Are Stories Overrated For Gaming?

Topic. No poll. If you aren't willing to voice your opinion, I really don't want to see any signs of it on my threads.

Story is important if there is a story to be told, but games could also work without a story which developers have lost sight of, games like pacman and mario and pong never really had a story for example.

For pacman it was eat the balls, avoid the ghosts, for mario it was save the princess and for pong it was tennis pretty much...so Yeah story is important but games could also work with just a simple ''goal'' without a backstory.

Gameplay is much more important since that is what keeps it fun and entertaining. But if there is a good story with it, then its a nice added bonus and enhances your enjoyment and keeps you playing.

It all depends on the game. For me story is possibly the most important factor in purchasing a game, with gameplay being close behind. So I will say it's not overrated.

Gameplay is much more important since that is what keeps it fun and entertaining. But if there is a good story with it, then its a nice added bonus and enhances your enjoyment and keeps you playing.

M0wen10

Yeah, I totally agree with you.

I can have fun with a game that has a poor story but great gameplay but not the opposite.

I can appreciate a good story but to me, stories are mostly accessory.

Gameplay is more important, but when a game has a good story it's a great addition. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, inFAMOUS, Mass Effect, Bioshock, all great games.

Without good gameplay, the game would suck. An awesome story in a game with **** gameplay would not make it that awesome. It would be just like reading a book.

A game with amazing gameplay and **** story can work and has worked in the past. Then again, this is all my own opinion and varies to different people :lol:

I would say it really depends on the type of game in questions, for example you can't have an rpg without a story, shooters through, like modern warfare, the story doesn't really matter. But when they combine that element into a genre that deosnt need it (example bioshock or half life) then it gives it that extra edge making it better.

Story normally comes before gameplay to me, since I've played enough games to feel like I'm playing the same thing over again.ProjectTrinity

No.. just depends on what you're looking for. I can push through a game with crap gameplay if the story is really good.

On the flipside, I can't read books. I have great reading comprehension and I can read just fine, but all the forced reading I did as a kid really traumatized me, lol. Being the only kid in your 4th grade c|ass with a college grade reading level is cool and all, but down the road it's kinda useless.

The only benefit is that you can read subtitles faster than everyone else in the room.

[QUOTE="ProjectTrinity"]Story normally comes before gameplay to me, since I've played enough games to feel like I'm playing the same thing over again.Shoooryuken

No.. just depends on what you're looking for. I can push through a game with crap gameplay if the story is really good.

On the flipside, I can't read books. I have great reading comprehension and I can read just fine, but all the forced reading I did as a kid really traumatized me, lol. Being the only kid in your 4th grade c|ass with a college grade reading level is cool and all, but down the road it's kinda useless.

The only benefit is that you can read subtitles faster than everyone else in the room.

Scianix-Black

Stories are important. I believe that even shooters should at least have a decent story since it helps to make the player feel more engaged or involved.

Well, aren't you a bossy so-and-so.

Stories in games are what separate (J)RPGS, from online shooters, sports / racing games.You really think GoW (1-3) would have been as popular if he didn't have a mission? How long can you stand there and kill what ever comes your way? People like to know the basics (who, what where when why, and how) of a situation / game / movie.

Story is what separtates movies / t.v shows from documentaries.

What about Tetris? That game's pretty popular.

As a story gamer myself, I could never get into it, but millions of other people did.

I think stories are very important. I feel it drives the gameplay and keeps you more involved in the action.

Gameplay is much more important since that is what keeps it fun and entertaining. But if there is a good story with it, then its a nice added bonus and enhances your enjoyment and keeps you playing.

M0wen10

Story is overrated. Video games are not like tv shows or movies – it is not important that the gamer becomes immersed in a story that is being told to the gamer, it is important that the gamer becomes immersed in the action that is happening to the gamer. Interactivity is the essence of gaming. Not just passively watching/reading about the backstory of your characters.

Some of the best games ever made have very barebones narratives – for example, take Shadow of the Collossus. You play the game as a guy who is trying to revive a dead woman. You never find out who she is or why you want to revive her. By the end of the game you can't even be sure if you are the hero or the villian. The narrative and details of the backstory are not important in that game. And yet it is one of the most immersive and compelling games I have ever played.

Demon's Souls is similar – you find yourself trapped in the nexus and you are told you need to find demon souls to escape. How you came to be there is not important. Its your actions to get those demon's souls that immerse you in the gameworld. What backstory is there is there to add flavor, nothing more. If they cut out what little NPC dialogue/backstory there is, the game would still be as compelling and immersive.

I think creating compelling situations for people to experience is much more important than creating elaborate narratives. Games that focus too much on storytelling tend to get bogged down in their own narratives. People want to experience video games, not just watch a movie/read a story. That is why they are playing games, not watching tv/movies.

Story matters a whole lot, I hated how there was no attention to story in Tony Hawk's Project 8. You may say that because it's a skateboarding game it doesn't need a story. Well Tony Hawk's Underground was the first Tony Hawk game with a story and that was what I liked the most about it. Skate 2 also has hardly any story, you're let out of jail and then you go skate around, that's it. I've beaten all of the career missions and now I'm working on some bonus missions. But I don't really play that game too much anymore because there's no story so what's the point in beating it? I'll just skate around the city.

What keeps me going in most JRPGs like Tales of Legendia, Tales of the Abyss, Star Ocean 4 and White Knight Chronicles is the story. I wanna know what happens next. The gameplay is still fun, but without the story I wouldn't be as motivated. The reward for winning is finding out what happens.

Of course they are. They're cookie cutter slop thrown together to create the veneer of consistency. Heavy Rain is really in a class of its own as far as interactive video game narratives go.

Story is very important. It's the exact same thing with movies. A good story with good characters draws you into it and makes you care about what happens. Anybody who says that doesn't apply to video games, well...whatever. Story makes the difference between feeling like you're working towards accomplishing a goal, or just pushing buttons in the correct order.

I think creating compelling situations for people to experience is much more important than creating elaborate narratives.

Solori

Depends on the person.

I'd much prefer an elaborate narrative, as that in and of itself creates compelling situations, but does so in a way that I don't have to be involved. I can play for a bit, then just sit and watch as events unfold.

Story is overrated. Video games are not like tv shows or movies – it is not important that the gamer becomes immersed in a story that is being told to the gamer, it is important that the gamer becomes immersed in the action that is happening to the gamer. Interactivity is the essence of gaming. Not just passively watching/reading about the backstory of your characters.

Some of the best games ever made have very barebones narratives – for example, take Shadow of the Collossus. You play the game as a guy who is trying to revive a dead woman. You never find out who she is or why you want to revive her. By the end of the game you can't even be sure if you are the hero or the villian. The narrative and details of the backstory are not important in that game. And yet it is one of the most immersive and compelling games I have ever played.

Demon's Souls is similar – you find yourself trapped in the nexus and you are told you need to find demon souls to escape. How you came to be there is not important. Its your actions to get those demon's souls that immerse you in the gameworld. What backstory is there is there to add flavor, nothing more. If they cut out what little NPC dialogue/backstory there is, the game would still be as compelling and immersive.

I think creating compelling situations for people to experience is much more important than creating elaborate narratives. Games that focus too much on storytelling tend to get bogged down in their own narratives. People want to experience video games, not just watch a movie/read a story. That is why they are playing games, not watching tv/movies.

Solori

Yeah I agree a lot with this. Story should compliment the gameplay but if you can't go all the way with it you should just focus on making the gameplay awesome. Warhawk and Mag are excellent at what they do but adding a story would takeaway from effort going into the actual game. Mirror's Edge's story could of been a lot better but the gameplay is slick so I still play it. Crash Bandicoot, Sonic, Burnout, Shadow of the Collossus, Ico, Mario, all focused on gameplay and thats what has made them legends. However, if developers provide a great story to go along with their gameplay then those games will always be my favorites, like Jak games, Uncharted games, MGS, Final Fantasy, Valkyria Chronicles, Dark Cloud 1 and 2, Rogue Galaxy, Jeanne D'ARC, Heavenly Sword, Prince of Persia, Kingdom Hearts, and so on.

Depends on the person.

I'd much prefer an elaborate narrative, as that in and of itself creates compelling situations, but does so in a way that I don't have to be involved. I can play for a bit, then just sit and watch as events unfold.

Scianix-Black

That's the most rad signature pic I have seen in a while, my man. Here's to hoping they make another Jet Set game again, or at least re-release Jet Set Radio and Future on a single disc or as DLC or somethin'!

On topic: I like stories in games, but a lot of the time I realize that the story is crap or that it has lost my attention, but I do not care. That just goes to show that the main draw of a game is, in the end, the gameplay. I have very rarely been truly drawn to a story in a game, with a few rare exceptions of course. I like stories like Dead Space, System Shock 2, Deus Ex, Bio Shock, and the Mass Effect games. Everything else I mostly find to be derivative or just straight up crap. Case in point: the Uncharted games.

It depends. For multiplayer/competitive games like fighters, shooters, and RTS, the gameplay is king.

However, for single player experiences, the story and presentation are a big part of the appeal. That's why I'd take GOW over Bayonetta any day of the week.

Story normally comes before gameplay to me, since I've played enough games to feel like I'm playing the same thing over again.ProjectTrinity

I don't believe or agree that story is overrated in gaming, however I do believe not all games require specific amount of it.

It's hard to enjoy RPG game without good story, it's possible but quite hard. Games such as ICO, Shadow of Colossus, or even God of War all have aspects for a story but in the end it's gameplay immersion that really pulls the gamer to new levels, not to mention others important factors: Music, sounds, attention to details, voice acting, animation and so forth.

Take Heavy Rain for example - story is essential part driven force.

It's a complicated question.

In perfect world, story, gameplay, music, graphics, immersion, innovation - all combined would make superb video game.

Alas, we don't live in such world. ;)

Shooters-yes.

Not to me. I rarely play a game through repeatedly unless it's got multiple branches to the story. RTS games are the exception. Also, no puzzle games should ever have a story so help me god.

I am not to fond of multilpayer only games, so yes, I LOVE stories in my games and they are not overrated. If they story sucks, you know they didn't try at all.

Story is overrated. Video games are not like tv shows or movies – it is not important that the gamer becomes immersed in a story that is being told to the gamer, it is important that the gamer becomes immersed in the action that is happening to the gamer. Interactivity is the essence of gaming. Not just passively watching/reading about the backstory of your characters.

Some of the best games ever made have very barebones narratives – for example, take Shadow of the Collossus. You play the game as a guy who is trying to revive a dead woman. You never find out who she is or why you want to revive her. By the end of the game you can't even be sure if you are the hero or the villian. The narrative and details of the backstory are not important in that game. And yet it is one of the most immersive and compelling games I have ever played.

Demon's Souls is similar – you find yourself trapped in the nexus and you are told you need to find demon souls to escape. How you came to be there is not important. Its your actions to get those demon's souls that immerse you in the gameworld. What backstory is there is there to add flavor, nothing more. If they cut out what little NPC dialogue/backstory there is, the game would still be as compelling and immersive.

I think creating compelling situations for people to experience is much more important than creating elaborate narratives. Games that focus too much on storytelling tend to get bogged down in their own narratives. People want to experience video games, not just watch a movie/read a story. That is why they are playing games, not watching tv/movies.

Solori

Like most have said, it depends on the game. I love Mario games, they don't need a story at all. I loved Shadow of the Collossus. Although it wasn't just gameplay here, but it's hard to put into words just what drew me in. The story was very simple though, so it couldn't have been that. However, I also love jRPGS like Tales and Final Fantasy. For rpgs, it's important. I've played rpgs where the gameplay was incredibly easy and boring, and the story is the only reason I continued playing. Of course, in these cases they could easily made the game an anime instead and saved me the head ache...but meh. Ideally, both would be awesome, and I'd be happy. But I would love to see stories become a larger focus in other genres, which is happening more frequently I think. Video games have greater potential than movies are tv for telling stories, because it draws you in better and makes you feel like you're part of the world, which a movie and tv can't do. So I think stories are important, and should be implemented when appropriate.

It really depends on the game for me, depending on the setting, style, context and genre. Though story to a point is necessary for, say a shooter, as long as the core game play and overall fun factor is great I don't see any sense in trying to concoct a story around it other than bare bone narration. On the other hand, I don't think an RPG would be that good if it had a pretty simple story. Except Demon Souls maybe. That games awesome either way. :P

Topic. No poll. If you aren't willing to voice your opinion, I really don't want to see any signs of it on my threads.

Symphonycometh

Story normally comes before gameplay to me, since I've played enough games to feel like I'm playing the same thing over again.ProjectTrinity

It depends on the type of game and genre. Some of them are underrated I think...

Though, a game that doesn't need a story (or had one in the past) should not get one (looking at you Tetris! Or Sonic The Hedgehog!)

The good thing about Mario is (for the most part) they've kept it simple. Bowser kidnaps the Princess, you rescue her through 8 worlds. Simple and done, even today and it still works. Can't say the same about Sonic though as they've slaughtered it by making it "story driven" when all was needed was to save the animals from Eggman/Robotnik and get the Chaos Emeralds.

Story is what I mainly look for in games.

Absolutely not. I feel that games without storylines, unless they really engage me and give me a reason to play, and aren't typical or what americans stereotypically like, then I don't play them. I got gears of war and thought the story was decent, beyond that I haven't really played it much since beating it and going through a bit for a playthrough. If a story is boring I'm more likely to put down the controller, especially if I don't like the gameplay.

One game that I just don't like due to the story is Halo 3 (Yeah I know, strike me down, I'm speaking blasphemy, but sorry I hate it other than multiplayer). I just could never get into it. The story never interested me. Looked kind of drab and just something to back up the gameplay and the graphics and such. The GTA IV story was pretty boring at points and I stopped playing it for a while...hell I don't even think I've finished it, or any GTA for that matter lol; the only reason I play GTA is because of the crazy and hilarious NPCs that say dumb stuff everytime you hurt them or start a fight.

In the end, I'm more likely to play a game where I feel like the developers really tried to make a story and had writers who actually care work on a storyline. And the more consequences play into the storyline and gameplay, the better (Mass Effect 2, Heavy Rain, some of the epitomes of story games that are good in all aspects).

All the games hav similar gameplay. soo i think story matters more than great gameplay