Why does Valve hate stories so much?

[Lord Krunk]

Team Fortress 2 has a plot, what are you talking about?

Two construction companies, Builders League United (BLU) and Reliable Excavation Demolition (RED) wage corporate war on each other, and hire a crack team of 9 specialist mercenaries to do their dirty work.

See?

 

[xXGeckoXx]

Yes I noticed. I was replaying Half - Life 2 the other day when I realised that the story is useless. There are cutscenes but you could just as easily walk away from them or go to the toilet and the game would still make sense. Kill everything that moves and doesn't talk, go to places and solve puzzles. Also, portal.

It is true. But I did watch the scripted sequenced plot parts and I really enjoyed them. They leave it to the player whether they want to miss out or not.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

Spoiler

No valve does not hate stories. They hate one legged,Gray haired,Bearded Fathers. That is the real reason they killed Eli.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Left 4 Dead did have a story, but in order to appreciate it, you have to play it in single player. Otherwise, the other players pushing you to keep going will keep you distracted. There was the graffiti which basically showed how the other survivors communicate with each other, and tells you something about them. The cars tell a story of abandonment and desperation, and the corpses with blankets over them deliver a tale of loss and determination. There are more examples of how Left 4 Dead has a story, but again, to appreciate them, you have to go through single player, and take it slow.

This is exactly why HL2 was so immersive, Valve tell thier stories through player interaction and the environment, not 15 minute MGS style cutscenes. Citadel anyone?

I wonder how many people who go around saying 'The cake is a lie' know that it was never once uttered during Portal, only written on walls.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

No valve does not hate stories..

Please spoiler tag that post for the sake of those who may not have got that far.

 

[The Youth Counselor]

Valve didn't invent Counter-Strike.

No, but their employees did. Jess Cliffe and Minh Le who created the game both ended up as employees as VALVe and continued developing it under the company's wings.

 

[Same River New Water]

No, but their employees did. Jess Cliffe and Minh Le who created the game both ended up as employees as VALVe and continued developing it under the company's wings.

I know, but the game was initially designed outside of Valve with minimal story or character, and since then it has only been incrementally updated and graphically improved. If they released Counter-Strike 2, they'd be building a new game, and then they might take the opportunity to add some more story elements.

This got me curious, so I Googled it, and it turns out they Valve have considered doing exactly that. Here's Doug Lombardi, Valve's marketing director, in an interview [http://au.pc.ign.com/articles/856/856566p1.html]:

"With Counter-Strike 2, there's a big question between: do we go start over from scratch and build this whole new game, do we do something that looks more like Team Fortress 2 that is rooted in the old game but has a ton of new stuff, or do we just sort of take everything that's new that we've released and put that out in a new box? ... I think we're leaning more towards the two more radical places than just sort of rolling up the new box and re-skinning the box and putting out all the new stuff."

I wonder how many people who go around saying 'The cake is a lie' know that it was never once uttered during Portal, only written on walls.

All of them, I should hope.

 

[vampirekid.13]

tetris was a game developed in the soviet union, and by far the most successful game ever made by anyone in the soviet and potentially in the world.

it was the only thing that america took from the soviet when they were at war with them, because despite the war the game was too damn awesome to ignore.

tetris is 25 years old, and is still one of the most played games.

tetris has no story.

 

[bjj hero]

Seeing that they are working on another Left 4 Dead, I'm starting to wonder why Valve have made such point of removing most or all story from there games

Whats the hang up with story?
The important part of a game? Gameplay. Even games known for there story telling break down to nothing better than a B movie. There is no "God father" style delivery in any game. The story was well done (for a game) in CoD4 but in reality it has all the story depth of a throw away action movie. Its different leagues. If you want a story, read a book, there's millions of them. If I want to have an enjoyable gaming experience, I'll play games. The move towards 20 minute cut scenes in games is horrible. Its worse when its a fucking rant on nano-bots. MGS can kiss my ass.

A short cut scene to collect my thoughts/get a drink/relax my thumbs or to hide a loading screen is fine. Just don't be pretentious enough to tell me its a master piece of story telling. If you a story telling genius you'd write or make films. Im not a valve fan boy. Ive played about 3 rounds of CS and the demo for L4D. I just hate people whining about story, pushing for discs full of self important cut scenes and wankery instead of new game play.

No one ever asked about pacman's motivation.

 

[Scarecrow38]

Left 4 Dead does have a story. It's subtle, you piece together the universe from what you see. Writing on walls, medical announcement posters, groups of buses, barricades, blankets over bodies.

If you listen to the developer's commentary, the developers explain why they didn't link the campaigns together so explicitly.

I actually like Valve's approach to story. Part of the story is the depiction of the universe. It operates on a much deeper level. In a real life scenario, it isn't like every step of the way is obviously explained to you.

Halo has a very explicit story (always someone telling you exactly what is going on and what needs to happen), but also a very shallow and not-well-told story. In half life and l4d, the world you're in continues to give information about what's going on and what has happened. Eli and Kliener don't sit you down and explain exactly what is going to happen and what needs to be done. The story is more natural because it flows from the circumstances of the world's events.

Halo's story is the characterss defining what is going to happen and why.. very simple and very shallow and very inorganic.

 

[ben---neb]

Seeing that they are working on another Left 4 Dead, I'm starting to wonder why Valve have made such point of removing most or all story from there games

They are, after all, behind Team Fortress, Counter-Strike and Left 4 Dead; all games focus on online gaming, that lack a story/campaign mode (Before you rule L4D as an exception, I'll just point out that the little story to that game seems satirically flat).
I suppose it makes sense, since most of the audience is jaded about stories in games. Most games, especially shooters, seem to have a flimsy story to tie the gameplay into a neat singleplayer experience, but are usually lengthier and less linear. Valve is different in that they are completely devoid of that system. Even in Half-Life and other games from Valve, the story seems to simpler, taking a backseat to the mood and atmosphere.

So, any one else notice? Or, am I over-analyzing?

Also, Left 4 Dead doesn't have a story, stop contradicting me!

Sorry but I think you're missing what Valve is all about. All their games do tell a story but it's a subtle one that is inferred rather than spelt out in plain letters. Left 4 Dead and Protal both have messages on walls that gives clues to the background story. Team Fortress has the 'Meet the..' videos and a tiny descriptive paragraph on their website. In all these cases your imagination is stimulated to fit in the blanks. TF2 encourages me to make up my story about why these two teams are fighting.

And take Half Life 2 for example, when I play it I see it primarily as a love story between Gordon (i.e. me) and Alyx. When I play the game my motivation for playing stems from wanting to save Alyx. Someone else playing it might follow the 'save the world' story line instead.

In my opinion Valve is a master story teller that let's the indivdual create their own story that they like the best. They ignore the big, obvious, boring cutscenes found in other games and instead use subtle hints and clues to create a story which is far more real.

 

[Rogue of Hearts]

Listen to the L4D commentary. They had a story planned but removed it so all the fucking retards would not feel left out when they just wanted to play multiplayer.

why didn't they just leave the cutscenes and what not in single player with an option to skip them if so desired?

 

[Merteg]

I'd say Valve makes the best stories in video games I've ever played, as well as the best games.

 

[Halfbreed13]

TF2 is about a bunch of mercenaries who took up the bright idea to build their bases within walking of eachother's, they have an identical twin on the other team (not always) and when they die they can resurrect after a while and go back to the fight. They have about 20-10 minutes to capture the other base or defend their's before the almighty time limit descends upon them. Also the Red Spy has sexuel relations with the Blu Scout's mother and the Blu Spy with the Red Scout's mother.

That's the story for TF2, that's it in a nutshell.

Don't forget that the Sandvich is the crazy lady's voice and wields the power of the time limit.

 

[balimuzz]

Portal and Half-Life have amazing stories! Also, apparently the new L4D is going to have connected campaigns, with an overarching story. I'm not sure if that means that you'll just be playing as the same people, or if there will be any kind of story to speak of.

My quess is that the different areas of the campaigns will be more connected. In the first L4D you can only imagine how they ended up at the next campaign.

Exactly. I think that in this, you might be playing as characters that are fighting their way across the south, which is where the game supposedly takes place. I'm excited to see how they do it, and if they drop any clues into the environment to fill out the story a little more.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

No valve does not hate stories..

Please spoiler tag that post for the sake of those who may not have got that far.

Ah right I forgot about those who have yet to beat the game. Althought it has been what 4-3 years. At that rate Valve will anounnce episode 3 before they finish.

 

[TiteAce]

Really lame, Valve hate stories? Look at Half-Life. One of the best stories in games anywhere Valve releases a few games without a basic sotry and 'there removing all story from their games'

...

 

[Ashbax]

They dont hate stories - they just got rid of them for TF2 and L4D becuase that would kinda kill the replayability of L4D, and for TF2...Well, there is one, but its rather unknown and mild, but honestly. Does TF2 need a fecking story?

It has a Large russian man with a minigun. THEREFORE. It doesnt need a story.

 

[legionofdugi]

i see where you are coming from here, i can agree with it, but i know so many ppl who dont give 2 shits about the story and just want to have fun. now dont get me wrong i love story, lol FF fan haha, but i have friends that have been playing COD4 for 6 months and still havent tried campaign lol