I've seen wolfenstein story praise a bunch of times and am always confused. It's.. a story, I guess.
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Game stories: Are they getting worse?
- Thread starter CrichtonKicks
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I've seen wolfenstein story praise a bunch of times and am always confused. It's.. a story, I guess.
What bothers me the most about writing in AAA games is that they have been firmly entrenched in sci-fi and fantasy for years, but despite the huge budgets and advertising that puts new books by the biggest voices in the genres to shame, they rarely offer much that's new to the genres rather than reheating what is already popular. The need for endless, recognisable combat with guns or melee weapons with standardised controls seems to reduce them to rehashing space marines, undead and dragons etc when the genres by definition offer infinite realms of possibilities.
I suspect the problem is that a writer is brought in each time and asked to come up with a plausible reason why this particular bunch of fighting factions of robots, space soldiers, Knights, zombies etc are fighting this time. It's not that the writing is awful, it's that their hands are tied by having to have a backdrop of a huge fantasy war and a lead character that's a skilled combatant to explain the endless violence half the time. AAA games are basically stuck where superhero comics were in the 90s.
I suspect the problem is that a writer is brought in each time and asked to come up with a plausible reason why this particular bunch of fighting factions of robots, space soldiers, Knights, zombies etc are fighting this time. It's not that the writing is awful, it's that their hands are tied by having to have a backdrop of a huge fantasy war and a lead character that's a skilled combatant to explain the endless violence half the time. AAA games are basically stuck where superhero comics were in the 90s.
Zeouterlimits
Member
The quality of a story, like an entire game itself is obviously quite eye of the beholder too (Heavy Rain? Are you kidding me?).
Well, 99% of novels are horrible and worth less than the paper they're printed on.
It's only because writing has such a low barrier to entry compared to games where you need to hire artists, managers, directors, programmers, voice-actors, stunt performers, and so forth.
So we have a lot of good stories by virtue of just the sheer volume of them being released = 1% is a lot of good books whereas for games that 1% is still the same proportion, but leads to maybe a handful of good game stories a year.
It's only because writing has such a low barrier to entry compared to games where you need to hire artists, managers, directors, programmers, voice-actors, stunt performers, and so forth.
So we have a lot of good stories by virtue of just the sheer volume of them being released = 1% is a lot of good books whereas for games that 1% is still the same proportion, but leads to maybe a handful of good game stories a year.
Funyarinpa
Member
I actually disagree with the "Gameplay must not serve story, but the other way around" sentiment. I don't mean that story can't serve a purpose of complementing the gameplay at ALL, but the thing is, I think gameplay can (and should more often) be used as a means to convey and complement the story. It's all right for gameplay to be the second banana, sometimes. Cutscenes go directly against this philosophy- the interactivity provided by gameplay being interrupted actively hurts any story (especially seeing as very, very few 3D games manage to not look horrible while doing it).
Let me elaborate.
So, story serving the gameplay would mean that story improves the gameplay, and that is the story's purpose, right? Well, I feel like that discards, disregards the merit of a game's story's merit as a story. I don't mean to imply that a game's story shouldn't improve its gameplay of course.
However, if the gameplay's main purpose is enhancing and complementing the story, I think we can have some utterly incredible stories -experiences- on our hands.
I think I'll be better off with examples from now on.
Case #1- Zero Escape. Everybody who has played these games knows that they can only be done in a game format, and loves them for the story. This game's gameplay? Room escape puzzles (which are NOT the reason the game is special, at ALL), and some choices you make here and there. It's the story that this series is loved for, and it's all thanks to particular gameplay elements that come into play late in the story.
Case #2- Persona. Persona's gameplay, besides standard turn-based JRPG fare with an addictive Persona fusion mechanic and bucketloads of style thrown in, is spending time with people around where you live, take part in jobs, improving your ingame character (Charm, Courage, etc.), making new friends. The "gameplay" part here is just walking up to people/places and initiating dialogue. Is it anything special? No. However, the way it's integrated into the story, its themes and character interactions make Persona something special and is the reason so many of us are so invested in the series. Hell, Persona 4's main story is far from being a masterpiece but the character interactions and the gameplay-story integration is so well done that a plot I would not have cared for otherwise has made me shed more tears than any other piece of media I have ever consumed.
Case #3- Soul Sacrifice (Delta). This one's a bit different from the others in that its story and gameplay aren't really separable since they feed into each other equally, but having to sacrifice a person you just defeated, or just someone you care about, with your own hands adds a peculiar and unexpectedly heavy weight on you, and the game has some incredible story moments based around the story. The prologue, for one, is a masterpiece.
Case #4- Tearaway. People say Tearaway has repetitive combat, overly simplistic platforming, and more style than substance. I can discredit none of these claims entirely, however, it doesn't mean that the gameplay complements the story- In fact, it creates a simply unique experience. Drawing crowns and snowflakes, and seeing them affect the level you are in. Seeing your own face in the sun, and being, as yourself, an integral part of the game's story and world. Tapping the rear pad to make iota bounce, or poking a finger into the world to toss Scraps around. The game takes a very, incredibly simplistic story, and by weaving you into it becomes a narrative masterpiece.
Playing games solely for the sake of the gameplay, while understandable, is missing out on both already existing masterpieces out there and diminishing the potential of video games as a storytelling medium.
Let me elaborate.
So, story serving the gameplay would mean that story improves the gameplay, and that is the story's purpose, right? Well, I feel like that discards, disregards the merit of a game's story's merit as a story. I don't mean to imply that a game's story shouldn't improve its gameplay of course.
However, if the gameplay's main purpose is enhancing and complementing the story, I think we can have some utterly incredible stories -experiences- on our hands.
I think I'll be better off with examples from now on.
Case #1- Zero Escape. Everybody who has played these games knows that they can only be done in a game format, and loves them for the story. This game's gameplay? Room escape puzzles (which are NOT the reason the game is special, at ALL), and some choices you make here and there. It's the story that this series is loved for, and it's all thanks to particular gameplay elements that come into play late in the story.
Case #2- Persona. Persona's gameplay, besides standard turn-based JRPG fare with an addictive Persona fusion mechanic and bucketloads of style thrown in, is spending time with people around where you live, take part in jobs, improving your ingame character (Charm, Courage, etc.), making new friends. The "gameplay" part here is just walking up to people/places and initiating dialogue. Is it anything special? No. However, the way it's integrated into the story, its themes and character interactions make Persona something special and is the reason so many of us are so invested in the series. Hell, Persona 4's main story is far from being a masterpiece but the character interactions and the gameplay-story integration is so well done that a plot I would not have cared for otherwise has made me shed more tears than any other piece of media I have ever consumed.
Case #3- Soul Sacrifice (Delta). This one's a bit different from the others in that its story and gameplay aren't really separable since they feed into each other equally, but having to sacrifice a person you just defeated, or just someone you care about, with your own hands adds a peculiar and unexpectedly heavy weight on you, and the game has some incredible story moments based around the story. The prologue, for one, is a masterpiece.
Case #4- Tearaway. People say Tearaway has repetitive combat, overly simplistic platforming, and more style than substance. I can discredit none of these claims entirely, however, it doesn't mean that the gameplay complements the story- In fact, it creates a simply unique experience. Drawing crowns and snowflakes, and seeing them affect the level you are in. Seeing your own face in the sun, and being, as yourself, an integral part of the game's story and world. Tapping the rear pad to make iota bounce, or poking a finger into the world to toss Scraps around. The game takes a very, incredibly simplistic story, and by weaving you into it becomes a narrative masterpiece.
Playing games solely for the sake of the gameplay, while understandable, is missing out on both already existing masterpieces out there and diminishing the potential of video games as a storytelling medium.
Well, there are and they are not.
Story is a rather nebulous word in gaming. Since there are quite a few moving parts in any traditional narrative, it varies to what degree a story is integrated with any game. That doesn't make games now worse that yesteryear, but that does mean that they have changed.
There is the obvious, you are seeing a lot more chaft now... making games has becomes "easier", so with the increase in volume few good narrative plots stands out. I think that the biggest effect to how stories are structured in games comes with the generalization gap between the SNES and the Playstation.
I am not sure if a lot of people noticed at the time, but the production of a game changed and game narratives changed with that.
Before that, games were a lot more book-like... you had plots that described nearly everything to simply due to the limitations, so you relied a lot on text to convey that. Playstation was capable of much more and, with the push into 3D objects at the time, it required more out of a production. You needed scripts, voice acting, motion capture became a thing once the Playstation 2 hit, and any narrative had to be made around that.
Partly due to all that, you noticed that narratives now are a lot more movie like with very few exceptions. Not every narrative can fit in the construct of a movie, and vice versa. I honestly thing that we might be due for another change of that size with the coming of AR/VR.... but we'll have to see how that shapes, for now.
But with all that said, does that make stories in game worse? There isn't a straight answer to that. Understanding what kind of games fit to which structure is a rather huge part of that answer. To be honest, I feel that you have games out there in the AAA space that are being miss-matched and with the volume of games out there today, the stumbles are a lot more noticeable than in years past. And indie? I think it about the same as it is in AAA, but indie on all platforms is a much more competitive space... so failures don't last nearly as long.
Story is a rather nebulous word in gaming. Since there are quite a few moving parts in any traditional narrative, it varies to what degree a story is integrated with any game. That doesn't make games now worse that yesteryear, but that does mean that they have changed.
There is the obvious, you are seeing a lot more chaft now... making games has becomes "easier", so with the increase in volume few good narrative plots stands out. I think that the biggest effect to how stories are structured in games comes with the generalization gap between the SNES and the Playstation.
I am not sure if a lot of people noticed at the time, but the production of a game changed and game narratives changed with that.
Before that, games were a lot more book-like... you had plots that described nearly everything to simply due to the limitations, so you relied a lot on text to convey that. Playstation was capable of much more and, with the push into 3D objects at the time, it required more out of a production. You needed scripts, voice acting, motion capture became a thing once the Playstation 2 hit, and any narrative had to be made around that.
Partly due to all that, you noticed that narratives now are a lot more movie like with very few exceptions. Not every narrative can fit in the construct of a movie, and vice versa. I honestly thing that we might be due for another change of that size with the coming of AR/VR.... but we'll have to see how that shapes, for now.
But with all that said, does that make stories in game worse? There isn't a straight answer to that. Understanding what kind of games fit to which structure is a rather huge part of that answer. To be honest, I feel that you have games out there in the AAA space that are being miss-matched and with the volume of games out there today, the stumbles are a lot more noticeable than in years past. And indie? I think it about the same as it is in AAA, but indie on all platforms is a much more competitive space... so failures don't last nearly as long.
When people say story most of the time they just refer to the plot thread that takes them throughtout the game. I believe that is incorrect as there is a distinction between the two.
A plot can be simple yet the story can be complex with good storytelling, writing, world building and lore. In case of Wolfenstein, you have a simple plot that is surrounded by exceptional writing, very good and consistent characters with good world building.
Even TLoU has a very simply plot, but it's the story telling, writing and characters that make it great. And while one of the reason TLoU is as striking as it is is because it is primarily emotionally driven, it is not something of a requirement for a good story.
Zeouterlimits
Member
Kind of a well timed article on the challenges of becoming a writer of games and the kind of gymnastics you have to do as the game evolves - http://www.polygon.com/2016/8/15/12455728/how-to-get-a-job-writing-games-maybe.
Langdon Alger
Banned
I don't know. I almost never pay attention to the story in a video game. I always skip cutscenes and if they're unskipalbe I'll just read the internet while they're playing.
His Majesty
Banned
In recent games only the stories from the Shadowrun games, The Witcher series and The Secret World have managed to impress me.
mickagau33
Member
It seems to be a trend going on in japanese games : Writers seem to mix "complex" with "convoluted" so you have all those badly-told stories with some kind of parallel universes. Throw in some fan service that breaks the imersion and the deal is sealed.
I am under the impression that japanese stories used to be more simple, not great, but at least less offensively bad.
I was almost surprised while playing "return to Popolocrois", which tells well a simple story. Or SMT4 which has a rather good plot and minimum fan service (Isabeau is a strong female character that is not defined by seduction for exemple).
I am under the impression that japanese stories used to be more simple, not great, but at least less offensively bad.
I was almost surprised while playing "return to Popolocrois", which tells well a simple story. Or SMT4 which has a rather good plot and minimum fan service (Isabeau is a strong female character that is not defined by seduction for exemple).
Definitely when game play takes precedent which is what we well expect and want.
I think another issue is studios aren't going for less is more. It's layers of stuff which isn't a bad thing to flesh out the universe if you want to delve further but when the threads are wrapped tight around the main plot, it's just confusing nonsense that chokes any story.
Games need amazing characters who interact well together and can give emotional punch to make up for weak stories. It's the safety net.
Agreed, it's still relatively early days.
The key difference between films/books v games is interactivity. The player has to be doing things. That is a hard thing to coherently square with a properly developed story, especially given that the "doing things" in many/most games amounts to violence (fighting/killing/shooting etc).
Trigonometrize.
Member
I would say the the quantity of bad stories is easier to notice because it's more acceptable to have your story front and center these days. This shouldn't take away or distract from the fact that video game stories are better than they've ever been.
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