Story Versus Gameplay

[PersianLlama]

Gameplay imo, except with MGS4, the cutscenes were so long I forgot it was a game and just rushed to get to the next cut scene.

 

[demon lord 2037]

look at the final fantasy series it's basically nothing but story

 

[tobyornottoby]

If I had to choose between the two when picking a new game I'd have to go with gameplay,
why would I want to to sit through terrible gameplay to see a good story I'd rather see a movie or read a book.

If the game does it well, you're not seeing a good story, you're experiencing it, far more than movies or books could ever do.

A good storydriven game can get me all worked up so that when I finally face that bad guy, I can think "Now I'll show ya"

(unfortunately, when it comes to a lot of other emotion, movies (and books to a lesser extent) still beat the crap out of games anytime

I couldn't agree more with you. GAMEplay is more important in a video GAME than the story is.

Then maybe the term 'game' is too smalltime for such experiences

You can have all the story you want, but if you don't have the gameplay to go along with it, then the game is shit. I always love a good story, but I play a video game to play a video game.

This is the central difference. I don't play games for the gameplay. I play games to get sucked into that world. If the story can't motivate me, I see no point in playing at all.

 

[Altorin]

the two aren't mutually exclusive.

Just because a game with a crappy story can be saved by compelling gameplay and vice versa, they aren't mutually exclusive

 

[Killcushley]

Im sorry but what happaned to the good old days where there was hardly a story
you had to work most of it out like Mario for instance
the gameplay was addictive and fun and you kinda guessed as you went along that you were saving a princess from an evvil dinosaur type guy
Mario Bowser and peach
Story isnt as nearly as important as GAMEplay in a GAME

 

[wewontdie11]

Unless the gameplay is something ground breaking and revolutionary, I much prefer a good story, something that will interest me and allow me to actually feel connected with the characters, or make me feel like I'm actually having an effect on the current series of events.

Having said that if a game has a terrible story and good gameplay, I'm more likely to play it than a game containing really shitty gameplay and a good story.

 

[Eiseman]

Games aren't just about story and gameplay. Lately, I've found myself drawn in by the quality of a game's art design. Characters, landscapes, weapons or items... hell, even text font. I think the art design is a good indication of how much time and effort was spent in making the game, and therefore how good a game it should be by proxy.

And I'm not just talking "look at that gorgeous tree there!" because not all games are meant to be "pretty." It can be dirty bathroom facilities smeared with blood, squeaky-clean science labs, the rusty crowbar in your hand that looks like it would really hurt if you hit somebody with it, the scattered bits and pieces of a once prosperous society that's completely transformed into a horrifying hellmouth, et-freaking-cetera.

Stuff like that is what hooks me in these days. Maybe I'm just shallow like that, but I find that a game can still be interesting if it's dressed up nicely.

EDIT: Felt like it needed paragraphs.

 

[The Shade]

I'm a sucker for a good storyline. I tend to overlook the flaws in favour of a good story, but I know I'm in the minority there.

Take GoW, for instance. The story wasn't particularly riveting, even if the gameplay was good. But because the storyline (IMO) was mediocre, the game itself became mediocre.

Mass Effect, on the other hand, had what I believe to be a brilliant storyline. The actual gameplay in it may not have been the most adrenaline filled forty hours of your life, but I was an instant fan of the story.

 

[tobyornottoby]

Im sorry but what happaned to the good old days where there was hardly a story
you had to work most of it out like Mario for instance
the gameplay was addictive and fun and you kinda guessed as you went along that you were saving a princess from an evvil dinosaur type guy
Mario Bowser and peach
Story isnt as nearly as important as GAMEplay in a GAME

This argument has always existed. Classical example: Zork versus Pong =)

You're very right about Mario however. From Gamasutra:

This game is wholeheartedly a game, and doesn't shy away from it -- more, it embraces it. In the first level of Future, Ratchet may traverse an amazing futuristic city. Mario traverses challenges -- nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Emperor Inferno]

If I had to choose between the two when picking a new game I'd have to go with gameplay,
why would I want to to sit through terrible gameplay to see a good story I'd rather see a movie or read a book.

If the game does it well, you're not seeing a good story, you're experiencing it, far more than movies or books could ever do.

A good storydriven game can get me all worked up so that when I finally face that bad guy, I can think "Now I'll show ya"

(unfortunately, when it comes to a lot of other emotion, movies (and books to a lesser extent) still beat the crap out of games anytime

I might actually have to disagree with you there, just on the movies and books beating games part. I will again use the example of KOTOR. That game was truly the perfect combination of gameplay and story, and what you said is right: When a game does it well, you experience the story, and I did in KOTOR. It made me cry at times, there were times when I felt like I was actually emotionally attached to some of the characters and I cared what happened to them. Not a lot of movies or books are able to get me so emotionally invested. A truly great game, that does have the proper story and gameplay can always do better, at least for me, than movies or books.

You can have all the story you want, but if you don't have the gameplay to go along with it, then the game is shit. I always love a good story, but I play a video game to play a video game.

This is the central difference. I don't play games for the gameplay. I play games to get sucked into that world. If the story can't motivate me, I see no point in playing at all.

Again, the same point, just from a different standpoint. It takes good gameplay to suck me into the story, not the other way around. Where you get sucked into the game by the story, I maintain what I said before: A game needs to get both right. I'll use a different example this time-Diablo. In those games, when I got to the end, I felt like I was really showin him when I finally completed the game, be it Diablo, Diablo again, or Baal. It really was like, "yeah, there you go, asshole. Shoulda thought of that before you fucked with the mortal realm." These games, too had great gamplay and great story, and also great storytelling, great delivery of the story. I got sucked into the world of Diablo (and KOTOR) because of BOTH, but gameplay to a slightly greater extent. They were fun. That's why I kept playing them.

 

[tobyornottoby]

I might actually have to disagree with you there, just on the movies and books beating games part. I will again use the example of KOTOR. That game was truly the perfect combination of gameplay and story, and what you said is right: When a game does it well, you experience the story, and I did in KOTOR. It made me cry at times, there were times when I felt like I was actually emotionally attached to some of the characters and I cared what happened to them. Not a lot of movies or books are able to get me so emotionally invested. A truly great game, that does have the proper story and gameplay can always do better, at least for me, than movies or books.

Cool! Wish I was that far already ^^; it's just that my gaming experiences have not yet been as strong as some movie experiences

Again, the same point, just from a different standpoint. It takes good gameplay to suck me into the story, not the other way around. Where you get sucked into the game by the story, I maintain what I said before: A game needs to get both right. I'll use a different example this time-Diablo. In those games, when I got to the end, I felt like I was really showin him when I finally completed the game, be it Diablo, Diablo again, or Baal. It really was like, "yeah, there you go, asshole. Shoulda thought of that before you fucked with the mortal realm." These games, too had great gamplay and great story, and also great storytelling, great delivery of the story. I got sucked into the world of Diablo (and KOTOR) because of BOTH, but gameplay to a slightly greater extent. They were fun. That's why I kept playing them.

A game doesn't need to get both right.

Especially story. Some want their story in the game just to be like a story in an action or porn movie; just an excuse to get from action scene to action scene

Or more extreme, tetris or to some extend mario. Those need no story whatsoever.

A game with wrong gameplay has a hard time being great, but it can still be playable. I've played and enjoyed this casual game Text Express 2 just because of the 'story', while I hated the gameplay (I'm no good at word games)