I don't want a next generation of gaming consoles

[darthmunky]

Well, it's looking like the next gen of consoles is going be the double the time it usually takes before new ones come out. Microsoft stated that there is not going to be a new Xbox for a while and that Project Natal is their "next gen" thing.

[8bit]

A couple of games have made me "feel" the characters emotions and made me want to play the game for the story/character. These games a very few and far in between and older. They include Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VII and Ocarina of Time.

None of these games have required a ton of realism (at the time they were the best of the best though). They won me over with story and heart. So in my opinion these games were just as good as any movie I love.

Anyway, thats my $.02

[Anayo]

To JT:

Another game that did videogame storytelling really well in an unconventional way was Shadow of the Collossus.... It's one of the shining examples of story being told THROUGH gameplay.

I agree with you completely, although I've only watched my brother play bits and pieces of SotC instead of doing it myself. This is why I brought up Metroid Prime as an example. In that game, you're completely alone in a mysterious, ruined world that's full of detail for you to explore. I think it bypasses the need to develop characters by making you the only character that's still alive in the world. I think this approach also accomplishes the "transplanting the gamer's personality into the game's main character", cause I felt kinda like I was really there experiencing it.

Yet, the bad controls really play into the horror aspect. You have less control. You can't do a spinning jump and fire Contra style "S" shot in all directions to clear your path. You feel more helpless, which fits perfectly with a feeling of fear and dread, which is what Silent Hill 2 wants you to feel.

Another reason why I brought up Resident Evil 4 as an example. It's just like that.

A couple of games have made me "feel" the characters emotions and made me want to play the game for the story/character. These games a very few and far in between and older. They include Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VII and Ocarina of Time.

None of these games have required a ton of realism (at the time they were the best of the best though). They won me over with story and heart. So in my opinion these games were just as good as any movie I love.

Anyway, thats my $.02

I know Gamerforlife doesn't agree, but I'm glad at least one other person does.

[J T]

Everybody is so pretentious now and wants to deliver memorable stories.

Memorable stories are not pretentious. Why is it that anytime somebody attempts to do something with any intelligence or value, it gets put down as being "pretentious" by people that don't even appear to know what the word means. This is a pet peeve of mine.

And when you can't bring it in the gameplay department, you fail as a video game no matter how good your story is or how pretty your graphics are

I don't entirely agree with this. Although, I could be convinced of this if we had a term for interactive digital media besides "video games". A game is supposed to be fun. But I think we limit video games by thinking they need to be games, and therefore fun. Movies, books, music and other forms of art do not need to be fun; they only need to be, in some way, captivating. I think the same is true for videogames. The way you control your character should play into the larger motivations for the overall storyline. If that control isn't fun, but fits the purpose for evoking the intended emotional feeling of the sequence, then so be it.

And it's not like fun games will disappear. There's nothing to be threatened by. There will always be videogames focused on fun, just like there are pop songs, and romantic comedies, and action movies that all focus on fun. Videogames just haven't had much of a chance yet to deliver anything substantive as an artform, so they remain enjoyable little baubles, but I would like to see them branch out as well and really say something.

[Erik_Twice]

It's one of the shining examples of story being told THROUGH gameplay.

I agree. Similarly to the Metroid example provided by Anayo in X-COM you face every alien cliché you can think of.

And it creeps the fuck out of you because your characters are weak and there's fog of war, something unrelated to the plot or setting, it's just gameplay.

[Beak]

Really, a great post, man; I wholeheartedly agree.

[Luke]

Memorable stories are not pretentious. Why is it that anytime somebody attempts to do something with any intelligence or value, it gets put down as being "pretentious" by people that don't even appear to know what the word means. This is a pet peeve of mine.

I see that often on this forum.


For me a game doesn't have to have characters I care about, or a decent storyline. Sure, if it is going to have a lot of cut-scenes, I like to have scenes have some relevance to the game, but I can usually skip the scene if I'd like.

In the end, all I really want is the game to be fun, and everything added onto it is a bonus. Cut-scenes, challenge, story, just add to an already great game. You could take away the cut-scenes from a lot of my favorite games, and it would make little difference.