Let's not forget that not all games need an in-depth story. A lot of games these days try very hard to have a complex storyline and they overdo it, and it just kind of gets in the way. Or they just try to have some story, any story, because every game has to have a story, for gosh sakes! (Think Doom 3, would have been better if you just started off fighting aliens instead of the 2 hour intro where you walk around and read other people's journal entries on your PDA in order to learn that "something strange is going on" [You already know this! It's Doom 3! Duh!])

I am reminded of the classic NES game "Bad Dudes" (like Double Dragon, but better gameplay) The entire story for this game consisted of a single splash screen:

"The President has been kidnapped by ninjas! Are you a bad enough dude to rescue the President?"

That was all it needed, and it was a great game.

You are absolutely right when you say that not all games need a story, but the majority of them do. What we really need is all the resources that the movie industry has for developing stories, etc. Our industry is currently in its infancy and about to become a toddler, so as times progress so will the stories in our games.

Back to the not all games need a story thing: A lot of the time games that we don't see as having a story actually do have one, its just that the story is determined by the actions of a player in the game. So no, not all games need an epic tale, but it at least helps to give the player motivation for what they are doing.

As far as Doom is concerned, as well as other FPS games, I think they all need stories. Doom had a horrible story, and that was why I got tired of blasting monsters that were jumping at me from the shadows. If they had pieced together a better narrative then maybe I would have actually finished the game or actually care if they have a sequel.

Quote: Original post by Inkscribe
Our industry is currently in its infancy and about to become a toddler,

Our industry is way beyond toddler, easily into young adulthood. Yeah, we still got some teenage insecurities to deal with, but as an industry we've had our college partying days. Puked till it hurts. And are just starting to awaken with the built up wisdom within. We are in a buisness now, and takeing it seriously too.

Yeah, I suppose you are right. I guess what I meant was that great storytelling in games is still in its infancy...

Read up on INFOCOM before commiting to that conjecture. They set the story driven game bar really high. And all the interactive fiction that has followed built upon the INFOCOM legacy. If you really want to explore stories in games, thats the place to be.

IMHO, a game's story can be compared to book/movie story, when story is the main and most important component of the game. No, better think this: game is just a *means of* storytelling.
This applies mostly to adventures and RPGs, because in other genres gameplay is obviously the main reason to play the game.
'Art-house' projects are very commercially risky, I think.

People seem to forget that the whole reason story driven games exist is because people are looking to gaming for something more substantial and meaningful.
I'm not saying a game is going to come out of nowhere and suddenly become the symbol of the occult based solely on it's story's content.
But there's a definite desire to be recognized for something other than looking pretty in the industry now and soon enough, it will be a common practice to hire a writer as part of the dev. team.

(Observation: My signature is especially relevant in this particular thread...)

Quote: What I'm saying is that as video games approach the title of 'interactive narrative', the same effort and skill that was put into an older game won't cut it anymore. You will have to be on par with script writers and novelists to be able to get your work into a game.

From that, I think that many aspiring game writers won't be able to make it in the business.

You say that like it's a bad thing. The "effort and skill that was put into an older game" was pretty pathetic: The president has been kidnapped by ninjas! The stories were written by the development team, not a professional writer, and the lack of skill showed.

Aspiring doctors won't be able to make it in the medical business if they keep killing their patients. Aspiring lawyers won't be able to pass certification if they can't properly argue a case. Aspiring programmers won't be able to find a job if they can't even write Pong. So why should we cut aspiring writers any slack?

[Edited by - JBourrie on August 2, 2008 1:50:30 PM]