filling in a game world.

 

[TheTygerfire]

Sonic Unleashedand

Umm... you thought Sonic Unleashed, the game that brought the most annoying character that the Sonic world has ever brought upon us, had a good story?

Hahahahaha, successful troll is successful.

 

[Carnagath]

In my opinion gaming can only go so far regarding the quality of the story, especially gaming in today's form (read: no adventure games). The best thing a game can hope for is to craft a convincing world around a sound premise, not come off as ridiculous and interweave the story closely with the gameplay so it feels fresh and interactive. Therefore simple stories with an emotional impact work best in this medium. When you try to get too verbal, you get snorefests (sorry Bioware, absolutely noone actually sat down and read your Codex). If you want to occupy your mind with intriguing, exciting cobweb-like stories, movies are the way to go (see Memento or The Usual Suspects) and of course books. The difference is that movies can go both ways, they can also be very simple but with great emotional impact (see: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0376968/ ), but I don't think this is the case with videogames.

 

[Bruden]

Bah! you got me with the Sonic claim. I think my eyes actually bulged out a bit from the sheer intensity of my wtf reaction. lol. Also great article, games should have a good story or little to no story.

 

[pyrus7]

If a game with good gameplay but a crappy story should remove the story elements, then shouldn't a game with a good story but crappy gameplay remove the gameplay elements?

 

[veloper]

If a game with good gameplay but a crappy story should remove the story elements, then shouldn't a game with a good story but crappy gameplay remove the gameplay elements?

Sure, but then they should nolonger call it a "game", but rather an animation.

 

[Signa]

If a game with good gameplay but a crappy story should remove the story elements, then shouldn't a game with a good story but crappy gameplay remove the gameplay elements?

The logic follows, but then you are left with either a) a movie, or b) an adventure game. As much as I like adventure games, they all can't be The Longest Journey. Sooner or later (as they already have in the past) they will become stale and we will get stuck with our second JRPG genera.