Are story, plot and character necessary to make a good video game?

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

no not at all, there are many many many amazing games that don't have any of those.

HOWEVER, most of my favorite games on the planet involve those things...and considering im a bioware/obsidian semi fanboy, it'd be inhuman to say i don't love those things.

 

[Frozen Donkey Wheel2]

A game does not need a story for the purposes of fun nor artistic merit.

Yes. This is one of the few times I might actually tolerate an [/thread].

And I really hate [/thread].

 

[WolfEdge]

No.

They're necessary to make a good video game story, though.

I don't really know what else to say.

 

[Zhukov]

To put it in a short, pithy, quotable, twitter-friendly sort of way:

A game does not need a story to be good. But a game without a story will never be great.

Every single one of the handful of great games that managed to burn themselves into my memory by dint of sheer awesomeness had a good narrative behind it. System Shock 2, Half-Life 2, Beyond Good & Evil, Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Bioshock, Amnesia, The Longest Journey, Portal, Mass Effect, Dragon Age etc etc.

Sure, games without stories, or games with really shit stories, can still be good fun. Bulletstorm, Left 4 Dead, Battlefield and so forth. They're good fun, but they're no more than diversions, the digital equivalent of a pinball machine.

 

[Torrasque]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/6.272262-298-Who-Needs-Friends?page=3#10600840
This article is relevant to this thread.
And it also sums it up better, faster, and saves post time

 

[Jaded Scribe]

Depends on the genre, and several other factors.

If a game is longer, a story helps keep the player invested in the game. It adds to immersion, dramatic tension, emotional connection and a number of other factors.

Some genres rely heavily on story, like adventure games (the adventure is a story, or it just feels meaningless) or RPGs. Others can do without a story, like puzzle games, FPS, RTS, etc.

A great game does not require a story, if the play can advance without one and still feel cohesive and credible.

 

[Blaster395]

Depends on the game, I guess. I enjoy a good game of Tetris from time to time, and there's not a whole lot of story involved in that (though if someone managed to put some kind of epic storyline in a Tetris game, I'd be all for that)

Games with role playing elements obviously need good storytelling/characters/etc

For some other genres, like shooters or puzzle-based indie games or w/e, it's often the story that separates it from the rest of its kind, since gameplay is generally pretty similar within the genre

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWTFG3J1CP8
I still cannot embed things correctly

 

[DTWolfwood]

no. Good example. Creative Assembly's TOTAL WAR series. Great games with no "story" or "Characters"

 

[B1i nd Luck]

honestly it is up to the gamer. i personaly prefer to have a story. i played Black ops 2 months back and found my self not caring about the game and giving up to gamestop a month later because i got bored. i always need a objective with a name and face. for instence if you have a magical game mission generator but the only set back would be the fact that the generator could not produce a story. after a while all the games produced would blend together in a same-y pile of repeditiveness. i can't settle for the same objective over and over again for say capture the flag or team deathmatch. the game needs to make me care about the flag i am capturing or the guy i'm shooting.

 

[Smooth Operator]

It really depends on the game, I wont fault a game like Mario for lack of story but this means it hasto bring entertainment value with other features, or in other words story/plot/characters add alot to the game(when good).

I would like all games to have a story, but if you can't do it give us something else, just makes it a different sort of game.

 

[Bocaj2000]

A story is never needed to create a good game. However, to make a great game, one that is truly worth while, a good story is essential.

Story drives a player do complete the mission and gives purpose to one's tasks. How complicated the story is depends on game. A lot of old games had the entire story written out on a sheet of paper, while today we play through the story because the industry evolved into a more sophisticated medium. Now of days there is NO excuse to not have a good story in a game. Look at why Mass Effect is seen as Game of the Year by many critics and awarders. Story DOES matter. If there is no story, then it is a task or maybe a puzzle. Can people enjoy tasks? Of course. But nothing is gotten out of it except for something to pass the time by. These kinds of games are stupid fun and nothing is gotten out of them. Through games such as Limbo and Mass Effect, a story is told which contributes to the human experience.

However, there is a great challenge: all video games have a story. It is very difficult to find one that does not. Even Tetris has one:

well according to the classic game boy version of the game, you're building a spaceship. if you get 100,000 points then you get to see it launch.

 

[Dr. Whiggs]

Are an engine, tires, and steering necessary to build a good car?

Yes, because otherwise you just have a big steaming pile of possible care.

 

[Shirokurou]

No.
But it could make it a work of art.

 

[fligan]

NO one word Minecraft
though any game should

 

[kromify]

You might be able to make a good game without narrative or character, but you will never make a great game.

says it all.
i love well written stories that draw you in, and make you care about what happens to your virtual friends. even better when they turn around soccer punch you emotionally at the end. would bambi be as famous as it is now if nobody cried when his mum died?
(YES i know that's a movie! the point stands!!!)

***
i cried when Mufasa died... :-(

 

[slightly evil]

Minecraft. that is all.
In a nutshell, no, but if you do it right, you can make a propper work of art

 

[jawakiller]

Absolutely not. I have played several games that had hilariously lame stories but were still great. The gameplay and immersion is all that matters. And when I say immersion I don't mean spectacular graphics but addiction factor. While playing Minecraft, I jump every time I here the infamous "hisssss." And that game doesn't have any story either but Mojang is in the top four in Escapist's little bracket. All on the strength of that game.

But if the game has a lack of "fun" story means shit. Seriously, have you ever played- never mind, I'll keep this nice.

 

[Magicman10893]

I've watched a few videos on The Escapist by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw, and he seems especially focused on what a game's story is, and the disposition of the characters. A video game-loving friend of mine feels the same way, and argues that games are artistic and emotionally edifying because of their stories and characters.

I've always felt that video games are more of a purely technical, problem-solving exercise, with stories thrown in for the sake of some bonus amusement; "Narratives" serve as distractions to the pure gameplay, and "characters" only have the personality of whoever is controlling them.

I thought I'd weigh in on an online forum inhabited by video game lovers of all ages and stripes: How valuable is a story to a video game? Are they integral or extraneous? Regardless of how much you may like a story or a character in a game, are they the one thing that makes the game worthwhile?

Not that every game should have a brilliant story, but at least one that is passable. It really just depends on the specific genre. A crime drama like GTA4 should and does have a great story, while an over-the-top action game like Bulletstorm, Saints Row and Duke Nukem don't have good stories, just passable enough to justify why we do the things we do. If the game is an RPG it is ESSENTIAL, but for a strict FPS it doesn't need a brilliant one. And then there are puzzle games the don't need a story, PERIOD.

It is like movies, action films have a half-assed story that only exists to justify why the characters are shooting at each other while a drama have ones that grip us emotionally and can make people cry if that was the goal.

And this all comes from the guy that did "Are Video Games Art?" for his senior research paper in high school.

 

[Palademon]

It's easier to make art that way, but just think about golden age arcade games and such.
Pacman and Tetris didn't need a story.