95% story. If I'm not shocked, enraged and brought to the brink of tears by a game, I've no interest in it.
Poll: Poll: gameplay or story
- Thread starter dcrane
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Gameplay, I really don't care too much about story, a good story is a nice addition, but I play games for gameplay. If I want a good story, I'll watch a movie. I'm surprised how people care more abut stories in games than actual "game"play, the meat of the game...
Third choice: Story is gameplay. Gameplay is story.
Or: Definitely need both. You can't tell a story if the gameplay turns the player away. It's the equivalent of making a movie using only dutch angles or shooting it on a cell phone. Maybe you can make that work for some kind of art film, but you'd need a wealth of talent to make it anything but frustrating and boring.
That said, a good story is obviously a positive. A lot of older games are worth playing for the story alone, and if you want your game to be memorable in any way you'll need to at least make a few good characters. Besides, there are certain types of storytelling that are only possible in this medium. To not embrace that isn't wrong, it's just kind of disingenuous.
Or: Definitely need both. You can't tell a story if the gameplay turns the player away. It's the equivalent of making a movie using only dutch angles or shooting it on a cell phone. Maybe you can make that work for some kind of art film, but you'd need a wealth of talent to make it anything but frustrating and boring.
That said, a good story is obviously a positive. A lot of older games are worth playing for the story alone, and if you want your game to be memorable in any way you'll need to at least make a few good characters. Besides, there are certain types of storytelling that are only possible in this medium. To not embrace that isn't wrong, it's just kind of disingenuous.
I agree, games just aren't really the best medium to tell stories in, they can tell stories, but if you're looking for story more than gameplay, you're doing it wrong. Watch a movie instead.veloper said:
The whole point of games is gameplay. Some of my favorite games of all time, Saints Row 2 and Far Cry 2 used as examples here, spent vary little time on the story and just let you have fun. Not to say that a good story isn't welcome from time to time but if the story gets in the way of the gameplay (YES I AM looking at you final fantasy XIII) it becomes a detriment to the entire experience.
Both, ofcourse. That being said, if I have to choose one over the other, gameplay by a mile. I've put up with bad/terrible stories if I like the gameplay, but I really can't put up with bad/terrible gameplay just because I like the story. I can get good stories from every other medium out there, good gameplay is unique to this one.
I can handle a mediocre story, something like Hydrophobia: Prophecy or Borderlands. Bad gameplay and/or bad controls are a major turnoff for me.
It's a trickier question that it looks, and there's little doubt that in an ideal situation we'd have both. I'm more partial to a good story myself, but many of the best games make an attempt to involve the gameplay in said story. It's what separates the medium from the less interactive forms (film and books). For those who have been to live theater performances, you may have noticed that many of the best shows seek to involve the audience (usually by talking to them briefly, or occasionally having the actors being among the seats); gaming just takes this further by getting the player directly involved in the events. Films & books never change when watched/read again, but games & theater are very seldom the same thing twice.
Now then, bad gameplay will kill a game where a bad story may not; but while it's definitely more essential to game design, it doesn't necessarily have to be what the player prefers. Many games have gotten by with merely passable gameplay while a great storyline provides the motive needed to complete a game, an aspect which is very prevalent in the RPG genre (which is generally regarded as having the best storylines in gaming, collectively speaking). Back to games not being the same while replaying them, strong gameplay will likely play a bigger role here than a strong story. Bland & dull gameplay easily falls into repetitive routines (which can make a single playthrough too painful to complete, let alone multiple ones), while high-quality gameplay typically offers a lot of variety and you're able to approach things from different angles; it's that reason why at least passable gameplay is necessary for all games, even story-driven ones.
In the end, I think comes down to a matter of perspective.
Should the story complement the gameplay?
Or should the gameplay complement the story?
I definitely prefer the latter situation, because fun-factor alone doesn't keep me playing games. I'd very much prefer to have a great story for a game, and the experience is made better by the gameplay allowing me to be more directly involved in it. Fun gameplay is great, but it's just not something I can enjoy for it's own sake... though it doesn't take too much of a story to keep me interested enough to finish a game.
Now then, bad gameplay will kill a game where a bad story may not; but while it's definitely more essential to game design, it doesn't necessarily have to be what the player prefers. Many games have gotten by with merely passable gameplay while a great storyline provides the motive needed to complete a game, an aspect which is very prevalent in the RPG genre (which is generally regarded as having the best storylines in gaming, collectively speaking). Back to games not being the same while replaying them, strong gameplay will likely play a bigger role here than a strong story. Bland & dull gameplay easily falls into repetitive routines (which can make a single playthrough too painful to complete, let alone multiple ones), while high-quality gameplay typically offers a lot of variety and you're able to approach things from different angles; it's that reason why at least passable gameplay is necessary for all games, even story-driven ones.
In the end, I think comes down to a matter of perspective.
Should the story complement the gameplay?
Or should the gameplay complement the story?
I definitely prefer the latter situation, because fun-factor alone doesn't keep me playing games. I'd very much prefer to have a great story for a game, and the experience is made better by the gameplay allowing me to be more directly involved in it. Fun gameplay is great, but it's just not something I can enjoy for it's own sake... though it doesn't take too much of a story to keep me interested enough to finish a game.
Picking between the Story and Gameplay of a game is like deciding between the Ice and Cream of IceCream. You take just one and you're left with ether a cold lump of frozen water or a milky soup. You need both halves.
Now IceCream can be extra creamy and still be great, or maybe you're on a diet and want low fat IceCream and that's fine too, but completely dismissing one over the other in an IceCream scenario is a mistake because you're left with a product that is not IceCream.
It's a book[footnote]The actual story in games can actually be limited to just the visual aesthetics, something to which no game can do without.[/footnote], which is the purest form of story and thus the ice in this metaphor.
Now IceCream can be extra creamy and still be great, or maybe you're on a diet and want low fat IceCream and that's fine too, but completely dismissing one over the other in an IceCream scenario is a mistake because you're left with a product that is not IceCream.
It's a book[footnote]The actual story in games can actually be limited to just the visual aesthetics, something to which no game can do without.[/footnote], which is the purest form of story and thus the ice in this metaphor.
Has to be story, every time. If i'm playing through a game with great gameplay but a lame story i'll likely ditch it for something else.
I'm a sucker for a good story. Getting immersed in the game because I like the settings, characters, plot and denouement is one of the biggest reasons I game. Good gameplay is definitely a necessity otherwise, it feels like grinding when you're playing just to get to the next cinematic.
Nonetheless, I'd rather play through an awesome tale than not.
Nonetheless, I'd rather play through an awesome tale than not.
If you think about it though. You've got to have both gameplay and story.
If the gameplay sucks you won't be able to tolerate getting to the next story bit; if the story sucks I doubt the game play is genuinely that good to carry the whole thing like a wounded soldier up Everest. They're codependent. At least in my experience. There's obviously a give and take in most games, but one side or the other does not cut it.
If the gameplay sucks you won't be able to tolerate getting to the next story bit; if the story sucks I doubt the game play is genuinely that good to carry the whole thing like a wounded soldier up Everest. They're codependent. At least in my experience. There's obviously a give and take in most games, but one side or the other does not cut it.