Writing in Games, whats your favorite?

[Allan1221]

My favourite script comes from my favorite game of all time, Albion. It is in my opinion the best game ever made to date, it is also abandonware. It encompases a large world with loads of back story and a perfect story line. It even invented a good deal of a new language, which characters acually fluently speak.

And since this is about the script it is a wonder full story, it could have easily have been a book if they had wanted, with twists and turns and a very satisfying ending. Give it a play, its not for all people as the combat can be difficult and slow at times, but it is a great play.

 

[fdbluth]

I would like to disagree with whoever said Assassin's Creed had good writing, because it... just didn't. It had an amazing concept (go into the... genetic memory? (wow, that's a sci-fi softer than jello) to different eras and kill people? AWESOME), but the writing was atrocious, all throughout.

Also, WoW had to retconn Dranei, because W3 said that the Eredar was an evil race that helped corrupt Sargeras in the manuals. Now, I think they have it so that that's just what the uninformed Azerothians believed, and that is a pretty clear retconn (not that I'm complaining, mind you, it's a really good move, makes more sense in the long term, but still)

My pick would be Bioshock and Portal, the games that I believe has the greatest writing in games created as of yet. It didn't resort to the Bioware method of throwing codex pages at you (again, not really complaining, but you have to admit it's inferior to atmosphere and gameplay telling you the story instead) or get its ass so far up its own ass that it could no longer hear the dialogue it was spewing like vomit (e.g. MGS4). In writing, they tell you to show, not tell. Bioshock and Portal, I think, are the best examples of showing, rather than telling.

(Metaphorically, since GLADoS did a lot of talking, and... you know what I mean.)

P.S. HALO? HONOR AND EMOTION? You kid, sir.

 

[thenamelessloser]

Planescape Torment. The only game to send me into a depressive state because I knew when I finished it that I would probably never run into anything like it ever again. And I still haven't.

Planescape: Torment is the only story experience I would want to have amnesia about the game so I can experience it anew.

Besides Planescape: Torment- Arcanum, Star Wars KOTOR 2, Jade Empire, Gabriel Knight, Deus Ex, Deus Ex Invisible War, and Dragon Age Origins.

 

[ChupathingyX]

I'm gonna have to go with Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction for this one.

For some reason I just loved the dialogue with all the fation leaders and the dialogue at the beginning of each mission between Fiona and the mercenary.

Fallout: New vegas also had really good writing, especially when characters talked about their past and had long conversations witht he Courier. Caesar's story is one of my personal favourites.

 

[No One Jones]

I would agree that there was a good story underlying Arcanum, but it was so muddled because of the virtually unfinished interface that it was hard to tell what had to do with what most of the time. I truly wish that game had been finished. As for KOTOR 2, I never thought I'd meet someone else who liked it. Another great story behind a mostly unfinished interface. Jade Empire was fucking excellent and its a shame Bioware doesn't want to do things like it used to, because todays Bioware games don't really hold a candle to the older stuff. Deus Ex is probably one of the best games ever made period, not just for writing. As for Origins, it was about 50/50. Most of the party members had unbearable personalities, to where I think I'd just hire a troupe of silent mercs to help me than have those schlubs follow me around. The party members were exponentially more interesting in Awakening.

 

[thenamelessloser]

I would agree that there was a good story underlying Arcanum, but it was so muddled because of the virtually unfinished interface that it was hard to tell what had to do with what most of the time. I truly wish that game had been finished. As for KOTOR 2, I never thought I'd meet someone else who liked it. Another great story behind a mostly unfinished interface. Jade Empire was fucking excellent and its a shame Bioware doesn't want to do things like it used to, because todays Bioware games don't really hold a candle to the older stuff. Deus Ex is probably one of the best games ever made period, not just for writing. As for Origins, it was about 50/50. Most of the party members had unbearable personalities, to where I think I'd just hire a troupe of silent mercs to help me than have those schlubs follow me around. The party members were exponentially more interesting in Awakening.

Arcanum is a huge game and confusing. It took me years before I got into playing to actually beat it. The game was fairly finished though but unbalanced, and unless you have a lot of time, hard to tell how good the writing actually is. Well, I think Ilike KOTOR II because I dislike star wars and the fact the game reminds me of Planescape: torment to a degree.
Jade Empire I would love to have another game set in the setting but by Obsidain. ::runs away::
I agree Deus Ex is a great game.
I Never played Awakening, but I think my favorite character in origins was Loghain,the poor sod, he really thought he was in a more realistic dark fantasy setting not a high fantasy setting with some darker themes. The story was pretty cliche overall and some characters such as the French chick with the shoe obsession were annoying, but overall, I found the story to be very fun, well executed, and probably the best I seen in a medieval fantasy RPG.

Spoiler

Bioware probably has some obession with annoying French chicks who love shoes because she cannot die. If you kill her in Dragon Age one, she is still alive at the end of Dragon age 2 supposedly. Bioware basically saying fuck you to your choices. lol (Dragon Age 2 was a mess story wise though besides maybe the second act with the Arishock. depressingly Dragon AGe 2 still had a better story than most games. lol but not close to my favorite video game writing/stories)

 

[No One Jones]

I would agree that there was a good story underlying Arcanum, but it was so muddled because of the virtually unfinished interface that it was hard to tell what had to do with what most of the time. I truly wish that game had been finished. As for KOTOR 2, I never thought I'd meet someone else who liked it. Another great story behind a mostly unfinished interface. Jade Empire was fucking excellent and its a shame Bioware doesn't want to do things like it used to, because todays Bioware games don't really hold a candle to the older stuff. Deus Ex is probably one of the best games ever made period, not just for writing. As for Origins, it was about 50/50. Most of the party members had unbearable personalities, to where I think I'd just hire a troupe of silent mercs to help me than have those schlubs follow me around. The party members were exponentially more interesting in Awakening.

Arcanum is a huge game and confusing. It took me years before I got into playing to actually beat it. The game was fairly finished though but unbalanced, and unless you have a lot of time, hard to tell how good the writing actually is. Well, I think Ilike KOTOR II because I dislike star wars and the fact the game reminds me of Planescape: torment to a degree.
I Never played Awakening, but I think my favorite character in origins was Loghain,the poor sod, he really thought he was in a more realistic dark fantasy setting not a high fantasy setting with some darker themes. The story was pretty cliche overall and some characters such as the French chick with the shoe obsession were annoying, but overall, I found the story to be very fun, well executed, and probably the best I seen in a medieval fantasy RPG.

I'll agree with you on Arcanum, I won't discuss Star Wars, and I totally agree on Loghain. Probably the most interesting cardboard cutout that game had to offer. Really a waste of a talented voice actor on such a poorly animated and rendered model. But as a character he is the one I can relate to most and certainly the one with the best writing. As for the best seen in a medieval fantasy rpg, I'd have to say there plenty better than it. Baldurs Gate for example. Shit, I even liked the Witcher better, but then again I'm from Eastern Europe and its got a very Slavic folk vibe to it. But when I think of good medieval fantasy rpg, I always tend to think back, never recent.

 

[thenamelessloser]

I would agree that there was a good story underlying Arcanum, but it was so muddled because of the virtually unfinished interface that it was hard to tell what had to do with what most of the time. I truly wish that game had been finished. As for KOTOR 2, I never thought I'd meet someone else who liked it. Another great story behind a mostly unfinished interface. Jade Empire was fucking excellent and its a shame Bioware doesn't want to do things like it used to, because todays Bioware games don't really hold a candle to the older stuff. Deus Ex is probably one of the best games ever made period, not just for writing. As for Origins, it was about 50/50. Most of the party members had unbearable personalities, to where I think I'd just hire a troupe of silent mercs to help me than have those schlubs follow me around. The party members were exponentially more interesting in Awakening.

Arcanum is a huge game and confusing. It took me years before I got into playing to actually beat it. The game was fairly finished though but unbalanced, and unless you have a lot of time, hard to tell how good the writing actually is. Well, I think Ilike KOTOR II because I dislike star wars and the fact the game reminds me of Planescape: torment to a degree.
I Never played Awakening, but I think my favorite character in origins was Loghain,the poor sod, he really thought he was in a more realistic dark fantasy setting not a high fantasy setting with some darker themes. The story was pretty cliche overall and some characters such as the French chick with the shoe obsession were annoying, but overall, I found the story to be very fun, well executed, and probably the best I seen in a medieval fantasy RPG.

I'll agree with you on Arcanum, I won't discuss Star Wars, and I totally agree on Loghain. Probably the most interesting cardboard cutout that game had to offer. Really a waste of a talented voice actor on such a poorly animated and rendered model. But as a character he is the one I can relate to most and certainly the one with the best writing. As for the best seen in a medieval fantasy rpg, I'd have to say there plenty better than it. Baldurs Gate for example. Shit, I even liked the Witcher better, but then again I'm from Eastern Europe and its got a very Slavic folk vibe to it. But when I think of good medieval fantasy rpg, I always tend to think back, never recent.

Don't know why Baldur's Gate 2 kept boring me. I don't think I ever beat it. I think I just really dislike the forgotten realms setting or something. I think it is more the gameplay that annoyed me. I tried playing the game again and got bored before getting past the first dungeon...

Witcher seems really cool from what I played so far and seems to have a good or great story but the writing at least in the English version can be pretty bad at times. (Playing Enhanced edition currently on chapter 2 in the game.) Sometimes, some parts of the conversations just don't make sense to me. The story has a great atmosphere and concept, and seems to have done the darker more realistic atmosphere better than Dragon Age, but I would still say Dragon Age has better writing. Come to think of it I may be a bit confusing here, Dragon Age's story was just average but I think the writing was fun to read/listen to me personally for whatever reason.

 

[Siifer]

I'd say Half-Life - the whole series.