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[Always-honest]

Depends on the game and the story. I don't MIND a great story (yet few games i've played have a great story), but i also don't mind if it there is no story at all if the gameplay is brilliant.

 

[Kerned]

A good game story is a nice bonus, but sadly it's also a bit of a rarity. First and foremost a game needs to be fun to play; a good story is almost never going to be enough to overcome shitty gameplay.

A recent exception would be Telltale's Walking Dead game. While not quite "shit" in the gameplay department, it wasn't exactly great either. Fortunately, I found the story so engaging that I was able to overlook some of its shortcomings.

 

[FrontalMonk]

Obviously it's really important, but in a heavily narratively focused game the problem comes with replayability. Once you "beat it", will you ever go back to it? Depends on the game. The Phoenix Wright games I can definitely go back to, even though I already know the story, because I love the characters and after I've given it some time to sit on the shelf, I've forgotten some of the details so it'll still surprise me a bit sometimes. I have the feeling that even though I haven't touched The Last of Us since I beat it, I'll probably go back to it, but not for another year or more.

 

[LiK]

never played one

 

[CecilRousso]

If it's a game with story, then in most, if not all, it can make or break a game for me.

I really dislike games that put's story in genres that usually doesn't bother with it, and then puts not effort into the story. Like puzzle quest.

And I have no interest in spending to much time with really stupid stories, like the new Tomb Raider.

And there are a lot of games with good stories. Really enjoyed the stories in Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Fallout: New Vegas, The Witcher 2, Portal 1, Portal 2, The Swapper etc.

 

[Silky]

Whn you really think about it the "plot" of a game isn't really good at all. But the general theme and the dialogue between the character makes up for it. It's extremely rare to see games with a deep and engaging plot. It's why I love Legacy of Kain.

 

[cajunator]

perhaps Ill try it out sometime.

 

[PensivePen]

Depends entirely on the genre and game. I'm perfectly willing to put up with average gameplay for a story that's very entertaining. It's only when the gameplay is so bad that it starts to make me dislike the game that I would stop.

 

[georly]

It can be the glue that keeps the game together. Most of my favorite games had a decent story, but usually the story was interpreted through gameplay or was going on in the background. Super Metroid and Half life have great stories, but at no point is control taken away from you to tell the story. Story can be important, but it needs to be supported by great gameplay, or it's worthless. I'll watch a movie or a book otherwise. I wont put up with bad gameplay for good story, like some. Even the 'graphic adventures' like 999 and phoenix wright were FUN to PLAY when gameplay was present.

 

[Dio]

The actual playing of the videogame is the most important.

Tales of Graces F, despite having a shitty story even by Tales standards, was a good game. One of the best in the series, in fact, putting broken mashy bullshit like Symphonia and Abyss to shame.

I like a good story but it's not like I'll avoid the game if it's actually a good videogame.

 

[Dirtyshubb]

Holds little importance it is all about gameplay. If I wanted a good story I would watch a movie.

I never understood this attitude, some people seem so quick to point out that games have ‘crap’ stories or that they are nothing compared to movies.

Do you never see games as having an interactive story? Even from a linier game you still have some feeling of your actions being part of the story so surely you can see the benefit of playing a game for a story rather than a static version you get with a film that, other than your interpretation you had nothing to do with how the story got where it did etc.

Not specifically referring to you but it always comes across like people who comment like this are part ashamed to be a gamer! Quick to say “Well I only play games for the gameplay, not the story because I would just go to the wonderful story world that is Hollywood for my narrative viewings because only movies (and Books) can tell a good story”, same thing with people who are quick to jump on any game related t shirt and say “I would NEVER wear a gaming shirt outside, maybe something ironically but never anything else because that’s stupid!”

Seriously if we, as the gaming enthusiasts cant embrace the things we supposedly love then how can we ever expect anyone else to treat this industry with the respect it deserves.

 

[Silky]

I never understood this attitude, some people seem so quick to point out that games have ‘crap’ stories or that they are nothing compared to movies.

Do you never see games as having an interactive story? Even from a linier game you still have some feeling of your actions being part of the story so surely you can see the benefit of playing a game for a story rather than a static version you get with a film that, other than your interpretation you had nothing to do with how the story got where it did etc.

Not specifically referring to you but it always comes across like people who comment like this are part ashamed to be a gamer! Quick to say “Well I only play games for the gameplay, not the story because I would just go to the wonderful story world that is Hollywood for my narrative viewings because only movies (and Books) can tell a good story”, same thing with people who are quick to jump on any game related t shirt and say “I would NEVER wear a gaming shirt outside, maybe something ironically but never anything else because that’s stupid!”

Seriously if we, as the gaming enthusiasts cant embrace the things we supposedly love then how can we ever expect anyone else to treat this industry with the respect it deserves.

maybe if most games didn't have terrible stories to begin with, there would be a much more positive attitude. There were a lot of games released this year, and only three (that I've played) Had interesting stories; The Last of Us, Bioshock Infinite (yes it was a glorified clusterfuck) and Danganronpa (I played it this year.) Everything else wsa abysmal or otherwise, shit.

I want games to deliver both. A stellar story, and top notch gameplay. but in the end: Gameplay is the deciding factor.

 

[SargerusBR]

Most of the time i prefer Story over gameplay, that's one of the reasons i don't like playing racing or sports games, but there are situations that the story isn't very good, but the gameplay is (i.e Action games), so there is some sort of balance.

 

[Eggbok]

Depends on the game, for example Ninja Gaiden.

 

[mark1982]

Very important, I can't stress that enough. I found myself to be more of a single player person now and not play any multiplayer at all, since there are titles where MP feels tacked on just because...

I used to balance out multiplayer to single player games but now I have been swaying just to SP, so story is something which I really appreciate. I'm glad that studios are realizing this as well, and put more effort in their storytelling.

For a game like Dark Souls though, I would like more story behind it, perhaps a really in-depth design works art book with lore and further explanations.

 

[ComputerMKII]

Story is the only thing that's really important in a game. All the good gameplay in the world cannot save a shitty story.

 

[gothamghost]

I never understood this attitude, some people seem so quick to point out that games have ‘crap’ stories or that they are nothing compared to movies.

Do you never see games as having an interactive story? Even from a linier game you still have some feeling of your actions being part of the story so surely you can see the benefit of playing a game for a story rather than a static version you get with a film that, other than your interpretation you had nothing to do with how the story got where it did etc.

Not specifically referring to you but it always comes across like people who comment like this are part ashamed to be a gamer! Quick to say “Well I only play games for the gameplay, not the story because I would just go to the wonderful story world that is Hollywood for my narrative viewings because only movies (and Books) can tell a good story”, same thing with people who are quick to jump on any game related t shirt and say “I would NEVER wear a gaming shirt outside, maybe something ironically but never anything else because that’s stupid!”

Seriously if we, as the gaming enthusiasts cant embrace the things we supposedly love then how can we ever expect anyone else to treat this industry with the respect it deserves.

I enjoy a good story in a video game and I don't agree with the attitude of "gameplay or GTFO" but I respect that opinion because I think it is just their taste in gaming. I don't necessarily agree that people who feel that way are ashamed of gaming. For instance. some people like sports games and shooters and others don't but that doesn't mean they are ashamed of gaming because they do or don't like a certain genre and I think the same applies to people who like story vs people who like game play.

 

[GetemMa]

Very little in general.

For some genre's I care more, some less.

But if the gameplay sucks I won't continue to play a game, regardless of story.

 

[Mman235]

In the traditional sense it's usually used (cutscenes, talking, exposition) it means almost zero to me unless it's really good.

However, "story" In the sense of mood, art, setting, atmosphere, environmental storytelling and similar is incredibly important to me and is easily in the top 3 most important things a game needs to truly resonate with me. Shadow Complex sticks out as a particular example in the negative sense; the game is mostly enjoyable to play and well-designed, but the setting and atmosphere did little to compel me to come back to it. Conversely, Super Metroid (Shadow Complex's obvious inspiration) has almost no overt story, and yet the consistently alien atmosphere and design, along with the very small snippets of story you do get, is infinitely more compelling to me.

 

[Sorta Maximus]

I think story became and will continue to be more important as time goes on. And why not for an interactive medium with advanced CGI level graphics approaching or surpassing movies nowadays?

Sure gameplay is is just as important if not a smidgin more as it factors into the direct connection between the player and the game - but it's so much more immersive to care about the story. Some games like Tetris don't apply. Some games like Mario's try too hard and don't NEED to. Some games like Super Metroid only need a dash of setting and mood and let the experience tell the minimalist story to you (which is awesome but hard to do). But for all other games there is no going back. Imagine a Zelda with a Final Fantasy 7 quality story!!

The Last of Us would not be half the experience it was if it was all gameplay and no story. RPGs are popular just on story alone with sometimes straight up bad gameplay mechanics. So while it depends on the game, story is an important part of gaming and has been since the first 8-bit RPGs. I see nothing but natural evolution and I would say why would you expect modern gaming to embrace/remain story-less?

So while a great gameplay game is awesome with just top notch gameplay, a good story always makes a such a game even better and elevates it to new heights with new layers. Sometimes story is the reward for beating a level, sometimes we put up with less than ideal games because the story is that good (Soul Reaver 2 comes to mind). So while I feel gameplay is a bit more important, I was turned off of the resident evil series as the story just became utterly ridiculous. And in some good story games the gameplay was so bad I was turned off (The Old Republic for me), it works both ways.

If I only had to pick one I suppose gameplay would be more important than story, but it'd be a sad world if that's the way the medium choose to go (no story in any games ever). And there is a balance of story to gameplay and not letting one take over the other that games like MGS don't do well. I like the Bioshock way, you play as the story is dished out.

 

[Kerned]

However, "story" In the sense of mood, art, setting, atmosphere, environmental storytelling and similar is incredibly important to me and is easily in the top 3 most important things a game needs to truly resonate with me.

Yes sir!

 

[Sephiroth_VII]

This really depends on the genre for me. I can not overlook horrible game play even if the story is fantastic but I will trudge through sub par gameplay for a compelling story.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Zen_Arcade]

They're never very good, so I don't put much stock in them.

 

[Apoptomon]

I think that with games being what they are (interactive), that the gameplay is fun is more important overall, though I do appreciate an engaging story. I think it has to be relative to the genre though - story is obviously more integral to the experience in RPGs or visual novel games than say racing, strategy, sim, or moba genres. So in those games where plot is relevant to the genre, I think it is important, and quality etc of the story would impact on my perception of the game as a whole.

 

[hoserx]

I'd like to think that I care about stories and the sprawling narratives that games have become today..... but I find myself skipping cutscenes and not even paying attention half the time anyway. I'm more concerned about the gameplay, and how tangibly rewarding it is to me. I came to this realization yesterday when I purchased Nano Assault Neo for Wii U and found myself smiling ear to ear at how fantastic everything about it was. There's not really a story, just blow shit up........and it feels great. I feel the same way playing Burnout Paradise..... I just hop on a motorcycle and drive as fast as I can around the city, with my face about 2 feet from my 30" monitor..... the sense of speed, the responsiveness of the controls, and the size of the city all add up to a fantastic experience that feels like "playing a game", not watching a movie.

 

[Orayn]

The approach I like best is using story to provide context, flavor, and direction for a game's mechanics, rather than having it as the focal point of the experience and making every other aspect of the game conform to it. So yeah, count me among the numerous Dark Souls fans who have already posted in this thread; making a world rich in lore and atmosphere and letting the player sort it out for themselves seems like a better fit for the medium than creating a linear story-driven experience like a movie and inviting the player to participate by play-acting a few parts of it.

Story is the only thing that's really important in a game. All the good gameplay in the world cannot save a shitty story.

I see what you did there.

 

[DigitalDevilSummoner]

very

 

[Glass Rebel]

Depends on the game and my expectations, really.

In general I prefer games having as little exposition as possible, allowing me to explore the story myself or letting me fill in the gaps in my mind. The Uncharted style storytelling isn't really my cup of tea although I do enjoy it sometimes. I do wish that more games would look at Super Metroid (or Prime) and Dark Souls for story.

 

[RurouniZel]

I have to like the main character, whether they are good or evil is less important than if I find them enjoyable.

 

[Siegmeyer]

It depends how narrative focus the game is. But I put gameplay above all things.

Agreed. The developers of Bayonetta 2 could announce they were stripping all story from Bayonetta 2 as well as doubling the price and I'd still be all over it like ants on a dropped lolly. Strip all the story from Uncharted 4 and I'd maybe give you a tenner for it.

For most games it's hugely important now.

Sadly this. I love the fact that gaming is so popular now, but in my ideal world the story-driven games would be the smaller titles, and the big budget games would actually spend it wholly on the game, not on long, gorgeous looking, too frequent cutscenes voiced by a big name actor.

 

[DC1]

What does this have to do with gaming exactly?

For me (and this my be the tip of this issue)everything. The narrative is why I love/replay games.
It's like transitioning from silent movies to full blown audio...that was to much.

It's like the transition from anolog Tv to high definition.

While I can still enjoy space invaders briefly (I remember dumping a roll of quarter into that stupid box), I would now love to have a narrative and some form of a conclusion wrapped around it.

With respect to your tag, isn't it all about the story? At least for me it is.

 

[Mr. B Natural]

It depends on how important a game's story is to the game.

Lately, the trend has been to rely more on its story, therefore, it becomes more important. A shame since nobody in the industry can tell a story that's worthy of existing. If a developer has even the basics down then they're praised as gods in this industry.

It's the same thing as asking how important a game's puzzles are, or a movie's cinematography. Its value over other things is determined by the maker, not the viewer.

 

[Phantasmal Repose]

Not that important. I follow story for context. Gameplay is and always will be more important to me.

 

[Retro_]

I think story is pretty important.

Characterization of player characters and detailing the world in which the game takes place are both important in creating context and a memorable game experience. I mean there's a reason why we play characters in fighting games and not just a set of moving boxes or wire frame models.

but I feel those aspects should serve the core gameplay, rather than the other way around.(Ex: The Walking Dead has a much better told story than Bayonetta, but as a player Bayonetta is the much stronger game to me because it takes the former approach, while The Walking Dead is definitely a story first, game second thing)

Good examples I feel are Resident Evil and Bayonetta. Not the best told stories, but there's a ton of work and attention to detail put into the game's world which is shown through things like the optional files. I like this system because it allows for players that are just their for the core game to ignore the content, but offer a much richer game experience for the players who like to find and read those files.

 

[Heimbeck]

There are quite a lot of games I would have never played if it wasn't for story, it is
more important to RPGs then to something like animal crossing but in most games I think its a big part of it

 

[ScepticMatt]

Very important for me, at least as much as gameplay.

 

[MaximoffZero]

Story is many times my main motivating factor for completing a game. Gameplay is still king though. I can overlook a crappy story if the game is fun and I will stop caring about a good story if the gameplay is terrible.

 

[Zincalloy]

I need a good story over gameplay. For example, Vanquish had phenomenal gameplay and I was actually impressed by it but it had such a shitty story that I didn't care to keep playing it. I usually don't even play multiplayer unless it's couch co-op or 4 person couch DM. In general, I only play single player campaigns for the story.

 

[Skilletor]

Doesn't matter at all. I've played only two or three games where I thought the story was worth paying attention to. Unless the cutscenes are cool, I'm skipping them to get to the gameplay.

 

[Callibretto]

I need some sort of context of what the character I'm playing is doing these. not necessarily cinematic storytelling with tons of dialog and cutscenes.

game like Super Mario 3D Land is pretty boring to me since it's just a bunch of level with no context whatsoever, I can say I have fun playing it, but I'd rather play for example Rayman Origins, it also have very little story and just a bunch of levels string together, but just the little touches like you're saving the pink little guys, and the fairies who give you powers, just those give you some kind of goal like "I want to know what happens after I free all the fairies", or what's the deal with that red tooth I've been collecting about, etc. it's part of the world building, make the game more interesting.

edit:in 3D land, I felt like the motivation is to just get coins and reach the end of level. which is not very interesting to me. maybe it'll change in the future, but I stop playing after a while

another example is Might and Magic Clash of Heroes, I don't usually play puzzle game, but the addition of story and characters really make this game much more interesting. give me motivation to play.

or FTL, where the premise is really simple, but you make up your own story through series of random events they give you.

 

[Violater]

If there is a story element to the game then it had better be good, the gameplay should be entertaining with as little boring repetitive elements as possible.
If the game is intended to be all about the gameplay then the gameplay had better be damn good.

 

[Mengy]

I honestly prefer games that have NO story whatsoever. Games that are more freeform in nature, and encourage the player to make their own story as they go along. Games like Civilization, Minecraft, FTL, Terraria, Galactic Civ II, and so on. Often times games like Tomb Raider, Legacy of Kain, Bioshock Infinite, the action games on rails design, sure they can be entertaining but only for one or two playthroughs, after that the intrigue is gone and you know what is coming next, they get repetitive and boring to me. Yet so many Hollywood style games like this sell bucketloads, so a lot of people enjoy them. I'm just not really a part of that audience. I mean I'll buy them for cheap when they are on a Steam sale or something, but only then really.

I guess I value creativity and freedom in my games over a Hollywood style story and presentation.

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

not important, as a huge Etrian Odyssey / Mario fan.

 

[Hamlet Machine]

I don't know, I guess it depends.

If the game is trying to tell a story then the story better be good.
In this case, the story is important to me as it is the line that drives the experience and clearly an important part of the game's design. It is intended to be important.

If the game is only relying on the story as a pretext to introduce fun gameplay mechanics or as a setting than it can be a story about an accountant dog having a middle life crisis I wouldn't care.

 

[Floex]

If it's a story-driven game then absolutely. Time and time again developers seem to think they're writers, that they can tell a story that competes with Hollywood and it backfires 99% of the time. Bayonetta, a darling around these parts, annoyed the shit out of me with it's awful story that kept popping up after every section. Completely ruined the flow and pacing which ultimately, for me, tarnished the entire experience. Do not get me started on the mess of Mass Effect 3.

I don't need a story in say Wario/Mario games, a quick setup and away you go.

 

[Cheddahz]

It depends on the game

 

[QP3]

It's like a woman. It depends what I am looking for.


If I am just looking for something physical, and going on a whim/spur of the moment, then I don't care about personality (story)

If I think she has a lot to offer and am looking to spend a lot of time with her, then personality (story) is essential.

 

[Mister Wilhelm]

Depends on the genre.

If it's not an RPG or action/adventure game, I don't need it.

 

[EGM1966]

Depends on the game/experience.

If it's Dear Esther or Machine For Pigs or Walking Dead I expect something decent and nuanced given the light gameplay & strong narrative focus.

If it's essentially pure gameplay obviously I don't give a hoot - think say LBP or Mario or the like.

If it's somewhere in the middle - say Skyrim - then I want at least something solid but I'm pretty forgiving if the gameplay is good.

If you're shooting for both narrative/gameplay to be equally strong then I expect something like TLOU where it's all carefully balanced.

 

[Jarnet87]

It's the most important part, especially in single player action adventure games.