Poll: Story important in games?
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Yes. Barring some really intangible and abstract idea, like peggle or tetris it plays an important role. The things we are interested in attract us to the games. I really think that you nearly have to have some interest in the topic/theme/story to get a lot of enjoyment out of it. That is not to say that you can't enjoy a game without those things, but for that to be a really compelling, memorable, and important to you, you must relate to and enjoy the story.
A good story will make everything better. A bad story can either horribly detract from it or really have no impact depending on the genre. I play games because I love stories, that doesn't mean that I don't play games that have no stories. Usually those, though, are online. FPS' would get boring for me if I didn't care about whats going on. Why would I wade through a bunch of cloned enemies that are easy to kill when if it was for no reason?
Anyway, some games really don't need one, for others they're essential. It's tough to make a sweeping generalization about whether they crucial or not.
Anyway, some games really don't need one, for others they're essential. It's tough to make a sweeping generalization about whether they crucial or not.
I don't know. I think story is important in a game, but at the same time if it isn't well executed there's no point. Take Doom 3. There was very minimal story. You go th Mars, bad shit happens, now you have to kill everything and close the gate to hell. Basically, that's it, but it worked, because it gave you a clear cut goal and you knew what you had to do. F.E.A.R. 2, on the other hand, confuses me. I know I was supposed to go after Aristide, but not anymore because... something happened and now she's not important, even though people keep talking about her. And Alma is after me so I have to go to the facility on the island so I can destroy her, but it's never really explained why she's after you, except that you have big psychic powers (which you can't use) and she wants to "devour you". Uh.... And for some reason some guy from your team, Keegan, is trying to find her, which is kind of pointless. And that's as far as I got, since my brain started to hurt. Not to mention my eyes.
The point is, yes story is important, but it's better to have minimal story if you don't kinow what the heck you're doing with it.
The point is, yes story is important, but it's better to have minimal story if you don't kinow what the heck you're doing with it.
story will always dominate imo, kotor, me, they dont have very good gameplay if that at all, but they have amazing stories/character depth, in which i have played those games easily over 20 times, while games like call of duty i only play once or twice (excluding online)
although gears of war i have played billions of times due to the co op fun..that game has yet to be rivaled by another game imo on co op
although gears of war i have played billions of times due to the co op fun..that game has yet to be rivaled by another game imo on co op
Depends on the Genre. If it's an FPS, no it doesn't matter. If it's an RPG, hell yes it matters.
I voted yes. Now that it's sort of the standard, even otherwise silly action games disappoint me if they don't have a story attached. It doesn't have to be anything overly interesting or new, it just has to provide some sort of reason and motivation for what I'm doing.
Part of the reason for bad reviews is using the wrong term. It's "storytelling", not "story". The following games can all be summed up with "Aliens have come from the sky to conquer your planet! Your protagonist must defeat them!"
Half-Life 2
Halo
Beyond Good and Evil
Crysis
Mass Effect
last level of Elite Beat Agents
Doom 3
Gears of War (technically from underground, not the sky)
Does this mean all of these games just stole it from whichever the first one was? No. They all tell their story differently with different characters, different settings, and a lot of different context. That's what composes their storytelling.
So generally, it doesn't quite matter if the goal is cliche as long as the writers give their own attempts to tell something in a new or interesting way.
girl_in_background illustrated when a story has problems: When it's difficult to understand, does not make sense, or doesn't drive you. (Spoilers but not: You don't manage to kill Alma and things get worse. Don't anticipate being able to kill her in FEAR 3....)
Half-Life 2
Halo
Beyond Good and Evil
Crysis
Mass Effect
last level of Elite Beat Agents
Doom 3
Gears of War (technically from underground, not the sky)
Does this mean all of these games just stole it from whichever the first one was? No. They all tell their story differently with different characters, different settings, and a lot of different context. That's what composes their storytelling.
So generally, it doesn't quite matter if the goal is cliche as long as the writers give their own attempts to tell something in a new or interesting way.
girl_in_background illustrated when a story has problems: When it's difficult to understand, does not make sense, or doesn't drive you. (Spoilers but not: You don't manage to kill Alma and things get worse. Don't anticipate being able to kill her in FEAR 3....)
Depends on the game.
M&B managed with no more story than "here's a stick and a lame horse. Have fun."
And managed to become an awesome tale of war, betrayal, revenge and honour.
While other games would be nothing without story- Soul Reaver 2 was only saved by the talky-talky cutscenes.
M&B managed with no more story than "here's a stick and a lame horse. Have fun."
And managed to become an awesome tale of war, betrayal, revenge and honour.
While other games would be nothing without story- Soul Reaver 2 was only saved by the talky-talky cutscenes.
Depends.
Certain games are greatly improved by their stories. The original Bioshock for example would have been just a "good" game had it not been for the superb story and atmosphere. Silent Hill games are an even more extreme case where without the story and atmosphere they'd be pretty mediocre.
Certain games should have less story as their stories are so embarrassingly bad and overplayed they should just shut the fuck up already. Halo and Gears of War come to mind. The original Halo's story was decent enough but 2 & 3 took themselves far to seriously. Gears of War was just stupid from the start, I don't think I've ever hated a game's characters so much. Don't get me wrong Gears is still a pretty fun game but I wish the characters never said a word.
Certain games are greatly improved by their stories. The original Bioshock for example would have been just a "good" game had it not been for the superb story and atmosphere. Silent Hill games are an even more extreme case where without the story and atmosphere they'd be pretty mediocre.
Certain games should have less story as their stories are so embarrassingly bad and overplayed they should just shut the fuck up already. Halo and Gears of War come to mind. The original Halo's story was decent enough but 2 & 3 took themselves far to seriously. Gears of War was just stupid from the start, I don't think I've ever hated a game's characters so much. Don't get me wrong Gears is still a pretty fun game but I wish the characters never said a word.
Absolutely not. A game with great gameplay and a terrible story is still a great game. A game with a great story and little else, however is not. I'm not against stories in games, but this idea that they are somehow necessary just baffles me.
Games are about balancing. If the gameplay is so fun that it outweighs any need for a story, then by all means, the story is unecessary. L4D is one that I think falls into this. TF2 as well. Can you imagine TF2 trying to create a story?
On the other hand, if your story is so amazing as to be the centerpiece of the game, the gameplay itself can be a bit unrefined and it will be overlooked. Bioshock is a good example.
If your game is nothing but story and there is no real gameplay to go with it, then that's called a "book." They are cool things to have and know what to do with, but they are not games.
In the end though, if your gameplay is a bit wonky, then your story is brought more into focus and if that story is stupid as well, and your characters are insipid/vapid/annoying and your graphics are utterly bland, then that's a bad game. Uncharted 1 fits pretty much all of these.
On the other hand, if your story is so amazing as to be the centerpiece of the game, the gameplay itself can be a bit unrefined and it will be overlooked. Bioshock is a good example.
If your game is nothing but story and there is no real gameplay to go with it, then that's called a "book." They are cool things to have and know what to do with, but they are not games.
In the end though, if your gameplay is a bit wonky, then your story is brought more into focus and if that story is stupid as well, and your characters are insipid/vapid/annoying and your graphics are utterly bland, then that's a bad game. Uncharted 1 fits pretty much all of these.
