How important is a games setting/story/immersion to you?

[MrEco]

This is something that's been on my mind a lot recently. I don't usually hear people talk about a games setting or how immersive it is. I sometimes hear people talk about a games' story, but usually just as an aside. I rarely see anyone talk about a games story as if it was the deciding factor in whether or not they enjoyed a game. And I've almost never heard anyone say that how immersive a game is, or how good it's setting is, determined whether or not they enjoyed the game as a whole.

This is odd to me, because all three of these things are very important to me. I've played many games where a bland or even anti-interesting setting ruined the experience for me. Immersion isn't something that often makes or breaks a game, but it has a huge impact on my enjoyment, especially with RPG's. And a good story is virtually always something I look for. Sure if it's an action game like DMC or something, I can forgive a game for having a bad story. But in longer games with more methodical game play, I consider it pretty much necessary.

So what's the general consensus here at Racketboy? Are these three aspects of video games something that generally get's ignore by most people? Maybe it's something everyone is aware of, but people just don't find them very important? And, of course, how important are these to you personally?

[Flake]

I don't know if I need to be immersed but some level of presentation and narrative has to happen. I do not play a game just because it has fun mechanics.

[MrPopo]

I am willing to put up with gameplay I don't enjoy (but is not broken in the technical sense) if I have invested myself in the story. I have the kind of personality who likes stories, wants to know how the end, wants to know what happens next. So if I've gotten into the game enough to have gotten into the meat of the story then I will definitely finish it at some point to see how it ends.

[Xeogred]

I think "atmosphere" is my other word for this, which can be one of the most important elements of a game for me. Games like the Thief series, Metroid, or Demon's Souls, etc might not have the biggest emphasis on forced narrative, but the environments and world building tell far more than simple words. They're some of the most dense games I've played and I can really lose myself in them. There is magic in subtlety and being able to apply some imagination to interpret things.

Sci-fi all the way back to Mega Man enhances just about everything to me. If Mega Man wasn't sci-fi and was something entirely different, my whole life would probably be very different lol. I'd say that's important, not that I knew it at the time.

But in the end, gameplay is the most important part to me. I've known some friends that can suffer through bad JRPG's or whatever that may have a good story, but I can't pull that off. But there's probably a list of games I could make that have average or bad stories, but with good gameplay so I finished them.

My roommate would never tell you his secret, but he plays everything on easy settings and probably favors stories way above the rest. But for me I'm the opposite, like some challenge, and focus more on the gameplay elements.

[laurenhiya21]

Not sure if I care about setting too much, but I don't think I've played many (if any) games that have had setting as a focus. I guess I like it when a game has a setting that's a little more interesting than "generic RPG land", but that wouldn't affect my enjoyment too much.

I'm also not too sure about immersion. I don't think I get immersed in games too often, but I think that might be partially because I tend to find things to poke fun at. Like if a character is wearing something bizarre, or there is something that's a bit odd. It's hard to explain, but I can usually find something to make fun of in games.

Story, however, I know is something that I can really appreciate. I feel like I'm more interested in a game if I'm really enjoying the story. I'm sure I would still finish a game with a bad story if I liked the gameplay enough, but I can't think of too many instances of games where I've enjoyed the gameplay more than the story.

[ElkinFencer10]

I almost always need a story I can get interested in. It can be a silly story - look at Hyperdimension Neptunia - but if I'm not interested in the story, I will almost always get bored and quit. I say almost because there will always be a few exceptions (looking at you, EDF).

[strangenova]

Story has never really mattered all that much to me, I mean as kid it was enough to know a crocodile stole my bananas. That was all that I needed. Setting can be very important to me though. I can't think of any off top, but sometimes games have a setting that just doesn't jive with me and I don't play them for very long.

[Tanooki]

It doesn't in most cases, but with some games it does because if the game play is just straight up average, or I start feeling tired and want to move on (like it or average with it) it can push me more hours, maybe even finish it. The Uncharted games just on PS3 did this as that isn't my thing, same with the semi-similar earlier Indiana Jones duo of titles (and the point and click Fate of Atlantis.) If it wasn't for the powerful character and amazing story writing I wouldn't have bothered or gave up. Same can be said at times for a few RPGs here or there too especially these days as they tax my attention after the 20hour mark (severely around 30.) Currently running up 22hours and change into DQ7 and surprisingly not bored, the story with all the mini-RPGs of sorts with each island keeps me going. (DQ4 had the same effect.)

[marurun]

A truly great story can make up for mediocre gameplay, but a truly bad story can sully even the best mechanics. A game I really enjoyed playing can really be knocked down several pegs in my memory due to a bad plot and a horrible ending.

[PartridgeSenpai]

I think "atmosphere" is my other word for this, which can be one of the most important elements of a game for me. Games like the Thief series, Metroid, or Demon's Souls, etc might not have the biggest emphasis on forced narrative, but the environments and world building tell far more than simple words. They're some of the most dense games I've played and I can really lose myself in them. There is magic in subtlety and being able to apply some imagination to interpret things.

I would personally say that atmosphere is a different category entirely. I've always thought that games like the ones you mentioned, save Thief which I've always thought has done a very good job at telling a large narrative from the perspective of just one character in it, those are games that have an appeal almost entirely on their mechanics, where the atmosphere is just a result of mechanics being the focus over story. Metroid and Souls games aren't trying to tell huge branching narratives because they want you to be focused on playing and enjoying the technicalities of the game rather than being focused on some huge branching narrative.

I personally almost always require some kind of good setting or story to immerse me. I would usually say I need a good story and/or good characters, but I know for a fact that I finished Final Fantasy X because I loved the world/setting, because I thought that game didn't tell its story very well and had really wank characters (but that's an argument for another thread )

Good story is usually first and foremost for me, as long as the gameplay isn't just mechanically boring OR hinders the plot, I will almost always enjoy a game to its conclusion (looking at you, Hotel Dusk ). I really enjoy games like Fire Emblem and the Tales of series because they have interesting narratives with (at least a few) good characters, and a plot that is fairly idiot-proof to get stuck in. I'm such a sucker for good characters, especially if the setting is really cool.

An example of a game that I felt failed at this to a certain extent is Baten Kaitos. That game REALLY drags its feet not necissarily on the narrative (even though it does, in my opinion) but also on the mechanics. The animations take SO long, and battles, especially bosses, start to take SO long that it just feels like the game has no respect for your time. The characters also aren't very interesting, and the overall plot and setting are certainly different, but they're SO different, it really feels like it isn't one continuous world: It feels like it's several different worlds pasted together into some semblance of a single story.