Game With the Best Story? (For school assignment)

[BloodRed Pixel]

additionaly to the already mentioned

Icepick Lodge´s Pathologic

it dares to venture story wise where other games can only dream of.

Also THIS GAME IS ART!

 

[Antag]

Just a comment on your first post:

In one of the paragraphs, I admit to gaming's current faults and one of them being the relative lack of story quality (relative being the key word there). I say in the plan for the paragraph, "Story in games is currently bad, to be honest, with the apparently "best" one being: _______"

Seems like a bad way to argue for games. First of all, there's no best story as its largely subjective. Second, I wouldn't see this as a point arguing for games as art. What I think would be a better focus is how the interactivity of games can add to the story telling in games. Or even how games can play with emotions and moods in a way no other mediums can.

A straight forward example would be choices you make in RPGs, but more subtle things can be players feeling sad about killing colossi in Sotc (as a lot of people said they did). You could even use dark souls as an example as the gameplay is structured in such a way to make the player paranoid and at times it makes people want to rush through to get back to their soul while they should actually be careful.

 

[tobyornottoby]

Zelda: Majora's Mask, because its mechanics lend themselves really well for solid storytelling. The different masks allow you to don different faces/personalities/perspectives, and the time travel allows you to experience the bad before you can go back to prevent it, rather than just preventing something bad that might happen.

But do games need good stories to be art? Take the September 12 'game' for example: http://www.newsgaming.com/games/index12.htm

It's more like a cartoon, but it uses game mechanics to express a view.

 

[Jaime_Wolf]

Shadow of the Colossus has a great backstory, but is probably a little harder just because it's so understated. In terms of narrative, you can probably do better. In fact, I would somewhat disagree with you on there being a lack of games with strong stories. A lot of games have pretty interesting stories.

GTA4 is brilliant satire.

Bioshock is political and has a twist that could only work in a video game, playing off of the nature of the medium itself (the story of most of the gameplay aside from that moment is a little forgettable though, so that would go well with your assertion that we're still somewhat lacking in story).

Mass Effect is a great choice.

Personally, I would shy away from traditional RPGs though, since they tend to have great story somewhat at the expense of gameplay. A lot of them are more just films with battle scenes thrown in, which, while fun, doesn't do a lot to argue in favor of games as art.

Oh, and if you really want to knock them dead, check out the Stanley Parable (easy to find on google). It's free and just requires a Source game to run (TF2 is free now on Steam, so that shouldn't be a problem). You can play through all endings in about an hour, so it's very doable. I would say that that game is easily the game to beat right now in terms of gaming art.

 

[Robert632]

Either Mass Effect universe or Half Life universe.
At least I'll be the one posting games that are actually good and have great, epic and well told stories - but you can of course listen to the nostalgia crowd, and write about Space Invaders and Pacman.

Spoiler

Really? I don't see anyone posting things for nostalgias sake, and have posted games that have been generally considered by most people to have decent stories at least.

O.T: I read the OP, and it looks like your probably predisposed to write about ME. Plus in of the post around the thread, you mentioned you knew it well, which would most likely allow you to write about it better then something you know less about.

 

[Dreamfiller]

The four main games in the Metal Gear solid-series.

 

[F'Angus]

Oddworld

You're part of a Mudoken slave society working for a giant meat processing company controlled by a race of ruthless Glukkon buisnessmen. You find out that the animals being used for food are becoming extinct so the Glukkons decide to use the Mudoken slaves to make a new food. Your character then goes about freeing the Mudoken slaves from the company and then freeing the animals as well. Then you bring down the company. There's either a good ending for saving Mudokens or an Evil for not.

 

[Logiclul]

Warcraft III
Phoenix Wright
Ghost Trick
Heavy Rain
Half Life
Portal
Metal Gear Solid

Honestly I'm ashamed of this board that these 7 top class stories haven't been mentioned exclusively as the best.

 

[GartarkMusik]

Mass Effect and BioShock are good choices. Also, check out some of BioWares older games, like KoTor or Jade Empire. Kingdom Hearts is also a great choice for your class due to the fact that most of your classmates are probably familiar with Disney characters, plus the fact that KH's writing is rock solid.

So yeah, there you have it. I'm sure there are many more out there though that you could use though.

 

[dantoddd]

I'm going to suggest prince of persia: the sands of time. Many games have stories on par with it and some even have better stories. But PoP:sands of time manage to tell the story brilliantly you really get to know the prince, his personality, his internal conflicts, his relationships and most importantly how the events of the game change all of these.

 

[pablogonzalez]

So the title pretty much says the main idea. I do need some help with an argumentative essay I'm writing on the subject of "Can Video Games Be Art?". I'm arguing for it.

In one of the paragraphs, I admit to gaming's current faults and one of them being the relative lack of story quality (relative being the key word there). I say in the plan for the paragraph, "Story in games is currently bad, to be honest, with the apparently "best" one being: _______"

I was hoping I could get general consensus on what exactly do we gamers think is the game with the best story.

I personally view the Mass Effect series as being the best story, but then again I'm 17 and the amount of games I've played is quite limited compared to many other gamers.

(I know what I wrote for the paragraph's plan is a bit oddly worded, but it's just the basic idea I have for the few lines)

if you watch zero punctuation then i suggest Silent hill 2.
the story is James Sunderland lands recieves a letter from his wife to pick him up at the town of Silent Hill, and he is confused because his wife had been dead for the last few years.

talk about the stuff you'd usually have in a story like characterisation , how the gameplay (or more specifically the combat) being terrible reassures the player that James isnt a super soldier but an ordinary man, and how this aspect also adds to the atmosphere of horror as you start to dread encounters with monster...

ive played the game myself but you need to refer to zero punctuation for further points

seriously use them

 

[nyx15]

the dot hack series, there's so much of it and shows every aspect of online social gaming, it transcends games moving in to manga, novels and even movies
do research on the game you pick

 

[Dastardly]

So the title pretty much says the main idea. I do need some help with an argumentative essay I'm writing on the subject of "Can Video Games Be Art?". I'm arguing for it.

In one of the paragraphs, I admit to gaming's current faults and one of them being the relative lack of story quality (relative being the key word there). I say in the plan for the paragraph, "Story in games is currently bad, to be honest, with the apparently "best" one being: _______"

I was hoping I could get general consensus on what exactly do we gamers think is the game with the best story.

I personally view the Mass Effect series as being the best story, but then again I'm 17 and the amount of games I've played is quite limited compared to many other gamers.

(I know what I wrote for the paragraph's plan is a bit oddly worded, but it's just the basic idea I have for the few lines)

You're taking the wrong approach.

The topic is whether video games can be art. Focusing on story or visuals or music will only reinforce the obvious truth that video games can contain art. The same is true of movies, in fact.

To look into what actually makes a video game "art," you've got to look at the things that make it a video game, rather than a movie or painting or song. For movies, we can look at how the camera angles change the emotional experience, or alter how the viewer sees the story. We can look at how the director uses an actor's performance--are they focusing on the face, or the hands, or the feet... are they framing them to look larger, or smaller... are we being encouraged by the lighting/cinematography/etc. to feel attached to this character, or distant from them... is the sound engineering making the space feel open, or closing it in...? These are traits that are unique to movies, and they are what elevate movies themselves to "art," rather than just being showcases for other artistic media -- visuals, drama, music, etc.

You've got to find those traits for games. Yes, games can contain a good story, but you can deliver that same story through a book. What is it about it being in a game that improves it, adds to it, or changes the experience for the audience? (Hint: It has nothing to do with "multiple endings," because that's still a story thing)

 

[Dastardly]

Double. I'm quite sorry.

 

[blank0000]

Story in games is different then that of a movie or a book.


Fantastic example, Dark/Demon souls. That game makes you feel very distinctive emotions not necessarily because of it's plot, but because of the gameplay that makes you want to hunker down, kick a baby in the face, only to jump for joy when you finally complete something.



As for best conventional story in a game, that's hard, because most stories in games use plot elements exclusive to games. When I look at the story of Metal Gear Solid 3. It's kind of wacky and insane, but in the moments I'm playing it I feel a great connection to the charters and there troubles.

 

[karloss01]

Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2
Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2
Legacy of Kain: Defiance

the entire Legacy of Kain series has a brillient story and a awesome voice Cast.

general summery of soul reaver 1

 

[Sinclair Solutions]

bioshock. if not for the story, then at least for the way it is told. the history of rapture is told through diary entries, and it has a truly compelling story.

See, even as a Bioshock fanboy (I won't deny it), I can't really say Bioshock had a great plot[?B], especially since it was pretty much a copy paste of System Shock 2. What Bioshock did do well, is both delivery and environment. I think this post says it perfectly:

Bioshock has a great way of telling the great story

Yes, it does have a great WAY of telling a story, but the story itself is fairly standard.

 

[Wilco86]

Didn't Extra Credits cover "Games as art"?

Planescape... Had only one thing going for itself. Story.
The combat was Meh, the visuals so-so, the setting wasn't innovative in any way (As it was based on already existing lore) and all in all it didn't have much customization for an RPG (You were stuck with One look.)

But the game was and is Amazing. For it's story alone.
I could talk about it for days, but in the end, I'll do it just as they did it:

Planescape: Torment asks one single question.
What can change the nature of a man?

And spends the entire time you play it answering that question.

(And if for no other reason, the games script is 800,000 words long. Nuff said)

Edit: Also note that Anyone who is Not mentioning Planescape: Torment has in fact not played it. Simple as that. (Yeah yeah there are outliers)

Planescape: Torment has a great story, but sadly many players overlook that game. I had a friend of mine to try it out, and he didn't get out of the starting area, the Mortuary, before quitting the game - the game doesn't start with explosions or damsel in distress, so some can find it a bit boring before the story truly kicks in. Hell, after getting out from the Mortuary I spent an hour just talking to people in the Smoldering Corpse Bar, gathering lore and I was having a blast all that time.

Also, in P:T player can actually do evil things, like selling team members to slavery, sacrifice them to a sentient giant pillar made of talking skulls, and talk to zombies and skeletons WITHOUT HAVING TO FIGHT the friggin' undead each and every time. Zombies have feelings, too...

People can say that Mass Effect has a great story and all, but when I played it as quickly as I could to add a renegade Shepard to Mass Effect 2 import, I found the main story quite shallow (there are great quests, but you can't call them "story"). Also, I liked MGS4 and all, but did the series have to consentrate on nanobots; in MGS2 Vamp is a truly supernatural enemy, and in MGS4 they just say it's all because he has nanobots (do nanobots help to control peoples' shadows like in MGS2? Really? Had End and Sorrow also nanobots in MGS3? Probably not because the story happened in the 60's!).

No, I have to go with Planescape...

It should even be noted that

Spoiler

The last boss can be beaten Without fighting him. With enough intelligence, you can, in fact, talk the Transcended One into giving up, in various ways.

Oh, yeah. Totally forgot that.

And speaking of those kinds of endings, I also loved the first Fallout's Master for the same reason. (Fallout 2's ending with a forced, kill-or-be-killed confrontation Special Agent Horrigan was a let down for me.)

Also, people can say that Fallout 2 is a great game (and it is), but for me it is too much of a "sandbox" RPG. In the first Fallout there was a time limit to save your people from inevitable death, but in Fallout 2 (and in many other games, like ES4: Oblivion) there's no penalty for actively wasting time.

"My tribe's kidnapped and its members killed one by one? Well, let me check my calendar... OK, I got a free evening two months from now. Take care!"

 

[Joby Baumann]

So the title pretty much says the main idea. I do need some help with an argumentative essay I'm writing on the subject of "Can Video Games Be Art?". I'm arguing for it.

In one of the paragraphs, I admit to gaming's current faults and one of them being the relative lack of story quality (relative being the key word there). I say in the plan for the paragraph, "Story in games is currently bad, to be honest, with the apparently "best" one being: _______"

I was hoping I could get general consensus on what exactly do we gamers think is the game with the best story.

I personally view the Mass Effect series as being the best story, but then again I'm 17 and the amount of games I've played is quite limited compared to many other gamers.

(I know what I wrote for the paragraph's plan is a bit oddly worded, but it's just the basic idea I have for the few lines)

judging by the sheer amount of games listed, games dont generaly have shit stories, might wanna change the overall structure and use a game with good story to back it up