Can a good story save poor or medicore gameplay for you?

[onewheeled]

In my opinion, no.

I play games for fun. Don't take that the wrong way, I like games to have a deep, involving story just as much as the next guy, but a game doesn't have to have a story like that for me to see it as "good", nor can that sort of story save an otherwise bad game. It's hard to explain, I would use an analogy using another, similar medium, but almost all of the other forms of media out there are completely story-based, so if the story is good, the movie is good...

 

[vazzaroth]

Very rarely. If I'm not having fun, I'll go do something else. If I'm playing a game I want good gameplay, story is just an excellent bonus to have. If I'm looking purely for story, I'll go read a book.

Why? A game can convey a far more involved and therefore interesting story than a book.

But have any actually done that? And has the awful gameplay detracted from the experience?

My example would be Shadow of the Colossus. Aside from great gameplay, it had a very subtle (until the end) but very powerful story that you mostly have to infer for yourself. Storytelling of that kind very rarely is successful in non-interactive media.

IMO the average gamer's approach to story is what's holding the story back, in a vicious cycle. Most seem to just see it as a framework for the gameplay, and don't get me wrong I think gameplay should have the priority if you can only have one, but many games have the opportunity to weave both together into one if gamers would accept it.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Very rarely. If I'm not having fun, I'll go do something else. If I'm playing a game I want good gameplay, story is just an excellent bonus to have. If I'm looking purely for story, I'll go read a book.

Why? A game can convey a far more involved and therefore interesting story than a book.

But have any actually done that? And has the awful gameplay detracted from the experience?

My example would be Shadow of the Colossus. Aside from great gameplay, it had a very subtle (until the end) but very powerful story that you mostly have to infer for yourself. Storytelling of that kind very rarely is successful in non-interactive media.

IMO the average gamer's approach to story is what's holding the story back, in a vicious cycle. Most seem to just see it as a framework for the gameplay, and don't get me wrong I think gameplay should have the priority if you can only have one, but many games have the opportunity to weave both together into one if gamers would accept it.

You haven't been paying attention. We're talking about games that had a good story but awful gameplay.

 

[LiraelG]

I think it depends on how bad the gameplay is. If the gameplay is clunky and slow (Grandia 2), it's very difficult to get past that and enjoy the story.

However, I am usually willing to persevere through mediocre gameplay if there's a good story. Final Fantasy X is one of my favourite games because of its story, but I found the gameplay rather dull.

Similarly, KotoR 2 is engaging so far because of its story and characters. The gameplay is nothing special.

However, my favourite game of all time lacks a complex story, but plays wonderfully (Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker). Portal 2, which I'd rate as one of the best games available today, also provides some of the best gameplay with a simple story. So I do think it's important to strike a balance.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Very rarely. If I'm not having fun, I'll go do something else. If I'm playing a game I want good gameplay, story is just an excellent bonus to have. If I'm looking purely for story, I'll go read a book.

Why? A game can convey a far more involved and therefore interesting story than a book.

But have any actually done that? And has the awful gameplay detracted from the experience?

It is subjuective whether or not a game has a story which has surpassed that of a book. Some may argue that it is unable to do so because it is focsed on having fun but I disagree. Silent hill (mostly the second game) has used interactivity to make it a painful journey of dispair. The bad gameplay adds to it as it is about a normal man and as the entire game is basically him fighting for the realisation of the past three years of his life it uses the game to show that. Saying that you would only play a game with good gameplay is like saying you would only watch a movie with good cinematography.

And I would argue that Silent Hill didn't have awful gameplay. Silent Hill had both good gameplay and story. I quite enjoyed it.