Why Game Narratives Fail

[WalksUnseen]

Hey guys!

http://au.pc.ign.com/articles/119/1192668p1.html

I've been meaning to post this article here for a while as I think it brings up a REALLY important point about the issues with story-telling in video games today. If you don't want to read through the whole article (which I highly suggest you do), it basically says that most games today fail to actually tell a story; instead what they have is a plot. Even games that are usually praised for having "great stories" (like Deus Ex:HR) do not really tell stories at all. There are no story arcs, character arcs or anything of the like. I tend to agree with this arguement and think it to be a major probelm with video game story-telling. Not only that, I believe it to be a primary reason why games have yet to fully transcend into the mainstream.

Your thoughts?

[Zolbrod]

To be honest, the article reads more like an attempt to debunk DE:HR's story (which is justified, if you ask me) than a full-on attack on video game stories in general, since he doesn't offer a lot of evidence to support his point outside of Deus Ex.

He evens specifically mentions several titles he feels DO have good stories and character development, so his general point falls completely flat. (No surprise there, this IS IGN after all)

His final paragraph perfectly encapsulates the ending of Silent Hill 2, for instance, and dare I say, many many JRPGs, which closely follow the coming-of-age arc almost to a fault.

[Pedro]

Hello Walks, and welcome.

The first thing that springs into my mind about what is holding back gaming from the mainsteam is that games are obviously created for and marketed to teenage boys. Yes, it's a big generalisation, but nonetheless it is largely true.

Storytelling in games is a tough one - with a large proportion of gamers saying it doesn't matter at all, that gameplay is all that matters.

Characterisation can be done well in games - the cast of Deadly Premonition were good fun, with Emily in particular being very well drawn, I thought. And if you look at character development as providing its own story, that's been done very well at times as well.

I haven't read the article yet!