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[Frozenprince]

I'm sure the story writers will suddenly transform into 10/10 gameplay designers. /s

Why would that even have any (relevant) influence?

This. What he's saying is not "we'll use the money and jobs we had for writing teams and voice departments on mechanical development" he's saying "we'll give you basically the same games we have been, just with less too them."

This isn't going to magically make the actual game parts of any of these games better.

 

[Eusis]

I don't like it as some blanket rule, but they really do need to remember that sometimes less is more, and that sometimes the story is just going to be a dumb superfluous thing no one cares about. I was annoyed by it in the Crew especially with the MP focus it had.

 

[Nestunt]

I will buy "less and less" Ubisoft games

 

[BigDug13]

Just replace story with more icons on the map of things to do I guess.

 

[Stiler]

It's not like vg storytelling is very good to begin with anyways.

Soma
Syberia
The Dig
Last of Us
Myst
Longest Journey
Grim Fandango
Silent Hill 2
Shadow of the Colossus
etc

Some of these stories are not told through a normal storytelling way, that you can easily put in a book or other means, they exist and work best as a game (IE Shadow of the Colossus).

 

[Obliterator]

Mass Effect Andromeda and Red Dead Redemption are probably the two biggest 3rd party games of 2017 outside of Destiny 2(which could have a great story) and the annualized sports/shooter titles. There is PLENTY of room for strong story driven games.

I never said they were dead. However compare the amount of story heavy single player AAA games currently in development to the same time frame during 360 and PS3 days. Here's a hint, there isn't nearly as many. And this isn't opinion this is literal fact.

The genre is indeed shrinking. Though not dead

 

[psyfi]

I'm honestly surprised to see all the negative reactions to this. I rarely like the story in games, especially mainstream AAA games. They usually just feel like C-tier action movies. I really can't remember the last time I cared about a AAA game's story. Maybe Halo 3? And even that is just an amalgamation of action movie cliches, I just loved the series enough to look past it, haha.

I don't look to Ubisoft for good story telling, and I'm totally cool with them downplaying that aspect of their games.

 

[Gnome]

But why should someone remove what makes a video game a game for the story to be good? It's like saying saying remove the acting from a film because it people get in way of the script. It's so ingrained and the positives of games is that story telling is interactive. Talos Principle, Fallout 2, Witcher, and many more pull people into incredible worlds and the writing brings it to another level.. Games can tell stories in a way books or film can't. Yes there is a lot of crap but not every movie is Arrival or even Dr. Strange there is crap like Trolls or whatever action flick.

I'm not advocating removing anything. I'm saying that I think games have a harder time telling a story reliably because everything is put into the hands of the player. It's a double edged sword, not all positives as you paint it.

 

[Turin Turambar]

I think the whole truth is that they simply dont want to invest in single player games at all.

Yep. It's all about integrated multiplayer, MAUs, games-as-service. It isn't about 'making the player have their own story'.

 

[Frozenprince]

I'm honestly surprised to see all the negative reactions to this. I rarely like the story in games, especially mainstream AAA games. They usually just feel like C-tier action movies. I really can't remember the last time I cared about a AAA game's story. Maybe Halo 3? And even that is just an amalgamation of action movie cliches, I just loved the series enough to look past it, haha.

I don't look to Ubisoft for good story telling, and I'm totally cool with them downplaying that aspect of their games.

The answer to "lets fix big budget x's narrative problems" is not "remove the narrative".

 

[Iceternal]

I'm honestly surprised to see all the negative reactions to this. I rarely like the story in games, especially mainstream AAA games. They usually just feel like C-tier action movies. I really can't remember the last time I cared about a AAA game's story. Maybe Halo 3? And even that is just an amalgamation of action movie cliches, I just loved the series enough to look past it, haha.

I don't look to Ubisoft for good story telling, and I'm totally cool with them downplaying that aspect of their games.

Mass Effect ? Witcher ? Uncharted ? Bioshock ?

Just a few examples from varied genres.

 

[Screaming Meat]

Emergent stories are one of the things unique to games, so the more the merrier, I say.

 

[StrongBlackVine]

I'm honestly surprised to see all the negative reactions to this. I rarely like the story in games, especially mainstream AAA games. They usually just feel like C-tier action movies. I really can't remember the last time I cared about a AAA game's story. Maybe Halo 3? And even that is just an amalgamation of action movie cliches, I just loved the series enough to look past it, haha.

I don't look to Ubisoft for good story telling, and I'm totally cool with them downplaying that aspect of their games.

Because Ubisoft games don't have great gameplay. That is why The Division is dead already while Destiny is still going strong.

 

[Nexus Zero]

Good. Story show, don't story tell. This leans into one of gamings biggest USPs rather than forcing them to be semi interactive long form movies (which still have a place if people enjoy them)

 

[Obliterator]

Yep. It's all about integrated multiplayer, MAUs, games-as-service. It isn't about 'making the player have their own story'.

All you have to do is follow Ubisoft, and the other major publisher's investor slides to see that AAA narrative heavy gaming really isn't the focus so much anymore. Costs / returns have a huge gap from single player primarily to multiplayer and co-op.

There's a reason even games like Uncharted 4 are loaded in micro transactions.

 

[NightShift]

Not sure how to feel about this. Ubisoft isn't known for their stories but it's not as if having less of them is going to make their games any better. What they actually need to do is step up their writing and direct it at making more interesting worlds and characters to fill it with.

 

[LordBaztion]

So,they want me to buy less and less of their games.
Too bad because I used to buy most of their single player games and love Assassin's Creed.
Thankfully I still have Bethesda.

 

[Putty]

Well, i'm a single offline player guy...never play online...so if this mean's less single player campaign games then i'm going to lose out. Not cool....

 

[cripterion]

I find myself wanting less and less Ubi games in my pc/consoles. Only thing that I'm remotely interested in is "For Honor".

The Division, Watch Dogs 2, Steep not doing it for me altough I'm applaud them for trying to do something different with Steep.

 

[Vetro]

I care less and less about Ubisoft games tbh.

Sure, there are genres which don't need a story or much storytelling, but you can't do every single one without that.

 

[Frozenprince]

All you have to do is follow Ubisoft, and the other major publisher's investor slides to see that AAA narrative heavy gaming really isn't the focus so much anymore. Costs / returns have a huge gap from single player primarily to multiplayer and co-op.

There's a reason even games like Uncharted 4 are loaded in micro transactions.

That's because instead of realizing that they are creating a bubble that will soon burst, publishers get on developers to continually make the graphics better with higher quality textures and particles, that requires modifications on already existing engines, or creation of proprietary engines, which takes a lot of money and time.

To shift to a different philosophy would burst the bubble and destroy AAA gaming.

 

[Iceternal]

I'm not sure "everyone and their mothers can have fun in our game" is going to pay off honestly.

 

[bobbytkc]

Well, if they want to do that they have to think of better gameplay loops than finding towers to climb.

 

[Kalentan]

Yeah the whole: "Make your own story" has been bullshit since day one. It's really: "Make your own moments."

The idea at least for me, behind the idea of "Make your own story" is something that actually allows your player character to interact characters and make your own story. But that requires another level of interactivity and AI that we simply don't have yet.

Like if there was a game that took place in a city and within that city is a bunch of NPCs and maybe there is a way to start up a crime syndicate or business. Something that would involve a bunch of characters. It would be cool if you could then get ANY NPC to get involved. Thus the story would react and change based off of what NPCs and groups get involved.

To me, that is making your own story. We're just not there yet and probably won't be until AI gets super advanced.

Granted this is how I look at it.

 

[Tagyhag]

...and you think those games would be improved by removing all story and characters? That was never the issue.

Again, considering this is Ubi? Yeah.

I rather play a game with all gameplay/zero story and characters than a game that's half gameplay/half terrible story and characters.

 

[PrinnyBomb]

but Child of Light was so good

 

[toddhunter]

So interpret this as more of a focus on gameplay. Sounds good to me, to be honest.

What Ubisoft games are you thinking of?

Less of anything will only be replaced with more meaningless busy work combined with more microtransactions so that you can avoid doing the meaningless busy work in order to really sink your teeth into the meaningless busy work.

It is what the fans want.

 

[StrongBlackVine]

Again, considering this is Ubi? Yeah.

I rather play a game with all gameplay/zero story and characters than a game that's half gameplay/half terrible story and characters.

Even if the gameplay is average at the best? What is your motivation to play at that point?

 

[Obliterator]

That's because instead of realizing that they are creating a bubble that will soon burst, publishers get on developers to continually make the graphics better with higher quality textures and particles, that requires modifications on already existing engines, or creation of proprietary engines, which takes a lot of money and time.

To shift to a different philosophy would burst the bubble and destroy AAA gaming.

Eh, not really. You just have to follow the AAA games without any sort of multiplayer or co-op or microstransaction and see they are performing poorly. Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Dishonored 2, etc. are all bombing / under expectations this year.

The market is radically shifting and people holding on to story heavy games aren't doomed, but they are going to have less and less to choose from.

 

[Mr_Moogle]

I haven't really liked Ubisoft's games since the mid 2000's and hearing stuff like this doesn't make me hopeful for the future.

 

[UnluckyKate]

Ubi game have average stories at best because their game design of open world kills any possible good, paced, story telling...

So either change everything or get rid of it...

They choose the easy way out obviously

 

[Zojirushi]

That's a bummer, their open world stuff is way too sandboxy and aimless in the worst way to begin with at least for my tastes.

Remove what little is left in terms of basic ass storyline and that's it for me unfortunately.

Also that's some lame excuse he's giving for not wanting to spend the money on writers and voice actors and stuff.

Stories are hard, that's what's happening here.

 

[spliced]

Sounds good but it's not easy.

Those who can do, those who can't tell stories.

 

[Lilalaunebaer]

They´re gonna have less story telling because all their games going forward will be online-coop/multiplay stuff because they can make more money off of micro-transactions that way. And a story doesn´t matter in those games 99% of the time, because you´re just chilling with your friends and having a good time. A cutscene is just going to be in the way and a waste of money.

 

[StrongBlackVine]

Eh, not really. You just have to follow the AAA games without any sort of multiplayer or co-op or microstransaction and see they are performing poorly. Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Dishonored 2, etc. are all bombing / under expectations this year.

The market is radically shifting and people holding on to story heavy games aren't doomed, but they are going to have less and less to choose from.

Tomb Raider didn't bomb because it was single player. It bombed because of that deal and releasing the same day as another extremely successful single player game called Fallout 4. I know MP rules, but single player focused games can still be very successful.

 

[ShadowSwordmaster]

It would be interesting to see what comes out of this in five years.

 

[NecromorphTX]

So... Ubisoft will have less and less of my money.

 

[SentryDown]

Most of you probably didn't read the article but as a french, I must admit there are some pretty interesting ideas in it and the thread title doesn't do it justice. I'll try to translate some parts later on.

 

[johnnydrama]

I love the idea of emergent storytelling. Been playing some This War of Mine, and if video games are going to move towards that sort of storytelling, I'm all for it. I have no patience for overproduced and boring cutscenes anymore. Let me see what you've got, Ubisoft.

 

[Ritzboof]

there sure are a lot of peeps ready for ubisoft to dump story all together. the argument that video games make for shit story blows my mind when video games are such an inherently immersive medium. AAA titles just regularly fuck it up or downplay it with a generally awful game, if you can say they really bothered at all. this isnt a general fact, and stuff like the last of us exists, but these examples of story-driven AAA games feel suffocated by this attitude that these big publishers resonate

i know its a meme, but wasnt undertale great because it was a good game with a good story that reflected its gameplay and premise? theres a lot of good shit out there, man, and when you look past the veil of the mainstream, you would be amazed at how much video games can come across as art

it breaks my heart to see a publisher back away from the idea of a story that requires effort to make with the excuse of going for a players "own story". i know something like that can be done to a degree, but making something as open ended and personal as something like skyrim takes another level of expertise and coordination. you dont achieve an open-ended campaign by firing your writers

 

[Hermii]

A lot of you are so fucking cynical. Less cutscenes and more storytelling through gameplay sounds ok to me.lets give them the benefit of the doubt.

 

[Rymuth]

Ugh this sounds kinda bad for the future of Assassins Creed to me. The Division would've been way better if it had good storytelling too.

The overall story and mythology for AssCreed seemed more like an after-thought, even unwanted baggage, in the latter games. I imagine Ubi just wants to crank them out without having to worry about Assassins and Templars and whatnot in the modern era.

 

[Javin98]

Considering I thought Far Cry Primal had the best story out of the last three installments simply because of how simple it is, I think it's a good move. When Ubisoft games generally have sloppy story telling, mostly unlikeable characters besides the sociopaths and psychopaths and poor execution of its themes and messages, a simple story like in FC is probably the best case for Ubisoft.

 

[storafötter]

Sounds good to me. I wanna play a game and have fun, the more time spent in unskippable cutscenes or slowly walking and talking, the better.

I agree. It makes the experiences intolerable.

 

[NoKisum]

If this means more games like Rayman Legends, hit me with 'em!

First comment best comment as usual.

 

[LoneliestGhost]

We want video games to actually be video games

 

[dragonflys545]

Ubisoft games never had a memorable story to begin with imo...

 

[Jangowuzhere]

I'm honestly surprised to see all the negative reactions to this. I rarely like the story in games, especially mainstream AAA games. They usually just feel like C-tier action movies. I really can't remember the last time I cared about a AAA game's story. Maybe Halo 3? And even that is just an amalgamation of action movie cliches, I just loved the series enough to look past it, haha.

I don't look to Ubisoft for good story telling, and I'm totally cool with them downplaying that aspect of their games.

Yeah, the stories that people create on their own are usually far more fascinating than the standard blockbuster plot shoved out by low grade writers.

Soma
Syberia
The Dig
Last of Us
Myst
Longest Journey
Grim Fandango
Silent Hill 2
Shadow of the Colossus
etc

Some of these stories are not told through a normal storytelling way, that you can easily put in a book or other means, they exist and work best as a game (IE Shadow of the Colossus).

Since the birth of video games, we've had some decent storytelling here and there. However, if you look back on video games in general. The vast majority of games do not have good storytelling.

Yeah, you can list outliers here and there, but the list you provided is still very very small considering that this medium has been around for several decades.

 

[Iceternal]

Most of you probably didn't read the article but as a french, I must admit there are some pretty interesting ideas in it and the thread title doesn't do it justice. I'll try to translate some parts later on.

I translated more parts of the article in other posts .

 

[Ritzboof]

Considering I thought Far Cry Primal had the best story out of the last three installments simply because of how simple it is, I think it's a good move. When Ubisoft games generally have sloppy story telling, mostly unlikeable characters besides the sociopaths and psychopaths and poor execution of its themes and messages, a simple story like in FC is probably the best case for Ubisoft.

the unlikeable characters and sloppy storytelling is the fault of ubisoft not putting effort into their product. a specific premise and cast of characters dont need to be involved in a long-running series to be engaging, what it requires is good writing and genuine heart. ubisoft (not limited to them, though) seems to think that so long as you push some arbitrary story and characterization hard enough itll stick, but thats what makes stuff so stilted and uninteresting

the fact that a game they made was better in that sense when they watered it down and didnt care says a lot to me