[QUOTE="a_sh0pping_cart"][QUOTE="KHAndAnime"] Really, I'm not trying to be a dick. There's nothing wrong with wishing for an FPS with a good story, but when people are saying what they enjoy most from a game is the story, then I can't help but feel puzzled. Regarding your point about Avatar - ticket sales are irrelevant to the quality of a movie, and I believe the quality of a movie and its story are mutually exclusive. Story-wise, I consider Avatar to be bottom of the barrel (yet still beyond videogame stories).
So let's pick some movies with good stories...I'll go with The Shawshank Redemption, 12 Angry Men, and One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I think we can all find some common ground regarding what makes a good story. So, at least entertain me with your opinion, what game stories do you think are better than the stories in the movies I mentioned?
If you can't think of any - then why do you enjoy stories found in videogames so much? Wouldn't you agree that it's not a very good medium to tell a meaningful, theme-driven story compared to literature or cinema?
KHAndAnime
Hopefully you don't mind me jumping in! But I can't help but refer to what James Paul Gee writes in his book What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. It's not that one medium is vastly superior over the other in terms of potential quality of a story, they're just very different experiences. Take a game like Deus Ex, the way you play the game is a large factor in how detailed of a story you get. Yeah the voice acting can be cheesy, but it's the atmosphere created from an inside-looking-out perspective. All the little notes and books you read, the nuances in how events within the game play out all feed into the experience of a story. Maybe at the end of the day, Deus Ex is a regular tale of conspiracy theories. I'd like to think not, because of the way I experienced it and what I perceive to be parts of the whole story.Your posts about how video games are overall lacking in the story department got me to take a step back look at video game story quality from a different perspective. I stopped and said 'wait, are game stories all that I thought they were?' So, I don't think you're being a dick, I actually think that your comments have been constructive and shed new light on the topic I hadn't come across or thought of before.
I've read my fair share of books and I love Shawshank Redemption, in particular. But I stand by video games having the potential to provide deep and meaningful stories, albeit, in a different manner and very infrequently.
I really enjoy non-aggressive discussion. Deus Ex is probably my favorite videogame of all time so it's funny having to argue against it. Already, it's difficult to compare a story from one medium to another, especially if it's a game with a non-linear story. So many questions... Would one judge the story taking into account all 3 endings? Or judge each one separately? Would you consider Deus Ex to have a better story due to its nonlinear nature? Or is its story worse as consequence? The next question brings me to my central point - does having interactivity with the story worsen the story, or better it? If the game is filled with superficial choices that don't change the central ideas behind the story, then what is the substance to them story-wise? Immediately, looking at it from that perspective does the game seem a little contrived compared any of the movies I listed. [spoiler] For example, what is the significance of saving (or not saving) Paul when his apartment is overrun by those droid-goons? It almost seems as if some themes in the game are completely throw-away, and fail to tie into any morals or story development. When I first played the game, I assumed you had no choice but to run - and Paul is left to fight to the death. Vengeance would be a theme in my story. Yet that is never truly developed on, nor does it tie into the ending of the game (because that is still up to choice, mutually exclusive). Basically, the game is filled with events whose outcomes don't really develop naturally or tie into a central theme or idea. [/spoiler] I'm out of time, I'll elaborate more laterMy favorite game of all time, too! And it is kind of funny, the predicament you're in, but I understand it.
I think that every way you can experience the game fits a each ending, because each ending isn't black/white good or bad and neutral to your previous choices. Now, that creates the problem of 'do my choices really even matter?' In the DX case, I would say yes from a subjective point of view because that shaped your experience of the story and those choices can fit into each ending, perhaps adding a good/bad flare to how you perceive each ending. That is what I think is the substance of the 'superficial' choices made. It's part of the experience, but again, its drawback is that it doesn't necessarily add to the conclusion. I'll accept that.
May seem like a cop out, but that's how I'm defending the quality of its story and conclusions. Now does it have a better story because it's non-linear? In some ways yes. Depends on how much you care about the decisions made in the game. On paper, it doesn't seem revolutionary, but again, the atmosphere and RPG elements factor into how much I enjoy the narrative.
Maybe the Paul situation doesn't have much to do with the theme of global conspiracy or "who really are the terrorists or evil ones?" and "are there necessary evils in the world?" Maybe the Paul situation should mean more to the story since he is JC's brother, perhaps this element fell short of being meaningful. But not all elements have to have an impact on the main story or central themes.
Maybe for video games, it's more about how it's done, how it takes a basic storyline but makes it interesting. Like Mass Effect, a story about saving humanity and the existance of other species. Pretty basic, an evil force wanting to destroy everything. But tying you into the universe with ongoing story elements, character development, and some choices that carry over into each game, is pretty spectacular.
Say what you want about Mass Effect, it may not be impressive to some, but it is to me. BUT FULL DISCLOSURE: I HAVE NOT FINISHED MASS EFFECT 3, I LOVE IT TO DEATH BUT I STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE DUE TO OTHER OBLIGATIONS AND NEVER GOT BACK TO IT AND I'M SCARED OF FINISHING THE TRILOGY. I've only HEARD about ME3's disappointing conclusion, but please, don't spill the beans for me. I know I'm very late.
I guess, Mass Effect's sitauation can be a full discussion on it's own, since it presents new positive elements but creates more problems in story development because of its scope and ambition.
I hope my responses aren't too shallow or fall short of answering those questions, but they are really interesting things to address when looking at a video games' story.
I apologize for having a side conversation on a thread about what we'd like to see in an FPS :?
SKaREO
Log in to comment