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[FUNKNOWN iXi]

and for gamers who really just care about gameplay, a great way to keep them entertained by cutting down time spent watching the screen rather than playing.

Food for thought.

But wouldn't that cause them to cut down on gameplay more if you have to read everything? Sure it's optional, but so is the story if you want to skip cutscenes, not to mention a cutscene is shorter than reading many lines of text.

 

[Toreal]

No way, I like the soul series because of game play, the story and its presentation of it I couldn't care less about.
I dont get the " I like this cookie and now I want every cookie to taste like this now" mentality.
Bring on evolution and diversity I say!

 

[Sirim]

As others have pointed out, standardizing a single storytelling method for an entire medium sounds ridiculous.

 

[LordBaztion]

It works for the Souls series because isolation is part of the aesthetics. Unless that is your purpose while developing a game, you shouldn't use that method. However, every game needs a bit of passive storytelling but depends on the game if it uses it as it primary storytelling device..

 

[Dimmle]

I love piecing together me some lore, but I don't think I'd like to entirely do away with the traditional narrative.

The way games like Dark Souls and Metroid Prime handle backstory is definitely more unique to the medium, though.

 

[Shin Kojima]

I'm all for story telling that doesn't get in the way of actually playing the game so yeah, I prefer it.

 

[Braag]

No, there shouldn't be such a thing as standard story telling in games.

 

[Manu]

If I want to be spoonfed story/world background, I can watch a movie.

You say this like there's no middle ground.

 

[Zaku]

Hell no.

It works for atmospheric games, where the world is as much a part of the story as the characters, if not more so.

It would ruin character-driven stories.

 

[RoboPlato]

Holy crap no. I could see it becoming more popular but not a standard. Characterization and context fly out the window with that approach.

 

[BeatResetsTheWorld]

Why is this attributed to Souls in any way? Games have been doing this for years before

 

[abstract alien]

Yes, especially if you don't have a great narrative and VA to begin with. It just brings the value of your product down when everything is good until you have to stop playing because they want to tell you a shit story that barely qualifies as a piece of work.

 

[Omnipunctual Godot]

The Souls series doesn't really tell a story. It just short of shoves kibbles of lore into a leaf blower and blasts them haphazardly across the land.

There is nothing haphazard about the stories' dispensation; it is very methodically done.

 

[CrimsonCrescendo]

.

 

[JudgmentJay]

No, Souls' method is good because it's not common. It also fits in with the theme of the game. Also, I don't think everyone would be able to pull it off. Miyazaki and/or his team is what makes it work so well in Demon's Souls and Dark Souls 1. I feel that it's a hard thing to do right.

 

[Servbot24]

Why is this attributed to Souls in any way? Games have been doing this for years before

It's not. Souls is simply a famous example.

 

[FleckSplat]

Mainly for RPG's or action adventure titles. Rather than having a direct story that is told through cutscenes after cutscenes and narrative expositions, have the player explore the environment and learn the lore by talking to people and reading item description. For story-centric, cinematic games (like The Order 1886), I suppose this wasn't an option for them, but what about everyone else?

Many people liked this indirect approach of story-telling, and for gamers who really just care about gameplay, a great way to keep them entertained by cutting down time spent watching the screen rather than playing.

Food for thought.

Yes, perhaps every item you get could be called a "grimoire" and you could read the text at your leisure. Everybody wins!

 

[Molemitts]

Yes, I think it would be good if more developers were encouraged to explore more subtle storytelling techniques if they want to, without fearing that it is too difficult to "get" for the audience. But it should definitely start with an interest in telling that sort of narrative, and not as some sort of expected standard of a genre.

Of course. I doubt it will ever be a standard any time soon, because it can be hard to pull off and developers might fear people not understanding the plot. Cutscenes with exposition and dialogue, are not the best way to tell the story of a video game, in my opinion. Currently that is the standard, though. I don't think there should be one single of of expressing a games plot, but the Souls way is my preferred style.

 

[bobbychalkers]

Never, why limit something like storytelling to one method?

 

[Grisby]

Nope. Not at all. The souls games have some interesting settings but story is not at the top of the pros list for me.

 

[BouncyFrag]

No.

 

[Maintenance]

No, story-telling should not have a standard.

 

[Mobius and pet octopus]

I don't think there should be one way of telling a story for every game, no. I think a lot of games can learn and take some cues from Dark Souls but that style wouldn't work for every game.

This. Plus I am totally confused about the dark souls story.

I like the way many games tell stories. There shouldn't be limitations or a halt in experimentation.

IF THERE WAS A BEST, way to tell a story, it is through the player interactions with the game. I think the best example of this is shadow of mordor. Every orc in the game can suddenly become a personal part of the player's story if it kills the player and becomes a captain. And the nemesis system just makes it so your history with each orc is basically a part of the game's story.

Games with choice, branching paths, multiple solutions, etc., I think those are the best ways to tell a story. But I still think more traditional cut-scene oriented games are fine too.

 

[Neiteio]

Not every RPG is set in a desolate shadow world, so the roundabout learn-the-lore-through-background-detail approach is not always the best idea. It works well for Souls, but other games have more character interaction, etc., that lends itself better to traditional cutscenes, setpiece events, talk-as-we-walk exposition, and so on.

 

[abstract alien]

Why is this attributed to Souls in any way? Games have been doing this for years before

I think it's just used as a reference point, not as an origin.

 

[Glass Rebel]

Definitely not. I still want my text-heavy Obsidian games, my filmic Naughty Dog games and my over the top ridiculous Platinum games.

I still think more games should copy Metroid's storytelling like DS did tho

 

[Guevara]

Yes yes yes.

If I want to be spoonfed story/world background, I can watch a movie.

Dark Souls (mainly 1, less 2) does something only a video game can do: allow you to find your own story. It's immersive, satisfying, and interesting beyond all else.

This is the reason Dark Souls is one of my favorite games of all time, not the supposed difficulty.

Yep.

Dark Souls has one of my favorite stories in gaming, no joke.

 

[SoraanTribal]

No thanks. I love the Souls games and I know they have a "story", but it feels like it's barely there at all. That's fine and I love those games for that, but in other RPGs, I like cutscenes and actually having the story be up front and center.

 

[zenosparadox]

Not for something as artistic as the story. It should fit within the game's design instead of meeting some arbitrary "standard".

Should all games have dialogue trees?
Should all games have morality systems?
Should all games have cryptic stories?
Should all games outright explain every piece of the story?

If you answered yes to any of the previous questions, please show yourself to the door.

Spoiler

No, seriously. There should never be absolutes in game design, let alone something like the story.

 

[RetroStu]

I don't even know if you can say that the Souls games have a story, its barely there if they do.

I actually prefer heavy story based games, it makes me more interested in the games and the characters.

 

[And_Gignac]

No. Thats a boring, lazy and uneventful way of telling a story.

 

[Crossing Eden]

no

 

[Neiteio]

I don't even know if you can say that the Souls games have a story, its barely there if they do.

I actually prefer heavy story based games, it makes me more interested in the games and the characters.

The Souls games definitely have stories, and damn good ones, but half of the joy is piecing them together like an archaeologist trying to figure out an ancient civilization. That only works because the story is set after everything's gone to shit. In other RPGs, you're present while civilization is still alive and kicking, with more characters and more interaction, etc. Other styles of storytelling may work better in that case.

 

[AlexBasch]

Good god why you people want to shoehorn everything from Dark Souls into fucking everything.

 

[Boombloxer]

No.

There's more than one way to tell an effective story.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

This desire for all games to be the same. It's ridiculous.

 

[Afrodium]

I'm not opposed to this, but it has to make sense within the world. Souls games can pull it off because you're exploring ruins in which everyone is half mad and any exposition given by the world/NPCs is going to be cryptic because the lore itself is mysterious and not necessarily known by most people.

One could argue that The Elder Scrolls tells its story in the same way that Souls games do, but it just so happens that the people you talk to and the lore the player can read is naturally more descriptive. People are aware of the politics of the world they live in, and can sanely explain them to the player. It would be bizarre if the NPCs in Skyrim just uttered cryptic sentences and laughed manically.

Destiny is an example of a game that tried to tell its story like a Souls game and failed miserably because it makes no goddamn sense that NPCs would barely talk to the player and have no reaction when ancient artifacts are returned to them. When the player helps sane people with quests, it's weird when they barely talk or acknowledge the player.

 

[Fjordson]

No way. Honestly never thought it was quite as effective as some people make it out to be.

 

[Sammy Samusu]

There is a story to follow in Souls game?

 

[Black Mantis]

No.

There's more than one way to tell an effective story.

This for me as well.

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

There is a story to follow in Souls game?

Only if one has the attention to follow it

 

[Maintenance]

Good god why you people want to shoehorn everything from Dark Souls into fucking everything.

This. Keep the Souls series in the fucking Souls series.

And people get angry when somebody says "The Dark Souls of X", well, if people keep giving suggestions like this one they will continue doing that, of course.

 

[Larsa]

Nah, but I sure wish it was more common.

 

[LegendofDragoonLives]

No, the story for Demons Souls was garbage. It's pretty much the only aspect of the series that I did not like whatsoever.

There is a story to follow in Souls game?

If you read a bunch of really boring sentences, yes. You haven't missed much though, don't worry.

 

[lolosgolos]

The Witcher 2 did the story telling better. Souls should stick to Souls. Hope Bloodbourne story is not told like Souls

 

[Denton]

Absolutely not. As much as I enjoy Dark Souls, its storytelling did nothing for me compared to games like New Vegas or Witcher 2 or Torment.

 

[kpaadet]

While I agree with most here that the Dark Souls way of storytelling shoundn't be the standard, I find it kinda funny some saying having a stardard for storytelling for an entire medium is ridiculous considering movies have had it for a long time.

 

[JudgmentJay]

The Witcher 2 did the story telling better. Souls should stick to Souls. Hope Bloodbourne story is not told like Souls

It will be. I believe they said that they want the story to be a bit deeper, but the delivery will most likely be similar. Maybe a bit more character dialogue so that the story/goal/mystery is more obvious. It's Miyazaki though... he's stated again and again his love for vague exposition and environmental storytelling. Don't expect anything to be heavy-handed like a traditional RPG.

 

[Figboy79]

God no.

Variety is what makes the gaming industry so amazing, and I'd hate to see it go. I love the Souls games, and their way of telling a story, but not all games need to follow that narrative.

Developers should be free to tell their narrative in whatever way they'd like to. Whether cutscenes, QTE's, or indirectly through the environment, dead drops, relics, etc, etc. Not every game needs to be like a Souls game.

 

[Look! The Pie!]

No way. I love the Souls series and its approach to storytelling, but it just wouldn't work the same in character/plot driven games.

Not getting at you specifically OP, but this attitude of "All games should do X because that's how Dark Souls does it" is something I've been seeing a lot lately.