TDIRunner | 2,740 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Bioshock is certainly one of my favorite stories (including the entire trilogy). I also love the fact that they can tell such an amazing story with almost no cut scenes. Horizon Zero Dawn is also an amazing story. It's the only game I've ever played where I was so interested in finding out what happens next, I almost wanted to skip the gameplay section to see the next cut scene. The Portal storyline is also extremely enjoyable and another that is told with minimal cut scenes. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumez | 2,951 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 6 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said: I'm on the side that says it's quite the testament to TLOU's storytelling that you can adapt it relatively faithfully, and produce a show that is a massive hit with both audiences and critics. Compare that to virtually every other video game adaptation. Pretty sure you could have done the same with Grim Fandango Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacepup | 2,404 Administrator · Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 6 hours ago, TDIRunner said: Bioshock is certainly one of my favorite stories (including the entire trilogy). I also love the fact that they can tell such an amazing story with almost no cut scenes. Horizon Zero Dawn is also an amazing story. It's the only game I've ever played where I was so interested in finding out what happens next, I almost wanted to skip the gameplay section to see the next cut scene. The Portal storyline is also extremely enjoyable and another that is told with minimal cut scenes. +1 to the Horizon story. The Horizon series is probably my favorite new IP of the last decade, and I loved the story and characters in both Zero Dawn and Forbidden West. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacepup | 2,404 Administrator · Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 3 hours ago, Sumez said: Pretty sure you could have done the same with Grim Fandango You could, sure. But TLOU just had a much wider audience and is more modern. Btw, I agree with you 1000% on Grim Fandango and it is actually one of my favorite games of all time. When I was in San Francisco, I actually made a specific point to visit 450 Sutter Street building which is what the DOD building is based off of in the game! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Rothchild | 9,530 Editorials Team · Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 5 hours ago, Sumez said: Pretty sure you could have done the same with Grim Fandango Could have, but didn't. And I owned Grim Fandango at release so I'm a fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumez | 2,951 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Point being, I think the argument that stories in videogames has apparently somehow improved since then remains unproven (and I'm sure you can go further back as well, you just need to find a good example) Despite all the technology you can throw after more immersive storytelling, you can only do so much to work on the actual *story*. It all comes down to the quality of the writing and how well your video game framework actually fits such a story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Rothchild | 9,530 Editorials Team · Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 13 minutes ago, Sumez said: Point being, I think the argument that stories in videogames has apparently somehow improved since then remains unproven (and I'm sure you can go further back as well, you just need to find a good example) Despite all the technology you can throw after more immersive storytelling, you can only do so much to work on the actual *story*. It all comes down to the quality of the writing and how well your video game framework actually fits such a story Maybe. I'd be curious to see what a top 10 for every year would look like. Presumably the 90s and 00s would be dominated by point and click adventures and JRPGs. 10s and 20s would probably be all manner of Indie games (including many walking simulators) and maybe some AAA games. And we do have those LucasArts-styled revivals with Thimbleweed and Monkey Island. Perhaps Grim Fandango was more of an outlier back in the day, and we are flooded with similar quality nowadays. Perhaps the ceiling for quality hasn't risen, but the barriers to entry for skilled writers have been removed, leading to way more talent putting work out nowadays. But we'd need some figures and I don't have time to do it right now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacepup | 2,404 Administrator · Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 I can't provide any quantitative proof or anything, but I certainly *feel* like stories (the good ones, in good games) have gotten better, more interesting, and way more in depth and full-featured, as time has gone on. Or I guess I should say, because of the technical improvements in how the story can be *delivered* in-game, the stories are more engaging to me. I can't say whether writing has improved or not, or which game this or that, but with better technology, more life-like personalities, AAA-budget voice acting, and more, the combination of visuals, audio, and the way the story is presented, can be more immersive than ever before. We can get down into semantics about trying to rate individual stories from writing alone - but from my perspective as a consumer enjoying content, and as a gamer who loves story and characters in gaming, I feel that things are getting better and I'm excited for the future. Sure, you could easily point out a bunch of mediocre stories in cash-grab games, but that isn't what I'm talking about. Maybe I could summarize by saying, idk about the technical 'stories' but the storytelling and full experience has improved over time (for me personally), and I love being able to enjoy that element of gaming more and more. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeldaFreak | 3,600 Events Team · Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 3 minutes ago, spacepup said: We can get down into semantics about trying to rate individual stories from writing alone And it's also important to note that, whilst the writing is obviously the core of any story and is a very important part of it, the other aspects about delivering a story to an audience can be just as important. Visuals, audio, music, voice acting, the medium in which it's being told, etc. Which have all indeed improved over time as technology has gotten better, these projects have been allowed more and more of a budget to facilitate doing these things well, and storytelling within video games has been taken more seriously. Any one (or multiple) of those individual things being done poorly can ruin an otherwise great story, even if every other aspect is done well. The writing alone isn't the only thing to take in to consideration when discussing any story, unless we're talking about something like a book or novel which is essentially solely writing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloves | 11,779 Administrator · Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 I'm just hopping in to say that Jak X: Combat Racing does not have a great story. That is all, thank you for your time. 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumez | 2,951 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 29 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said: Perhaps Grim Fandango was more of an outlier back in the day, and we are flooded with similar quality nowadays. Would be nice if true Feel free to point me towards anything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Rothchild | 9,530 Editorials Team · Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 59 minutes ago, Sumez said: Would be nice if true Feel free to point me towards anything It's subjective. Candidates include everything from Thimbleweed, Edith Finch, Disco Elysium, anything from Telltale, the Oxenfrees... I mean it could be anything. Hell, your average gamer would pick Undertale over GF. It's all a matter of taste Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Rothchild | 9,530 Editorials Team · Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 1 hour ago, Gloves said: I'm just hopping in to say that Jak X: Combat Racing does not have a great story. That is all, thank you for your time. Naughty Dog: "What if Jak was GTA now. No wait, now it's Mad Max. Fuck it, racing game." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloves | 11,779 Administrator · Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 17 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said: It's subjective. Candidates include everything from Thimbleweed, Edith Finch, Disco Elysium, anything from Telltale, the Oxenfrees... I mean it could be anything. Hell, your average gamer would pick Undertale over GF. It's all a matter of taste ANYTHING from TellTale? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
final fight cd | 186 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Is there anybody that played a game with great gameplay, but the story was shit, so it turned you off from the game? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Rothchild | 9,530 Editorials Team · Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 6 minutes ago, Gloves said: ANYTHING from TellTale? You heard me! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumez | 2,951 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 (edited) 54 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said: Hell, your average gamer would pick Undertale over GF. It's all a matter of taste Undertale is pretty good too. Thimbleweed would be pretty cool if they'd known how to actually write an ending for it Edited January 8 by Sumez Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wongojack | 214 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 44 minutes ago, Gloves said: ANYTHING from TellTale? 38 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said: You heard me! LOL, not a Telltale fan, I guess? My pick from them would be Batman: The Enemy Within. I really liked how they dropped you into a story to which you thought you knew the outcome but gave you enough to be interested in your own ability to mold it and change it. I put off playing it for a long time because I thought I was tired of the Telltale format, but that one really stood out as a game that not only told a great story but also used the medium to give the player a very good reason to participate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloves | 11,779 Administrator · Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 37 minutes ago, wongojack said: LOL, not a Telltale fan, I guess? My pick from them would be Batman: The Enemy Within. I really liked how they dropped you into a story to which you thought you knew the outcome but gave you enough to be interested in your own ability to mold it and change it. I put off playing it for a long time because I thought I was tired of the Telltale format, but that one really stood out as a game that not only told a great story but also used the medium to give the player a very good reason to participate. Lol nah I like most of their stuff. Wolf Among Us and Walking Dead Season 1 especially. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Morbis | 2,088 Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 8 hours ago, final fight cd said: Is there anybody that played a game with great gameplay, but the story was shit, so it turned you off from the game? I'm probably an outlier, but this would literally never happen to me since I don't play video games for the stories, but for the gameplay itself... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMR | 520 Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 8 hours ago, final fight cd said: Is there anybody that played a game with great gameplay, but the story was shit, so it turned you off from the game? I don't know if this counts, but Mega Man X 5 (or maybe it was 6) was completely ruined by the constant dialogue popups during the game. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webhead123 | 675 Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 (edited) 9 hours ago, final fight cd said: Is there anybody that played a game with great gameplay, but the story was shit, so it turned you off from the game? While it didn't stop me from finishing it (much to my regret), Far Cry 3's story kept getting shittier and shittier the further along it went until, finally, it reached the apex of diarrhea with the b.s. ending. The game play, although pretty repetitive by the end, was good enough that I powered through the "story" but that final middle finger to the player at the end basically turned me completely against the game and honestly kinda ruined me on the series as a whole. Except for Blood Dragon...but that game was intentionally bucking series trend, so it doesn't count. Edited January 9 by Webhead123 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OptOut | 8,884 Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 Wait, games have stories? Oh, you mean the words that pop up sometimes you need to hammer through with the A button?! Yeah, whichever game has the LEAST of those has the best story IMO. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeldaFreak | 3,600 Events Team · Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 1 hour ago, Webhead123 said: Except for Blood Dragon...but that game was intentionally bucking series trend, so it doesn't count. Man, I completely forgot about Blood Dragon. We need a game like that again, that was great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Rothchild | 9,530 Editorials Team · Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 36 minutes ago, ZeldaFreak said: Man, I completely forgot about Blood Dragon. We need a game like that again, that was great. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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