Do games, NEED story?
- Thread starter Erttheking
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It is perfectly possible *and* acceptable to make a game without a story, however I happen to prefer stories in my games. Not to say I would reject a game offered to my by a friend because it had no story, rather I simply don't look for games like that.
Minecraft is one example. I heard about it, and was a bit curious but otherwise ignored it until Yahtzee's complementary review of it. I then pirated it and proceeded to fall in love with it. I had to completely wipe my computer about six months ago, and I couldn't bring myself to pirate it again because I loved the game and respected Majong too much.
Games can be great without a story, but a game can be just as great with one.
Minecraft is one example. I heard about it, and was a bit curious but otherwise ignored it until Yahtzee's complementary review of it. I then pirated it and proceeded to fall in love with it. I had to completely wipe my computer about six months ago, and I couldn't bring myself to pirate it again because I loved the game and respected Majong too much.
Games can be great without a story, but a game can be just as great with one.
I miss your meaning.Naranja797 said:
An ancient interdimensional gate is unearthed on one of Mars's moons, through which the armies of Hell invade Mars. A lone soldier fights through the moon base, and wades through Hell itself to close the gate.
Sometimes narrative is passive, but that doesn't mean it isn't there. I feel that as long as a game has a premise, it has a narrative, unless we get as basic as Checkers.
Games do not need stories to be good, influential, or even classics, but they do need stories to be truly great and realize the full, unique potential of the medium.
Games don't necessarily need a story but, with very rare exceptions (puzzles, mostly) they definitely need a context-- even just a really simple setup like "This team is red, this team is blue, and now they're going to shoot the crap out of each other."
Games don't necessarily need a story but, with very rare exceptions (puzzles, mostly) they definitely need a context-- even just a really simple setup like "This team is red, this team is blue, and now they're going to shoot the crap out of each other."
Sometimes a story makes the gameplay more worth while, like Sid Meier's Alpha Centuri does. Or bastionAerosteam 1908 said:
Tetris had a story. It was about the space race. Through completing tier after tier, you were constructing a Soviet space rocket. If you made it far enough, the rocket would launch. So many basic games have underlying narratives, flavor thrown in to keep us interested. Completely story-less games are rare. Deep down, we as humans feel a need for context in pretty much everything we do. We hate our jobs when we stop seeing a point. To be honest, we resent our relationships once we think they exist simply to be there.willsham45 said:
It did. Those were insane times, with the birth of Dadaism and abstract expressionism. For some, film should only exist to record reality as it is. To some, film was a way to tell stories. To others, film should be used to show how pointless life is by recording random images.wulf3n said:
Here [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEuDFJd6_2U] is a good example of Dada. Random images and out-of-place music woven together into an art piece meant to show the inherent meaningless of everything. It's enjoyable in the same way as a Jackson Pollack; it's fun to look at sometimes, but it doesn't really mean anything significant.
Is... is this true? I honestly can't tell if you're joking or not. I mean, I think you are, but still...Nieroshai said:
Games need interaction, not story. I personally love games who's core is the story for the sheer feeling of being immersed cus as a male I don't have the imagination of a female. (true shit btw) but please explain to me why duces do not qualify for a game due to lack of a storyline. There.
Context is important. Sure, blowing shit up is fun, but if you need some kind of context to get real satisfaction out of it. How good would Mass Effect be if it was just some barely linked together shooting gallery of various aliens? It's what really redeemed ME2 for me, which really was just a bunch of shooting galleries, but they're put together in a way that compels you to actually progress in the story.
Anyone remember when a game's story was a paragraph or two in the instruction manual?
And those were some of the best years in gaming ever.
My personal opinion is that I find I care about games more if I get into their story, but I don't find it necessary if the gameplay is good enough. Though no story often makes a very forgettable experience.
And those were some of the best years in gaming ever.
My personal opinion is that I find I care about games more if I get into their story, but I don't find it necessary if the gameplay is good enough. Though no story often makes a very forgettable experience.
it needs some kind of context. Puzzle games aside. And maby sports games.
You say pong but I cannot honestly say I can play that "game" for more then 5 minutes without getting very very bored indeed.
If other types of games don't have a context at all they will be shiny pixel clicking simulators.
Then again, this comming from a guy who thinks up a story and motivation behind minesweeper.
You say pong but I cannot honestly say I can play that "game" for more then 5 minutes without getting very very bored indeed.
If other types of games don't have a context at all they will be shiny pixel clicking simulators.
Then again, this comming from a guy who thinks up a story and motivation behind minesweeper.
I think the most obvious answer to the question at hand is "Depends on the genre".
Indeed, sports games don't need a story. Racing games don't need a story (maybe a little background bio for each racer to justify their vehicle/racing style). RPG's obviously need a story because that's really all they are: a story you play through.
Shooters and Puzzles are really the only genres that I can see a grey area in. I mean it really doesn't matter WHY you're mowing down endless hordes of (fill in the blank), because you're going to be shooting them regardless. However personally, I do like having a bit of motivation. I like to know WHY I'm shooting these guys. Puzzle games are the same way. The biggest example I can think of is the Portal series. Portal 1 had a very faint story. All you know is that you woke up in a lab and you're being guided through a mouse maze of deadly traps. You get the sense that the computerized voice accompanying you is actively trying to get you killed, but it literally isn't the very end of the game that you get the story: AI went mad and filled the lab with nerve gas, that's why the place is "abandoned". But the game isn't about that, it's about the puzzles: literally moving from one room to the next just trying to figure out how you get to the next.
Portal 2, on the other hand, injected a lot more story into the game. Personally I enjoyed it, but I love a good story in a game. I can see how others didn't like it, though. It was a big shift from the simplicity of "Here's some puzzles: do'em while we have a dark-humor spewing AI talking to you" to all of a sudden learning the history of the characters and of the science facility. That said, however, the game that people fell in love with (Portal) was pretty much just 20 different puzzles with a puzzle-based boss fight at the end, showing that the story itself wasn't what made the game so popular.
So yeah, like I said: depends on the genre of the game.
Indeed, sports games don't need a story. Racing games don't need a story (maybe a little background bio for each racer to justify their vehicle/racing style). RPG's obviously need a story because that's really all they are: a story you play through.
Shooters and Puzzles are really the only genres that I can see a grey area in. I mean it really doesn't matter WHY you're mowing down endless hordes of (fill in the blank), because you're going to be shooting them regardless. However personally, I do like having a bit of motivation. I like to know WHY I'm shooting these guys. Puzzle games are the same way. The biggest example I can think of is the Portal series. Portal 1 had a very faint story. All you know is that you woke up in a lab and you're being guided through a mouse maze of deadly traps. You get the sense that the computerized voice accompanying you is actively trying to get you killed, but it literally isn't the very end of the game that you get the story: AI went mad and filled the lab with nerve gas, that's why the place is "abandoned". But the game isn't about that, it's about the puzzles: literally moving from one room to the next just trying to figure out how you get to the next.
Portal 2, on the other hand, injected a lot more story into the game. Personally I enjoyed it, but I love a good story in a game. I can see how others didn't like it, though. It was a big shift from the simplicity of "Here's some puzzles: do'em while we have a dark-humor spewing AI talking to you" to all of a sudden learning the history of the characters and of the science facility. That said, however, the game that people fell in love with (Portal) was pretty much just 20 different puzzles with a puzzle-based boss fight at the end, showing that the story itself wasn't what made the game so popular.
So yeah, like I said: depends on the genre of the game.
Y'all forgetting about Unholy Wars, that had a story that I always skipped because I made up my own storyline between the factions.
My point being, you can just create decent and interesting characters and throw them in a universe with some minor context and any player with a willing imagination will turn it into whatever they want.
I'm expecting an 'artsy game' to appear base on my point now, that'd be neat!
My point being, you can just create decent and interesting characters and throw them in a universe with some minor context and any player with a willing imagination will turn it into whatever they want.
I'm expecting an 'artsy game' to appear base on my point now, that'd be neat!
no; the earliest games had NO narrative so there's no reason that ANY game actually needs a story.
I disagree. At least partially. I just played Call of Duty: Black Ops for the first time this morning and finished it in one sitting (The only other CoD game that I've played prior to this was World at War) and I found the story both interesting and engaging. To the point where I was annoyed that they were throwing so many guys at me to shoot because I just wanted the plot to advance already!SajuukKhar said:
I wasn't planning on getting a Call of Duty game, but after Black Ops, I'll definitely be picking up BO2.
Edit: Well...I won't say that Black Op's story was something really special, because it was kind of cliche. I mean, I accurately predicted the twist concerning Reznov early in the game (Basically the first or second time that he showed up in Vietnam), but the presentation was still good. It was different enough to distinguish itself, and I think it should win some points for that.