03-18-2018, 03:31 PM
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.
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.
![[Image: StickerStageItems.png]](http://pile.randimg.net/1/70/80012/StickerStageItems.png)