Printable View
To me, what really seems like the problem is that you have video games which, as a medium, is trying to use the story telling devices of literature and cinema. These fail in a video game setting because most of the time it removes the player from the game. Atleast, thats the core problem. The writing is just terrible, and the excuses that some developers give are just pathetic. Even if the writing improved though, the problem of implimentation still presents a problem.
Yes, the problem of the monolog cut scene, where they give long speeches for this and that.
But how exactly do you get around that if you want to tell a story with any kind of depth?
Like say someone wanted to make an rpg that explores the concept of how the “devil” character is usually is anti instrumentalism, and you give the hero a choice between being an instrument of society, or being his own person.
How would you tell that story without monologs? And how do you connect that story to our day to day lives where our own decisions fall in between doing what is right for our self and doing what is right for everyone, without monologs?
How do we communicate the complicated and abstract, and YET leave the player immersed in the gaming world?
Compared to the 300 different World War 2 stories or the wannabe Splinter Cell rip offs.Quote:
Originally Posted by buttcheeks
Shit storytelling in games is a worldwide problem. Atleast the Japanese try.
The studios should just hire real writers instead of some designer who worries about the story on the side. You can hate Advent Rising all you want but the potential of a good story was actually in that game.
There is a simple solution...hire some REAL writers to write the shit, not the game designers themselves. A few companies have done it, but not very often.
I don't play those games.Quote:
Originally Posted by avatar
It's silly to think that better stories would make video games more of an art form. Games are too varied in their execution to make such an assertion. The notion of what a "game" is has to be examined, and whether there is an artful way to conceive it or not. I can't understand saying games with stories are art, or even yet, only games with good stories are art.
I will agree that the general level of writing found in video games, whether it pertains to a story or not, is typically dismal. Improving that would go a long way in "classing" up a project.
I don't think anyone made the clear cut assertion that story = art, only that a good one would help validate the claim of them being art. Meaning if video games can recreate all other forms of art (visual, entertainment, written, etc) it really really would be art.
lets say a game did have a really deep and interesting story....and it took forever to play through because of this. would you still want to spend/waste your time playing it? + what kind of games do you think need better stories, rpg's? or do you think action games and shooters could use better stories?
didn't someone make a thread on those....uh....i forget what they're called....games like snatcher? i'd like to see more those those. games where your actions mean something and can take the story you're reading/playing through in a different direction.
Deus Ex has a really deep and interesting story.
I mean, yea it does a lot of what has been done before, but its well-paced and has great characters. And terrific writing. And it doesn't try to start talking about the nature of Odin and how the church is corrupt and how the girl in your party had a house that was burned down by the evil villain and she had to watch while her mom was in it and how that ties into your quest to capture the MacGuffin so you can restore the delicate balance of the Earth.
I was just going to bring up Advent Rising. The story in that game was actually really good. It's too bad we won't be seeing the rest of it.Quote:
Originally Posted by avatar