@Chozofication said:
@jg4xchamp said:
Potential is horse shit people tell themselves because something hasn't delivered yet.
Detail doesn't necessarily mean a better plot. A film is a more organic story telling medium, it can go to the next logical direction the story is going. A game must compliment its interactivity at all times or create compelling gameplay scenarios, so what takes a back seat whatever logical direction the story is. The bullshit is the pretense where we keep saying this medium can do x,y, and z, and it's delivered fucking nothing unless it's a visual novel (as in no gameplay) or a simple ass plot to make the gameplay cohesive with the story. Otherwise yeah this medium takes all its cues for telling a story either through film, literature, or these days television, but yeah it "can tell better story than good films"...pfft get real, or be less ignorant of better mediums please.
The weird little pat gaming on the back for participation is exactly why this medium is grade A garbage in the story telling department.
I think it has delivered, just not on a wide scale. And in ways film can't, by immersion. Detail accounts for a lot, that is a definite pro in gaming's favor. I never said games on the whole beat movies in story telling, I only ever meant potential.
Its pat on the back is understandable given what the point of gaming is, but there are games like David Cage's shit that try to compete with movies now so it's not for a lack of trying anymore. Why would you regularly expect people who want to make games to focus more on the story aspect? That's the reality of the medium.
It's a definite pro if the detail isn't superfluous, things games can do well are setting and atmosphere, maybe lore, but pure character development and plot? No, detail doesn't stack up favorably to actual good structure. David Cagae's work are objectively badly written. The plot holes in heavy rain aren't even up to fucking opinion, you legit have to tell yourself "nope those don't exist, la la la la la la la la la la not listening" to actually make his work somewhat justified.
Them making the focus isn't the problem, hell I'm the furthest thing from a story-driven gamer, but potential is just that potential. Deliver on it. For every Shadow of the Colossus or Ico this medium can hang its hat on in the quality department, it also has things like: The Last of Us. Well written? I would argue yes. Good acting? Wouldn't disagree for 5 seconds. Well paced, put together? **** yeah. Taking a majority of its cues from The Road and Children of Men, and relying on cinematic language to properly convey its story? You bet. It be one thing if gaming was like film, and just built on the backs of adaptations. Adaptations are fine, those you are adjusting to the strengths of a medium. But this games best story tellers happen to be people who create experiences that are far too busy being another medium's bastard child.
This medium gets to a point when the cutscene is more complimentary and justified, and less the safest option devs can roll with, because we still don't have proper rules for telling a story through you know the game part, then I buy potential. Until then we got a handful of exceptions, and a significant hurdle for why this medium struggles with telling a story. Literature has always had that advantage through detail, because again like a movie, it's an organic story telling medium. You're not servicing shit, the person just writes the story.
A pat on the back doesn't tell anyone to get better, it's giving lesser things way too much credit, because one too many people can't handle it because some pompous film critic didn't think gaming is art. So now we must need a citizen kane.
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