Most Over-Used Plot In Games.

[Savagezion]

The most overused sub-plot ever? Where everyone nitpicks about how tried-and-true plot devices the average person isn't tired of seeing happen again in new creative ways need to be gotten rid of because not only must we have the new, but we must also never revisit the old successful formulas. Heard of "archetypal myth"? Nearly EVERY good story ever written hass elements of archetypal myth, be it a story of revenge, a quest story after , or saving the princess and/or kingdom from forces that want to own them.

I say that telling old stories well is better than telling new stories and hoping for acceptance just because they're new. Also, try coming up with a plot for a game. I bet you ANYTHING your plot ends up very similar to something already out there, whether you were trying or not. There are very few actual types of quests you can possibly send someone on, and only so many reasons.

That being said, I already feel the comments: well can't something old be bad too? I never said to the contrary, what I said is that the average person isn't tired of getting revenge on evil corporations yet, and wants another go at saving the princess to boot.

This. The only exception to this rule for me is "Save the galaxy/kingdom" usually paired with saving the "love interest of the game" as you save the galaxy/kingdom. Perhaps these two are one in the same like Nintendo likes to do or perhaps they are seperate like in Mass Effect. Hell Mas effect gave you 3 ladies to go save and let you pick between them along the way.

Amnesia isn't "all over the place" the same way Yahtzee describes it. And Yahtzee I bet is the reason so many people are saying it is played out. I could easily list 20 games with the above plot device and still be able to continue to list more. I bet alot of people complaining about amnesia would be hard pressed and have to work for a list of 10, let alone 20 titles. Sorry, but Yahtzee fanboyism is annoying on this forum.

 

[Super Toast]

I don't like any game where the main story is about saving one guy. Except Heavy Rain... and Bad Dudes.

 

[Eolon]

Not quite plot, but part of it,Russians. Developers need to know that USSR isnt around us anymore, and, thought it was a shame we didnt had another war at the eighties, it is just bad and a shame to repeat themselves.

 

[Daffy F]

Anything where you fight terrorists, and then change sides. HAZE comes to mind, plus a couple of others.
Personally, I am totally not fussed about working for the bad guys. I had a good time on Crackdown 2, I don't care if the game implied that the Agency was evil... If I get to ramp SUV's through helicopters, and use cars as flails, then I'm happy.

 

[WittyInfidel]

This isn't just in games, it goes in many movies and books as well. Be they King, Tolkien, Brooks, Jordan, Salvatore, or Koontz.

Yay, it's the Ball/Fair! Our little hamlet/village/convent is having a great time! Oh, no, is that a massive horde of orcs/undead/ cultists? Blarg, most of us die, but the Chosen One gets away! Find out s/he is a heir/alien/clone with great power and embark on journey to overthrow evil king/queen/demon/alien.

There, I think I just managed the plot lines to most fantasy games and novels.
Do I get a cookie?

 

[Bocaj2000]

I like post-apocalyptic, however it's being overused a little.

Anything where the badguys are Russians or Muslims is starting to annoy me lately. It feels like Nationalist brainwashing.

 

[Gindil]

...
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(Nuff said)

Or seriously speaking, the Silent Protagonist. Out to save the world, one Y or N at a time.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

The mentor, the one who taught you all your fighting skills/magic/whatever gets killed protecting you.

 

[Neevar]

Hero of the land. Period.

well that doesn't really covers the plot but, not alot of games makes you feel like a simple person living the "life"
Gothic series does, to a point. It's satisfying thow.

 

[slarrs]

World War 2. Never has an actual historical even been recreated and edited so much (God how many alternate history Nazi plots have there been? We just needed more Nazi's to kill I guess). It started with comic books as soon as WW 2 ended, and hasn't slowed down a bit.

 

[Ekonk]

Amnesia stories and the 'ultra-nationalist Communist-Nazi Russians' handwave that plagues nearly every modern war game, seriously people stop picking on the Russians as starting every single fucking problem in the future.

I'm going to go with this. Especially the ultranationalists. Suddenly there are millions of the fuckers.

I would like to add the mentor/father figure/sidekick who will inevitably betray you.

 

[Rofl-Mayo]

Definitely WWII.

 

[saruman31]

Saving the world.

 

[Good morning blues]

By far the most overused video game plot is the "unethical scientific experimentation gone awry" story. I can forgive Half-Life, because it was just a bunch of scientists who thought they were at a world-revolutionizing breakthrough accidentally precipitating an invasion from another dimension; what I'm talking about are mostly the ones where there's some obviously evil scientific organization or scientist who is creating monsters or letting monsters into the real world or whatever for no discernible reason other than to give the player something to shoot at.

 

[ManaAdvent]

I'm with the amnesia crowd on this one.

Also, WW2 shooter plots because it is of course so d@mn predictable where you have to kill Nazis and Japs to save the world. Not to mention history books are total spoilers for these kinds of games.

Also, the organization you're working for turns out to be the bad guys all along.

 

[C95J]

Oh No! The Russians are attacking us! KILL THEM ALL!

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Ahem...

Spoiler: SAVE ME!

[img src=http://th01.deviantart.com/fs29/300W/f/2008/056/f/7/Princess_Zelda_TP___v_07_by_link_theguy.jpg][/spoiler]

[b]That[/b] is the most overused plot in gaming. I don't think you can ever attempt to argue against it.[/QUOTE]

Umm...Zelda...your nipples are showing.

OT:

Anything with somebody having nukes.

 

[A-D.]

Ahem...

Spoiler: SAVE ME!

[img src=http://th01.deviantart.com/fs29/300W/f/2008/056/f/7/Princess_Zelda_TP___v_07_by_link_theguy.jpg][/spoiler]

[b]That[/b] is the most overused plot in gaming. I don't think you can ever attempt to argue against it.[/QUOTE]

I'd save Zelda any Day of the Week...i mean honestly, if you were Link and your potential Girlfriend/Wife/Lover looks like that, would you say "What she's been captured again? Im not going to save her this Time"? I doubt anyone would..at least not if Zelda is that hot >_>

Then again, if i were Link, i'd never leave her Side...and/or her Bed..so the whole abduction would be moot...*cough*

[QUOTE=Ekonk]I would like to add the mentor/father figure/sidekick who will inevitably betray you.[/QUOTE]

The only Game doing that "Clichée" good was Jade Empire, because you didnt actually see it coming from miles away and were actually suprised when it happened. That being that the Guy you thought would be good and all actually used you AND you didnt even know he was actually evil. I like Villians that aint easily apparent.

 

[GothmogII]

This thread is a horrid mishmash of plot, characters, tropes, cliches, and settings.

Post-Apocalyptic games, that's a setting. Fallout 3's 'plot' was about a son or daughter trying to find their father while simultaneously trying to make their way in the world, eventually either culminating is saving or damning the world. S.T.A.L.K.E.Rs plot was about an amnesiac soldier searching for another missing soldier named Strelok (not giving spoilers), and his attempts to survive and explore the phenomenon related to the second Chernobyl disaster and eventually making a important decision.

Specifically, the plot is the 'path' the protagonist takes, like this:

Learn the difference!!

Specific elements or tropes, such as amnesia are again, are not the plot, but can be used as elements of such from which to expand the plot. Many times, yes, it's used poorly and is a shoddy way to explain why a character is a blank slate, and so they don't have to be given much backstory. I'd guess, this is mainly to provide the player a sense that this is a 'role' they're playing of themselves. But, amnesia can be used to great effect as well, take Planescape Torment for example, about a nameless amnesiac immortal searching for the truth about his own past and seeking a way to finally die. A lesser game would have simply dropped the player in and left them to make their own way with a random assortment of quests, Torment provides an extensive history and background for The Nameless one, and yet still offers players the freedom to determine the outcome of his story.