In my mind story is the most important thing in games, moreso than gameplay

Honestly this is how I feel. Some will agree and just hear me out. Games are meant to be fun but the best games are more of an experience. In this way i feel that story is really what seperates the Greatest from the great. Gameplay is the framework for making a game fun and worth playing but the story is what propells it to being the best game you've ever experienced.

For these reasons alone games like the Max Payne series (2 is far better than 1) stand among the best games ive ever played. Even years later past all the hype i replayed through The fall of max payne just the past two days and was still blown away by it and the drama. The core gameplay is great but without its story it would be a repetitive shooter ala stranglehold.

This also is true for my pick for the best game of all time HL2. A true masterpiece with seriously average gun play and overall gameplay. What is amazing and makes it the greatest game of all time (imo) is the story, pacing, and setting/atmosphere. Valve tapped all these departments thoroughly thus creating a true masterpiece of film level quality.

These are just two examples where story can propel a game past others and thus being the most important feature in the true greatest games.

I was more compelled to finish a game like gta4 or bioshock simply due to the story than I was a game like crysis with a typical hollywood all flash no substance story yet the game had better and less repetitive gameplay than bioshock or gta4. I havent thought like this my whole gaming life. It was just an epiphany I reached tonight seeing how important story is in games.

Honestly a game with amazing gameplay and average story (ala crysis) isnt as good as a game thats got an amazing story and average gameplay (ala gta4, bioshock, mass effect) In fact I can easily say all three of those games were better experiences than crysis. (even though I loved crysis)

i strongly disagree but whatever. there were few games were the story felt so engaging that i played just to see what happens like god of war 1+2. but even if the story is great i focus on the gameplay. story doesn't add as much replay value as great gameplay.

i also find that people who look to videogames for good storytelling seriously need to pick up a good book or watch a good movie.

i strongly disagree but whatever. there were few games were the story felt so engaging that i played just to see what happens like god of war 1+2. but even if the story is great i focus on the gameplay. story doesn't add as much replay value as great gameplay.

i also find that people who look to videogames for good storytelling seriously need to pick up a good book or watch a good movie.

mephisto_11

i read books and have good taste in movies but theres nothing liek being able to interact with a good story. another great story in gaming mass effect. another one of the greatest games ive ever played.

[QUOTE="mephisto_11"]

i strongly disagree but whatever. there were few games were the story felt so engaging that i played just to see what happens like god of war 1+2. but even if the story is great i focus on the gameplay. story doesn't add as much replay value as great gameplay.

i also find that people who look to videogames for good storytelling seriously need to pick up a good book or watch a good movie.

blues35301

i read books and have good taste in movies but theres nothing liek being able to interact with a good story. another great story in gaming mass effect. another one of the greatest games ive ever played.

agreed about mass effect i dont know how i forgot to include it. it was probably way more engaging than god of war and most movies/games.

yeah i guess i see your point. story can add a lot but i dont think i can forgive bad gameplay for good story. i can forgive average gameplay for great story.

I kinda agree. See I like a game with a great story and great gameplay (If a game has great gameplay but a bad story then I don't mind much).

But it's not more important than gameplay. Hell no.

[QUOTE="blues35301"][QUOTE="mephisto_11"]

i strongly disagree but whatever. there were few games were the story felt so engaging that i played just to see what happens like god of war 1+2. but even if the story is great i focus on the gameplay. story doesn't add as much replay value as great gameplay.

i also find that people who look to videogames for good storytelling seriously need to pick up a good book or watch a good movie.

mephisto_11

i read books and have good taste in movies but theres nothing liek being able to interact with a good story. another great story in gaming mass effect. another one of the greatest games ive ever played.

agreed about mass effect i dont know how i forgot to include it. it was probably way more engaging than god of war and most movies/games.

yeah i guess i see your point. story can add a lot but i dont think i can forgive bad gameplay for good story. i can forgive average gameplay for great story.

thats basically my point and why i used hl2 and max payne series as examples. the gameplay isnt that fun after a while but its forgiveable therefore with that logic story holds more weight than gameplay. see it yet? its best to have both though.

example bioshock, great gameplay and amazing story.

Having good gameplay is what makes a great game, including a great story is what makes a game stand out.

Its liek COD4, its good, worthy of AAA, but because of its generic story as soon as a shooter with better gameplay comes out it will get forgotten, just wait until COD5 comes out.

Personally i really liked the story of the timesplitters games so even though COD4 beats it in gameplay I still like the game most.

Its also why I really like MGS games. Each one has a really good story and thats why the series has done so well.

Having good gameplay is what makes a great game, including a great story is what makes a game stand out.

Its liek COD4, its good, worthy of AAA, but because of its generic story as soon as a shooter with better gameplay comes out it will get forgotten, just wait until COD5 comes out.

Personally i really liked the story of the timesplitters games so even though COD4 beats it in gameplay I still like the game most.

Its also why I really like MGS games. Each one has a really good story and thats why the series has done so well.

NinjaMunkey01

To tell the truth i'd rather play a game that has great gameplay and not so much of a story than a game with good story and averege or less gameplay. Thats why me and some of my irl friends think Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2 are awesome, the game dosen't depend on its story at all instead it offers the best gameplay you can see in a action game, and thats what action games really need great gameplay.

But now that I mention it I guess every genre is different action games need great gameplay but i'm also a rpg fan and most rpg's lack great gameplay but still have a awesome story and they immerse you like no other game can. Oh and I think fable2 will have a great story and great gameplay you can quote me on that.

Another example are fighting games their story isn't deep nor is it great and most of the fans don't play them so they can see what kind of storyline the game has they just play it for the sheer fun and gameplay, atleast thats how I am with street fighter 3 and thats how i'l be when street fighter 4 comes out.

Bottom line is that I think every genre is different and needs something different to be good.

This is somewhat of a logical argument. Games are a unique medium for storytelling.

It's unfortunate, however, that many games do not take advantage of this unique story telling. Games like Half Life, System Shock, Bioshock, Deus Ex have incredible story telling-- but they differ from games such as Indigo Prophecy, Heavy Rain, MGS, and Halo which mimic films. Both methods of story-telling (player observation and cutscenes) are great, but I prefer exploring a rich environment filled with a realistic atmosphere as opposed to watching a two minute cutscene.

I somewhat agree with you, though. I adore games that fuse story into gameplay--but those games are hard to come by (i.e Bioshock). So, I'll just disagree that gameplay is inferior to story.

TC :

That's why I love the MGS series, because Story is great, and the Gameplay is fantastic as well.

Kojima doesn't sacrifice fantastic Gameplay to tell a fantastic story.

EDIT : Some other faves that seem to do both well are : Deus Ex, Half Life, Bioshock, Baldurs Gate on PC.

Disagree. If the story is great, but you hate the gameplay, sometimes you just don't wanna play the game if the gameplay is that bad causing you to miss the whole story.

Go watch a movie or read a book.loco145

*sigh*

story is important.. if its something i can remember, perhaps some commentary on the game industry

very rarely does this happen

i leave stories to literature, tv, movies.. a little more memorable and less generic.. not everything needs to be action related

rarely do they merit a purchase, stories especially the concise ones are better played on a rental

i wonder what kindve game huxley or ray bradbury wouldve made

Really? .... REALLY?! :o

Weird. To each his/her own I guess.

Honestly this is how I feel. Some will agree and just hear me out. Games are meant to be fun but the best games are more of an experience. In this way i feel that story is really what seperates the Greatest from the great. Gameplay is the framework for making a game fun and worth playing but the story is what propells it to being the best game you've ever experienced.

For these reasons alone games like the Max Payne series (2 is far better than 1) stand among the best games ive ever played. Even years later past all the hype i replayed through The fall of max payne just the past two days and was still blown away by it and the drama. The core gameplay is great but without its story it would be a repetitive shooter ala stranglehold.

This also is true for my pick for the best game of all time HL2. A true masterpiece with seriously average gun play and overall gameplay. What is amazing and makes it the greatest game of all time (imo) is the story, pacing, and setting/atmosphere. Valve tapped all these departments thoroughly thus creating a true masterpiece of film level quality.

These are just two examples where story can propel a game past others and thus being the most important feature in the true greatest games.

blues35301

[QUOTE="NinjaMunkey01"]

Having good gameplay is what makes a great game, including a great story is what makes a game stand out.

Its liek COD4, its good, worthy of AAA, but because of its generic story as soon as a shooter with better gameplay comes out it will get forgotten, just wait until COD5 comes out.

Personally i really liked the story of the timesplitters games so even though COD4 beats it in gameplay I still like the game most.

Its also why I really like MGS games. Each one has a really good story and thats why the series has done so well.

blues35301

The problem atm is that not many games have good stories.

One thing that really makes a story is good characters. In COD4 you could play as anyone and not know. thats why once COD% comes out COD4 will be old news, I think this will happen with gears 1 too.

That's why I like Tetris so much.

A good story makes or breaks a game. With no story line, what are you even playing the game for (besides sports games)CubanBlunt

...Because its fun.

You are all wrong, Fun > everything else.

kinda agree

but a game can be good when the story is bad but gameplay is excellent.

so for me it's Gameplay->story->graphics

Go watch a movie or read a book.loco145

already negated this. i do both but interacting with a story is far more engaging sorry.

OMG! TC! Then you NEED to play Deus Ex. Go right now. Your PC will run it, I promise. organic_machine

yeah it definitely would

[QUOTE="mephisto_11"]

i strongly disagree but whatever. there were few games were the story felt so engaging that i played just to see what happens like god of war 1+2. but even if the story is great i focus on the gameplay. story doesn't add as much replay value as great gameplay.

i also find that people who look to videogames for good storytelling seriously need to pick up a good book or watch a good movie.

blues35301

i read books and have good taste in movies but theres nothing liek being able to interact with a good story. another great story in gaming mass effect. another one of the greatest games ive ever played.

Yeah, I strongly agree with you. I would even throw in visuals to complement that story though. The reason why I love films and video games. I love to write and read books along with playing video games. When you mix and match my favorite hobbies its like a dream come true.

I gonna try ME soon though. Waiting for the price to go down a little bit more. Ive heard great things though.

I agree...story and single player is what matters most to me in a game. Otherwise you get games like Assassins Creed or GTA4, Great Gameplay, open world...but gets resold because of its repetitive game elements and lack of a compelling story.True-Legend86

i liked gta4's story. i thought it was amazing even if the gameplay was repetitive.

If you want story, go read a book. End of thread.

If you want story, go read a book. End of thread.

diped

failure to read the thread on your part...talk about reading...

A good story can make a game great. But I couldn't ever accept sacrificing gameplay for story, ever. It's a game first, without playing it, the unique elements of the medium would be reduced. Half Life 2 is PERFECT in this field because it utilises the medium perfectly to tell the story THROUGH the gameplay (and makes a mockey of the Kojima style "Cut Scene Attack!" method in the process). But Half Life 2 has the gameplay to match up to the story, if a game becomes more about the story than the actual playing it becomes less interesting to me.ViscaBarcaInter

well i wasnt really saying a game with bad or broken gameplay can be forgiven by the story but i can forgive a repetitive game like max payne for its amazing dramatic story. yes i hate games that tell story only through huge cut scenes ( a few are acceptable). its all about being there in the moment