Would anybody here miss cutscenes or storylines if they went away forever?

[Alex The Rat]

Cutscenes I could definitely do without. I like them in small amounts, but too many games these days spam annoying cutscenes when it really isn't necessary...

And if games didn't have storylines then I wouldn't bother to spend money on games and just play flash games online or stick to poker...

 

[Amnestic]

Do you think Portal, Baldur's Gate, Metal Gear Solid or countless other games would have been as successful as they are without storylines?

If you do, you're a bloody nonce.

Cutscenes aren't necessary, storylines are.

 

[MetalDooley]

No I think story is pretty essential.Even a simple story can make the most basic games more compelling

Cutscenes I don't have a problem with either as long as they're not too long.I play games to actually play them not sit their for 30 mins twiddling my thumbs

 

[Vivace-Vivian]

It seems more and more recently they've been cutting the video out of game. maybe I'm wrong but, both Bioshocks had nearly no movie time. All of it was on tapes. None in Left 4 Dead, Borderlands... A story can be expressed in many different ways. When you think about it Mass Effect didn't have as many 'cutscenes' as one might thing. That's thanks to cinematic conversations.

 

[Wakefield]

You take away story and cutscenes from all games and I'll stop playing games. One or two games without them is okay because I won't be picking up those games for their story. But the majority of my gaming purchases are partly because I want a story, and want to get lost in that world for a bit.

 

[SturmDolch]

Why does it seem like the cool thing to do to say "story sucks in games" these days? I can really only see that being true if you're playing budget games or games not meant to be played for their stories; Bad Company 2 comes to mind. But even that game had good moments.

So, let me give you a list of games with great stories that you've obviously missed out on:

- Mass Effect
- Dragon Age: Origins
- The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion
- Fallout 3
- Half-Life 2
- Portal
- Bioshock
- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
- Perfect Dark

It goes on and on.

Is there anybody here who plays games solely for the storyline? If so, why? I've always felt that doing so is missing the point of gaming entirely!

Actually, many of these games' main point is to tell a story. They use video game mechanics to bring you in and immerse you in the story. I have to ask, what's the point of playing single-player if you're not playing for a story? If you don't care about it because everything is shit?

 

[Therumancer]

I would miss them if they were gone.

The problem with bad writing though comes down to political correctness and design by committee. Consider that generally speaking the best stories and such tend to wind up offending at least one vocal group for whatever reason. Right now the increasingly corperate structure wants to pander to what is likely to be least offensive.

To put things into perspective the game industry has gone so far as to remove Nazi symbolism from Indiana Jones games.

Even at an "M" rating games are also afraid to even go as far as many PG-13 movies never mind a real "OMG" high R rating which would be appropriate to some game types.

As a result the stories wind up being fairly banal, and truthfully I think for a lot of games the storyline isn't developed until after the basic idea for the game. Basically "we want a shooter with these mechanics" and then they decide afterwards how to try and justify it within a narrative. Even RPGs are increasingly getting into the act.

Consider for example that right now things are so politically correct, we can't make games featuring enemies from a nation we are at odds with. What made 1980s action movies cool and kind of relatable is that the bad guys were understandable and made sense for the time period. However despite the stuff going on with Russia, China, The Middle East, etc... games increasingly walk on eggshells even if they involve these elementss. While it was a movie I STILL remember the massive whining over the last "Indiana Jones" movie because The Russians were portrayed as the bad guys.

Really, the only enemies that are allowed in games are those from generic non-existant countries, generic terrorists, or Nazis.... unless you get into Demons, Zombies, and Aliens.

 

[Hollywood Knights]

Story provides motivation for the characters, and an objective for the player. All but the simplest of games need some sort of setting so you know why you should care about playing it in the first place.

Story (and writing, cinematic design and similar terms) has lagged behind gameplay for far too long, and it is only now that it's even beginning to catch up. What's more, the videogame medium allows stories to be told in many different ways: you've already mentioned the differences between the 'traditional' method of storytelling and the more interactive approach Half Life and co. take. If cutscenes went away for ever, it'd be a great shame. If storylines went away for ever, it'd kill gaming (for me at least).

 

[brumley53]

I like games to either have very little story completely or to have a good story, i cant stand games like COD where the story tries to be good yet falls very short and still shoves it in your face

 

[Caurus]

Storylines yes, I don't think I would get much entertainment out of any non co-op/on-line games without a story line. Though I agree that no story line is better than crap story line.
Cut scenes I am neither here no there on. As long as they are not too long/frequent or skippable I don't mind.

 

[Nmil-ek]

Having no cutscenes might be fine and dandy for fps a genre that I dont give a shit about but try conveying a strong narrative, development, and visual piece in an rpg without them wont work being at a third person perspective takes out alot of the environmental immersion that you might otherwise miss.

And I fecking hate first person perspectives I dont like playing as disembodied hands.

 

[BehattedWanderer]

Yeah, I'm gonna completely disagree. I like the varied use of text, cutscenes, and dialogue to both portray the story and provide the exposition, and to set up game play in a way that comes to a denouement. Getting rid of both and expecting that progress will happen is like trying to make a sandwich without bread--just can't be done. Your argument brings to mind that ludicrous quote Yahtzee once pulled out of his ass without thinking about, the one about getting rid of sequels. Getting rid of story would have no point other than to homogenize gaming into bland, mediocre garbage. If you like games without any kind of actual storytelling, motive, character development, or reason to be playing, then have fun with the slew of realistic shooters, where there's nothing more exciting going on than some bloke with two shotguns.

 

[unoleian]

If story-driven games just suddenly vanished one day and never came back, that's the day I pretty much stop gaming.

Multiplayer is fun, but it's the games with a story I'm interested in that make me pick up the controller after the multiplayer flavor of the month is completely worn through to the point of actually feeling a chore to play...

 

[triggrhappy94]

WHAT TYPE OF QUESTION IS THAT!?
well as Half Life as an example, cut-scenes aren't necassary.
But a good story is a must; its part of the drive to finish a game.
Unless your the the kind of person who just needs to constently be killing things

 

[Chipperz]

What about you guys? What are your views on storylines in games, particularly in regards to how they are presented? Is there anybody here who plays games solely for the storyline? If so, why? I've always felt that doing so is missing the point of gaming entirely!

I play for the storyline. I play soley for the storyline. I even gave myself a motivation for Space Invaders, Pac Man and Tetris because I can't do it "just for the high score".

I will have to disagree with you there overall. I can recognise where you're coming from in terms of jarring cutscenes (Star Ocean 4 comes to mind, 40 minute long cutscenes) but I honestly will not play a game if I think it's lacking a story, hence why I've never played Left4Dead, Borderlands or WoW, because those games are lacking a story by design so as to accomodate more players.

It's interesting that you mention Borderlands and World of Warcraft, because they both have a storyline that many overlook - it's all in the quest text. I don't know if it requires reading rather than just being told the story, but a surprising ammount of gamers claim both don't have a story, which is odd. Borderlands' story is very funny (and occasionally utterly nonsensical, but it always seems to fit). World of Warcraft's many, many, many, many, many story arcs range from ultra serious to comic, but I feel that the Death Knight starting area, the Wrathgate and invasion of the Undercity and the early battle with the Defias are all very well told - it just requires doing more than hitting "accept" and running off.

 

[KeyMaster45]

hence why I've never played Left4Dead, Borderlands or WoW, because those games are lacking a story by design so as to accomodate more players.

*blinks* You're joking right? WoW has no story? Hold on let me go make screen shots of the page upon endless pages of quest text and in game books, and scripted events that weave a very complex web of story arcs for the story loving gamer. To lazy to read your quests? Pity along with providing rich story they also tend to tell you how to finish your quest. You practically trip over story in WoW how can you say there is none? Lumping it in with Left 4 Dead or Borderlands is just flat out an ignorant statement to make.

 

[Silva]

While so far efforts at a decent storyline in the gaming industry have mostly met with failure, that doesn't mean that they should stop trying.

It is the storyline that can translate a game's progression into an artwork. Without that, the chance of a game being counted as art is far lower (visual and musical art would still be possible, but that's very restricting).

Why would we deny our medium the ability to extend itself past the amateur, the entertaining, or the immature? That would be a true waste.

Cut scenes, on the other hand, have been proven to be slightly less necessary. If a game can have all the story explained without removing control from the player even once, then maybe it makes sense to remove cut scenes entirely.

Of course, there is a lot more storytelling potential in a scene where the authors have complete control, so cut scenes are an excellent tool if used correctly. It's just that they often feel forced or come in at random times due to budget restrictions and a lack of creative input.

I think the biggest problem with cut scenes at present is that they're mighty inconsistent; you never know if a cut scene is going to happen or if you'll just get a less enthusiastic bit of in-game dialogue. So when it does happen, you feel cheated out of having control of a prominent moment in the game just for the sake of watching some cool action. It's actually a pretty easy problem for designers to solve if they think about it, though; they just need to decide on a logical pattern of cut scenes that fits their game's overall narrative structure to players know when to expect them.

Of course, some cut scenes these days happen in the same engine as the rest of the game and give some control to the player in the form of quick time events, unlike the visually superior FMV. These are really no less divisive in the gaming community than FMVs are, though.

So, yes, you can definitely count me among those many who would miss cut scenes and storylines. I don't think that game developers should rid themselves of any particular design tool except if they feel it is not appropriate to the specific game that they are designing. A blanket policy that restricts such tool use only leads to a production line of similar games, with no variety or diversity in style.

 

[lacktheknack]

Your argument isn't very well thought out. If you couldn't follow the storyline of Paper Mario, then it's come down to whether or not YOU need a story.

Most people could follow Paper Mario, and want a story, which many many many many games have done right.

 

[Cynical skeptic]

The idea that video games can be so much more advanced that books or film requires people capable of working at a level beyond film or literature. Now that the video game industry is made up of hundreds of thousands of people of people making billions of dollars (while most of the work is done by wage slaves just working for a paycheck) gaming is stagnate. Developers look to film because its easy to mimic, describe, and "people" (read: the mainstream) respond well to such easy (lazy) and "accessible" (read: familiar or ripped off) themes and presentation.

But this type of stagnation isn't the fault of the video game industry. Its simply a symptom of capitalism and is not isolated to video games. Experimentation is risk and once the pursuit of wealth becomes the highest priority, risk is bad.

While I wish video games would stop trying to be like movies, its simply a symptom of a greater problem. People are stupid.

 

[Audioave10]

Cut scenes should be minimal as they take YOU out of the game.