Something that I can't help but notice is that video games seem to be divided into two main parts, game play and story. The question is really simple, if you had to play a video game that either had really good game play or one with really good story and you only had to pick one, which one would it be? I personally think I would like a game with good story because frankly I've got enough games with good gameplay. Now, what about you?
Poll: Gameplay or story?
- Thread starter Erttheking
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The one with good gameplay, every time.
Games are unique in that they are Interactive media and retain this unique aspect with or without a story. To ignore gameplay is to ignore what a game is at its core.
Besides, you can find a good story just about anywhere. Hell, the majority of games have fucking terrible stories when compared to works of literature and even comic books! It would be fair to say the best story told in a video game is still worse than an average story told in a book.
Quality of writing aside, a game with a good story loses to a game with good gameplay for a simple reason. You can play a game with a good story exactly once all the way through and enjoy it only once. You can play a game with good gameplay FOREVER and still enjoy it.
Games are unique in that they are Interactive media and retain this unique aspect with or without a story. To ignore gameplay is to ignore what a game is at its core.
Besides, you can find a good story just about anywhere. Hell, the majority of games have fucking terrible stories when compared to works of literature and even comic books! It would be fair to say the best story told in a video game is still worse than an average story told in a book.
Quality of writing aside, a game with a good story loses to a game with good gameplay for a simple reason. You can play a game with a good story exactly once all the way through and enjoy it only once. You can play a game with good gameplay FOREVER and still enjoy it.
All the games that I would put in my top 10-20 list I love mostly for the story. Although I also tend to enjoy the gameplay of everyone of those games, it is the story I walk away from feeling touched.
I don't really play Heavy Rain for the gameplay for example, Dear Esther and Portal is another example. Although I love all three of those games. Portal has good gameplay yes, but I haven't gone back to it 10 times for the gameplay.
ALTHOUGH, on the other hand, I really love these rogue-like type games like, Dungeons of Dredmor, FTL, XCOM and Terraria. Those games have little to no story and I don't play ANY of them for the story, I just LOVE the gameplay.
Gosh now that I think about it maybe I do fit somewhere in between. Most RPG's I love tend to be a great mixture of story and gameplay. I would say I value story much more than gameplay, but I do like enjoyable gameplay as well.
Dragon Age is a good example for me of a really great game that I enjoy the story and gameplay about the same, in an RPG like that, I don't think I would play unless I enjoyed the story AND the gameplay, although I feel the story is more important.
Fallout 3/Skyrim is another game for me that I love both story and gameplay about the same. Living in a high detailed strange world with so much to explore and a high focus on aesthetics and atmosphere.
All in all, it is the story and passion that sticks with me and that I value in the end. Fighting the colossi in SOTC is a great experience, but that isn't why it is in my top 5 favorite games.
I don't really play Heavy Rain for the gameplay for example, Dear Esther and Portal is another example. Although I love all three of those games. Portal has good gameplay yes, but I haven't gone back to it 10 times for the gameplay.
ALTHOUGH, on the other hand, I really love these rogue-like type games like, Dungeons of Dredmor, FTL, XCOM and Terraria. Those games have little to no story and I don't play ANY of them for the story, I just LOVE the gameplay.
Gosh now that I think about it maybe I do fit somewhere in between. Most RPG's I love tend to be a great mixture of story and gameplay. I would say I value story much more than gameplay, but I do like enjoyable gameplay as well.
Dragon Age is a good example for me of a really great game that I enjoy the story and gameplay about the same, in an RPG like that, I don't think I would play unless I enjoyed the story AND the gameplay, although I feel the story is more important.
Fallout 3/Skyrim is another game for me that I love both story and gameplay about the same. Living in a high detailed strange world with so much to explore and a high focus on aesthetics and atmosphere.
All in all, it is the story and passion that sticks with me and that I value in the end. Fighting the colossi in SOTC is a great experience, but that isn't why it is in my top 5 favorite games.
Given the choice between gameplay and story, I'd go for gameplay.
But not to say that games with a focus on story are all bad.
Asura's Wrath is definitely in the lines of one of my top 10 games of all time, and that game has little gameplay involved.
But not to say that games with a focus on story are all bad.
Asura's Wrath is definitely in the lines of one of my top 10 games of all time, and that game has little gameplay involved.
Gameplay is MORE important, as you can enjoy a game with great gameplay but a terrible story, however the opposite would be a disaster. Terrible gameplay implies the game is virtually unplayable. Hard to even get at the story, at that point.
However, I like plenty of "Game-lite" experiences with amazing stories, like Walking Dead, or To The Moon. However, those games did not have terrible gameplay, just extraordinarily streamlined gameplay.
However, I like plenty of "Game-lite" experiences with amazing stories, like Walking Dead, or To The Moon. However, those games did not have terrible gameplay, just extraordinarily streamlined gameplay.
I played games to have fun which menas the gameplay to me, not the story. I mean where is the story to games like Lumines or Tetris?
This is very true. It kind of irks me when people say these games have "terrible gameplay." What's there is actually really well done, especially in the case of The Walking Dead.BloatedGuppy said:
A lot of my favourite games are story-driven but I'd still choose gameplay over story. There are many, many other mediums where I can find a great story but there's only really tabletop games and card games that provide an alternative for gameplay and they hinge on socializing with other human beings. I don't feel like we'd be losing much if games didn't have stories, but we would if they didn't have gameplay.
I agree that the average quality of writing in games is currently much lower than books or films but I would certainly say that the storytelling of Planescape: Torment or To The Moon is greater than that of the "average" book. I'm not implying that they measure up to the literary greats (they're not even in the same league) but they're way beyond half the bullshit lining the shelves of Tesco's book section.Vern5 said:
I also disagree with the idea that you can only enjoy a story-driven game once. I've replayed and enjoyed many story driven games just like I've re-read and re-watched books and films I've loved. A good story can be enjoyed many times over and repeat experiences can reveal things you didn't notice the first time around.