In the past few weeks of college I've had some pretty busy time (creating Game Design Documents which are essentially a game laid out in book format) involved in thinking about what motivates a gamer to continue with any game. Some are simply addictive, or a fast track to growing your social e-peen; yes, I'm talking to you with the exclusive content none of your friends have on Farmville....
But the driving force I want to talk about today is one relevant since before games; the storyline.
Story-telling is a great way of taking the reader/viewer/player through an experience quite unlike any other. It allows the creator the freedom of the mind, and rather than bring a game to the player's world, the player can be transported to the world of [Gaia, Yamaku Academy etc.] where we can forget about our own lives and simply engage in those of the game. From a game based on story we can feel the helplessness, or realize with a character the sub-concious connection's we have made along the way. In other words, it's all about the feels.
A very popular recent mechanic, now rearing several heads with varying degree's of beauty, some wonderful and yet some leaving almost all players feeling DISAPPOINTED (more on this later) is that of the multi-path story-line.
For those who haven't played a game which utilizes this, the basic rundown is that the player is given choices/optional actions throughout the duration of the game which may result in varied versions of the overall plot/outcome of the game. Some great examples of games which lightly touch on this for example are Bioshock or for the more nostalgic reader the Chrono series. If you want to better understand this and haven't played the games, go play them.
Or spoil your entertainment and read spoilers. Go on, I dare you, I'll even feed you the link. (That's for Bioshock to those with trembling fingers of confusion)
But recently it appears we've been let down by the 'freedom of choice' story-lines fed to us; I'm talking Massively Effected by them. AH-HA-HA-HAAA. It in fact turned out that on the release of Mass Effect 3, a game many of us presumed to turn our minds upside down with the decisions of the past 2 titles resulting in deepest regret and sorely aching hearts, we were disappointed. Seriously, almost all of us were angry at the 'multiple endings' and lack of consistency with prequels.
The below screencap is from the Bioware Social Network poll regarding Mass Effect 3's endings:
Look at an older game such as FFIX; a game which in a similar way to Mass Effect 3 add's new twists to the story-line throughout even later sections of the game. But why does this work where Bioware failed to do so?
My answer is consistency. It kept the same theme, and took it's time to explain itself. FFIX was the calm understanding Tolkein, carrying us with it ensuring each simply piece of story was as immersive as the art and music. Mass Effect 3 felt to me as though it was a suspicious girlfriend trying to force me out the door after a dangerously evil half-conversation about butterscotch and the American economy. It didn't feel right, I wasn't used to it and it threw me out the door on my buttocks.
I wanted to ask you guys; to discuss this in the comments after having a read on my own opinions. What games do you remember which gave great stories, and why? Are there any you remember which took off the reigns, allowing choice similar to Mass Effect but still pulled you in at the end? Even suggestions of correction in regards the the recent controversy, I'd love to see how people think Bioware could have pulled of a title with such an ending that we were left feeling this instead of the reality
For those who haven't played a game which utilizes this, the basic rundown is that the player is given choices/optional actions throughout the duration of the game which may result in varied versions of the overall plot/outcome of the game. Some great examples of games which lightly touch on this for example are Bioshock or for the more nostalgic reader the Chrono series. If you want to better understand this and haven't played the games, go play them.
Or spoil your entertainment and read spoilers. Go on, I dare you, I'll even feed you the link. (That's for Bioshock to those with trembling fingers of confusion)
But recently it appears we've been let down by the 'freedom of choice' story-lines fed to us; I'm talking Massively Effected by them. AH-HA-HA-HAAA. It in fact turned out that on the release of Mass Effect 3, a game many of us presumed to turn our minds upside down with the decisions of the past 2 titles resulting in deepest regret and sorely aching hearts, we were disappointed. Seriously, almost all of us were angry at the 'multiple endings' and lack of consistency with prequels.
The below screencap is from the Bioware Social Network poll regarding Mass Effect 3's endings:
So there you have it. Somewhere, something went terribly wrong between the 'men with the pens' and the consumer.
My personal opinion is that the biggest problematic mistake was failure to repeat the power of the last two games. The first felt crammed with a new universe; races, lore, historical logs. The second felt like a race against time with decisions rushed and following whatever your instinct was at the time. The third...... rushed. I mean, the game's story felt as though it was tying up loose ends, when we expected an ultimatum grasping hold of us. I actually had to do a re-take as it just felt so out of place with the theme of the past two games. But the ending caught us all off guard with it's complete abruptness. I don't want to spoil what little I could spoil for you, but we've been left with a sour taste in our mouths and many plot-holes.Look at an older game such as FFIX; a game which in a similar way to Mass Effect 3 add's new twists to the story-line throughout even later sections of the game. But why does this work where Bioware failed to do so?
My answer is consistency. It kept the same theme, and took it's time to explain itself. FFIX was the calm understanding Tolkein, carrying us with it ensuring each simply piece of story was as immersive as the art and music. Mass Effect 3 felt to me as though it was a suspicious girlfriend trying to force me out the door after a dangerously evil half-conversation about butterscotch and the American economy. It didn't feel right, I wasn't used to it and it threw me out the door on my buttocks.
I wanted to ask you guys; to discuss this in the comments after having a read on my own opinions. What games do you remember which gave great stories, and why? Are there any you remember which took off the reigns, allowing choice similar to Mass Effect but still pulled you in at the end? Even suggestions of correction in regards the the recent controversy, I'd love to see how people think Bioware could have pulled of a title with such an ending that we were left feeling this instead of the reality
:(
ReplyDeleteTo me a game with a great story is Dynasty warriors. Yes, every game repeats practically with the levels but, each time you may play more on the map than you could previously and there are more levels added. I like the fact it is based around the history of the Han Dynasty. It is a fun way of learning history whilst having fun playing a game. I do like on number 7, there is a quiz where it will ask you questions related on the history you have played.
ReplyDeleteGooby pls
ReplyDeleteI like Jak and daxter's storyline for the fact that it had everything in it, Driving, Police (if you did something wrong such as kill a civilian they would come after you), The storyline was amazing and it also had quests on the side such as (racing and kill so many in this amount of time). That is what sold that game to me, It made me love the Jak and daxter saga (Love at first sight you could say).
ReplyDeleteBioware NEEDS (I emphasise the work NEED) to change its ending. Personally, I'm not a fan of the game so I haven't yet played it. It just doesn't 'float my boat' as one would say. But from the sounds of it, it sounds stupuid what they did (the ending and the use of a face that was took from a website, Gettyimages if I do believe so).
As it stands today, many series games; most commonly fps like C.O.D, where instaed of coming up with a new storyline, they just wrapped up with different wrapping papaer. Nowadays games blessed with a interesting and motivating story are rare if not lost in the flood of realism. I miss the mystery and awe of game that pushed the boundaries of modern imagination to a whole new level of awesome. Like Sci-fi games, and im not on about the mass effect standards, games that wheren't just about leaving earth,m they where about redefining human understanding of the world around us.
ReplyDeleteI think that game developers these days have lost the passion for creating games to tell a story and have now gained a new passion. That new passion is for making unbelieveable amount of money, this is the only drive for companies such as EA and Activision. These days a story is a mere side dish to a game, and terribly made DLC and extra content is the main dish that has to be ordered seperately. Back when i was a kid, i remember almost any game that i played would have an amazing story, even if it didn't have much to do with the actual gameplay, but i feel that these days companies are wanting to create a game that will satisfy our boredom for around 30-40 hours, instead of giving us a fully imersive experience that we want, and also what we deserve when we are dishing out around £30-£50 per game that we buy. The games company need to give us something that has quality, not just rushing through the production of games to get the next addiction of making a load of money out of the way.
ReplyDelete