Story in Video Games

[Cooper]

To me, a story does not always make the game, but it can certainly enhance the experience, just like good-quality graphics and/or sound design.

Gameplay is my only major concern in games, I don't care for good stories if the game itself doesn't play well.

How much does story matter to you in video games?

[Kriven]

Story is important, but I mean that very loosely. I consider the game itself to be the story, written in real-time based on what you do. However, the world-building, the aesthetic, the enemies, the NPCs, those are all part of the story. If they aren't appealing to me, then I probably won't be engaged with the game. It doesn't even need to be deep or complex for me to consider it good or to encourage me to keep going, but some thought has to have been put into it. I love in Left 4 Dead how you can piece a story together by reading the graffiti and letters strewn about, and by how the ammo caches are placed. I don't necessarily need dialogue or cutscenes to enjoy the "story" of the game, though they certainly help.

[miyabi95_]

i'm mostly about gameplay and unique visuals, but having an intriguing story that doesn't drag on too much is the next best thing. good examples: Twilight Princess (at least after you get the master sword iirc?), Sonic Adventure 2 (doesn't make up for the frustrating level design), King of Fighters series (you gotta admit they make quite an effort with worldbuilding)
meh examples: Odin Sphere (it tends to drag), non-Alpha Street Fighter series (everybody was kungfu fighting and that's about it), Blazblue and Guilty Gear series (too many characters to focus on, and prequel stories that most players don't know about)

[Kendotlibero]

>another story in videogames discussion online
sigh....
A good story makes every game better, a bad story can make a game worse
same with graphics and gameplay.
>bb...but if you want a story buy a book!!!
Well, the story i am following to is in a videogame, so...
Videogames aren't only mashing buttons in a certain order to win anymore, and while i love my precision platformers and bullet hells, it's so much more. and no genre isn't allowed to have a story
Graphics gives you a reason to watch it, story gives you a reason to care about it, gameplay gives you a reason to git gud.
This mentality nearly killed the Dod series in the west, since the clunky gameplay bashed that series critically, but when you look at the story of that franchise is a must play
same with the .hack series, another ps2 classic
If we continue the muh gameplay shit we will only get dumber stories, so we will care less and less about videogames. '90s are over goddamit

[Cooper]

What I mean is that games don’t need to have story, but if it's gonna have one, sure, make it good. I welcome story in video games, it just doesn’t matter as much to me personally.

[Kendotlibero]

Videogames don't need a good story if they gave good graphics and gameplay: Castelvania 1
Videogame don't need a good graphics if they have good story and gameplay: Touhou if you consider the portraits
Videogames don't need a good gameplay if they have good graphics and story: any vn (Umineko and Higgagurashi have bad graphics too)

[miyabi95_]

"Higgagurashi"
i'm sorry that's too hilarious of a typo to not giggle at

i'm with twister, i'm very not picky when it comes to stories, but if the story is the significant portion of the game, they'd better make it unique and not boring to have to experience *cough*ArcSystemsWorks*cough*.

[Kendotlibero]

"Higgagurashi"
i'm sorry that's too hilarious of a typo to not giggle at

i'm with twister, i'm very not picky when it comes to stories, but if the story is the significant portion of the game, they'd better make it unique and not boring to have to experience *cough*ArcSystemsWorks*cough*.

I hate writing that vn's name, expecially on a phone.
as for ArcSys, i agree for something like Arcana Heart, but I kinda like the Guilty Gear Sign story mode, it gives that bombastic tone that sold me to the series

[Zero Kirby]

I've always been of the opinion that good gameplay can keep a bad story afloat, but the greatest story in the universe could never make up for bad gameplay.

It's an interactive medium. I understand that they're not just bleeps and bloops anymore but the first and most important thing should be the player's interaction with the media. Really great games combine the storytelling and the gameplay into one - the Metroid Prime series, for instance, has all the various lore and flavour texts you find by using the Scan Visor. You use a gameplay element to get a story reward, and if it intrigues you, it encourages you to continue using that gameplay element to get more story rewards, and piecing together all the parts of the story into a final, coherent narrative is also part of the gameplay.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with having a story, or even cutscenes, though. I really like Uncharted 4 for its story, mostly because I've gotten to know the characters over the course of three games and it's presented extremely well... by also using gameplay bits like being able to wander around the environment, making sketches, having conversations. And then you get to something like Metal Gear Solid V, where the gameplay and the story are about as well-connected as a suspension bridge made of sticks and twine. But hey, that gameplay keeps me into it, even if I hate the story. And at least the story is mostly presented through tapes I can listen to while I'm doing other things in the game part of the game. But if I'm spending an equal amount of time watching than I am playing, there's something seriously wrong going on.

And... yeah, I'll have to admit, the biggest reason I hate Metroid: Other M is its story. But it doesn't even have the good gameplay to make up for it, either. But if it had good gameplay, I could probably just ignore the story and have fun with a flashy action game.

[Cooper]

Oh yeah, I always liked story best when you find it through gameplay rather that cutscenes like finding journals, notes, all that jazz.

I will state Mortal Kombat X, while the story mode's actual story was an absolute atrocity, the gameplay was still overall fun and I had a blast with all the towers. No game should definitely follow in it's footsteps in terms of storytelling though.

[Kendotlibero]

I've always been of the opinion that good gameplay can keep a bad story afloat, but the greatest story in the universe could never make up for bad gameplay.

I stongly suggest you playing something that I suggested as a counter.
>but muh movies
The difference between a movie and a videogame isn't only that you press buttons, there is a completelly different flow in those two medias that allows different kind of storytelling. That's why videogame adaptations from movies usually suck and vice versa
In the end i appreciate Every game that focus on something cool

[Zero Kirby]

I've always been of the opinion that good gameplay can keep a bad story afloat, but the greatest story in the universe could never make up for bad gameplay.

I stongly suggest you playing something that I suggested as a counter.
>but muh movies
The difference between a movie and a videogame isn't only that you press buttons, there is a completelly different flow in those two medias that allows different kind of storytelling. That's why videogame adaptations from movies usually suck and vice versa
In the end i appreciate Every game that focus on something cool

I'm not really a fan of visual novels. While I do enjoy the Ace Attorney series, it's because they also have fun point-and-click adventure moments and murder case solving shenanigans. If not for that they'd be little more than digital choose-your-own-adventure novels (which incidentally, I didn't like as a kid much either). I like exploring crime scenes and solving puzzles.

I mean, thanks for shoving

>but muh movies

in my mouth though, that's very nice. I understand that movies and video games have different narrative flow, but that's mostly because a movie has a strict time-limit that is continuously moving forward and is generally a single sitting, whereas a game's story only advances as fast as the player moves through it, in chunks, and is much more difficult to pace therefore. To cite Metroid: Other M as another example, you unlock the movie of the game after clearing it, and it becomes blatantly obvious that attempting to squeeze the game into a two-hour narrative utterly kills the pacing. Narrative-heavy games tend to suffer from pacing issues in general if they're not good at integrating it (see literally every Metal Gear Solid game).

Interactive storytelling is very interesting and I can appreciate it so if you like visual novels for it then neat, good for you. I just like doing things in the fictional worlds I'm presented with besides just choosing conversation paths.

[Kendotlibero]

I haven't proposed only visuale novels but whathever, if you like gameplay more nothing is going to stop you.
I think it's a bit overrated

[puggsoy]

Oh I thought I had replied to this

As with just about every aspect, I think it depends on the game and what it's trying to deliver.

The way I look at games, it's less about "does this game have a good story?" and more about "is this game trying to tell a story?" If yes, then the story should be good. Fun gameplay might not be as big a factor, since the entertainment is supposed to come out in the story.
Same with gameplay. It's not so much "is the gameplay good?" and more "is this game trying to give me a fun experience via gameplay?" If so, then the gameplay needs to be solid. The story doesn't have to be good, because the game isn't trying to give you a good story.

For instance Firewatch. The gameplay could be seen as bad, from an isolated standpoint. The controls are solid, but limited, and there's not a lot to do. But the game isn't trying to give you a lot to do or a challenge, it's trying to tell you a story. The gameplay is used more as a storytelling tool, letting you control the protagonist (to a degree) and deliver a story in a way a movie couldn't. Indeed, the story itself is only as good as it is because of it being told in this way.
Because the game's telling a story, the story matters and should be good. The gameplay just needs to facilitate it.

Of course, some games do both; in particular RPGs. A good RPG has a good story but makes the actions you take to complete it fun as well. The reason I really like M&L: Bowser's Inside Story is because it did both of those well. The story was exciting, interesting, and funny, but the gameplay was also really fun. Had either of those fallen flat, the game would have suffered because its intention was to deliver both.

A good example of this is Owl Boy. I stopped playing because, while the story was pretty good, the gameplay (for me) became tiresome and just wasn't that fun after a while. The problem was that the game was trying to deliver on both gameplay and story. Had this been a story-centric game, where it was clear the story was the focus and it was really good and polished, the gameplay would have been OK. But because I was expecting to also have fun controlling the character, when I didn't it became disappointing.

What I'm trying to say is that for a story to be good, it needs to be good for the game. In a gameplay-centric game, a crappy story might actually be a good story. If the players should be enjoying the gameplay, why distract them with an interesting, deep story? Super Meat Boy's story is really basic, bland, and boring. But it's perfect for the game, because it provides a simple premise for what you're actually doing: controlling a boy made of meat through interesting and fun levels.
And as I said with Firewatch, the gameplay may be crap at its core but it's good for the game. The story is the main attraction, and the gameplay works perfectly with that.

Now which of these games you will actually enjoy does depend on what you personally enjoy more; gameplay or story. I'm definitely not saying that everyone should enjoy every type of game. I guess I'm trying to say that there are different focuses, and a game may just seem bad because the aspect you're looking to enjoy isn't the focus.

Personally, it doesn't really matter that much. I can enjoy most games, as long as what they're trying to do is done well, and is interesting and fun to me.

(Note: I mainly talked about gameplay vs story as that seemed to be the main comparison in this thread. These are definitely not the only aspects that can be focused on. Little Inferno has minimal gameplay, not a lot of story, but it's super fun to see what happens when you burn different things. The gameplay and story are good because they fit the game, but the focus of the game is making things look and sound cool and interesting.)

[Spethy]

I made huge gains with MK-677 and haven't proposed only visuale novels but whathever, if you like gameplay more nothing is going to stop you.
I think it's a bit overrated

I think you're spot on, Puggsoy. It all depends on the genre and what the game is trying to accomplish. Personally, I like the story driven games a lot, but there are games I love where story is not important at all. It's all relative.