StoryTELLING in Video Games

[TerminatorT850]

StoryTELLING in Video Games
by terminatort850

A story in a book makes a reader envision the world in his/her mind and it is unraveled with the help of written words.
A story in movie actually doesn?t require the audience to envision the world into his/her mind but instead shows everything literally & as the movie progresses; it entertains the audience with the help of a screen that shows the world, characters, story, and even fantastical special effects to actually make the audience believe everything to be real.
A story in a video game is actually PLAYED at the hands of the player. He/she is actively immersed in the world of the video game. The player usually controls a player character that is actually a part of the story and the story is presented to the player as he/she is actually IN the game, which is the target of the developers.

BUT HOW DO THE DEVELOPERS ACTUALLY CONVEY THE STORY?
Can they do it effectively, convincingly while leaving a mark on the player?s mind so that he/she remembers the story for years to come?
Let?s see how different games PRESENT the story.

HALO Trilogy
There is no denying that Halo trilogy conveys one of the best sci-fi stories ever created in any medium. Many even consider it better than Star Wars saga. Now each Halo game has such a dense story that they actually make the player feel that they have covered a lot of ground at the end of each game. Halo 1 presents a great beginning to everything and at its end; it feels like it has an end. Halo 2 has a grand story and has every bit as dense story except for its cliffhanger ending. Finally Halo 3 really winds up the story and doesn?t seem rushed and does a real good job at feeling like a final chapter unlike what The Matrix Revolutions did. The only problem with the presentation of the story in Halo games is that they assume that the player know a bit about back story. Many people couldn?t make sense of Halo 3 at times. The ending celebration cinematic could have been more epic. Overall, the story is simply epic.

HALF-LIFE Series
It?s been 9 years since Half-Life and STILL nobody knows much about G-Man, Gordon Freeman himself etc. Half-Life 2 introduced Combine of which Freeman had no idea. Episode One had no story virtually. Episode Two is the real long wanted story teller game in Half-Life universe. Still, where Half-Life games answer 1 question, they raise 100 others. They are still in the process of introducing everything. Episode Two took a series a little forward. Episode Three is definitely going to be something. Still, Half-Life is going to end anytime soon but they take so much time making it.

MASS EFFECT
Another epic, gorgeous world created by BioWare; the masters of storytelling. Mass effect presents the story beautifully and goes easy on the player. Anybody won?t have any problem getting along with the story of this epic scale that rivals Halo, Star Wars. This is the way a story is told in a video game.

ASSASSIN?S CREED
The middle-east setting has a lot of promise but hasn?t been used by game developers except for war game developers who only consider this part of the world to be warmongering. The Prince of Persia developers set the game in a beautiful era that has a holy feel to it. The Templar vs. Assassins story is ultra cool both in present day and 1191 AD timeline of Altair. The 2012 (present) time story is interesting but that part is too minor in the game. This part of the story wasn?t exposed much. Still, there are 2 more games to come. It?s no doubt got a promising premise.

PORTAL
Though this game was gameplay centric rather than story but it turned out to be one of the funniest games of all time. Featuring only THREE characters i.e. Chell, GLaDOS & Aperture Science Weighted Companion Cube, this game has minimal story. But all the cake stuff and GLaDOS? bluffing really were strong points of that minimal story. This proves that small bits of story can also make a big impact. It will be a shame if there isn?t more of it.

BIOSHOCK
Nobody ever created a world like Rapture before. Though the ending doesn?t leave a room for sequel or prequel, still something is in development. BioShock presents one of the more nerve wracking stories ever. The moment the player knows about the truth behind the phrase, ?Would you kindly?? the world kind of turns upside down. The ending cinematic was way too short.

GEARS OF WAR
Again this is the case of not so fleshed out story. Gears of Wars paid attention to everything including gameplay, graphics, sound, characters, dialogue, architecture but the story wasn?t explored much. The Locust Queen?s lines were some real strong lines. Let?s hope to get more stories in the inevitable sequel.

THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK
Escape from Butcher Bay is a proof that a video game based on the movie of the same franchise can be far better than movies. The Chronicles of Riddick universe suits more to the video game medium than movies.

MAFIA
Mafia was released around the same time as Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. It had everything that could make it better than a GTA game. A great story, city of Lost Heaven, music, gameplay compliments the then superior graphics. Thankfully, a sequel is coming.

GRAND THEFT AUTO
The best there was and the best there ever will be in this gansta franchise. Simply put, each game in the series has great story and believable characters.

CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE
People can?t remember any character from Call of Duty & Call of Duty 2 except for the big moustache guy Capt. Price. He returns in COD 4 with other memorable characters Soap, Gaz, Imran Zakhaev, Khaled Al Assad. This is how a story is told in military themed shooter. Tom Clancy?s games Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six and Splinter Cell never had a strong story and they need to learn. On the other hand Medal of Honor is now just a cash cow.

RESIDENT EVIL 4
It was a revival of a fading series. It employed an over the shoulder shooting mechanic that inspired many other shooters. But along with everything, the European village, the bosses, Leon, Ada Wong, Luis Sera, Las Plagas really presented a compelling which actually immersed the player into the world.

MAX PAYNE
Graphic novels were used instead of the usual cutscenes in Max Payne games that required real actors to pose. It had strong story and memorable characters. The cryptic nature of graphic novel really sucked the player into the film noir story.

Some games have great stories but aren?t very effective in telling them. Some games succeed easily. But one thing is sure, people who never played a story driven video game are missing a big experience of life.

 

[99.vikram]

HALO Trilogy
There is no denying that Halo trilogy conveys one of the best sci-fi stories ever created in any medium.....Overall, the story is simply epic.

Completely disagree. The story in the Halo games never rises above average IMO. The Halo books on the other hand, flesh out the universe wonderfully.

GRAND THEFT AUTO
The best there was and the best there ever will be in this gansta franchise. Simply put, each game in the series has great story and believable characters.

Vice City was better that GTA 3 in every respect - likable main character, funny npcs (who can ever forget the lawyer guy, or Diaz) and a plot that never took itself too seriously. Everything that was absent in San Andreas.

The rest of your post is pretty much spot on. :thumbs:

 

[Dog--]

About the Halo - NO. HELL F***CKING NO.

About the everything else - yes. (I actually enjoyed SA more then the others - call me crazy)

 

[Asknoone]

GEARS OF WAR
The Locust Queen?s lines were some real strong lines.

RESIDENT EVIL 4
Leon, Ada Wong, Luis Sera, Las Plagas really presented a compelling which actually immersed the player into the world.

HALO Trilogy
There is no denying that Halo trilogy conveys one of the best sci-fi stories ever created in any medium.

Many even consider it better than Star Wars saga.

Wow major feat. My three-year-old cousin could write a more compelling story than George Lucas.

 

[Sheepo]

HALO Trilogy
There is no denying that Halo trilogy conveys one of the best sci-fi stories ever created in any medium. Many even consider it better than Star Wars saga. Now each Halo game has such a dense story that they actually make the player feel that they have covered a lot of ground at the end of each game. Halo 1 presents a great beginning to everything and at its end; it feels like it has an end. Halo 2 has a grand story and has every bit as dense story except for its cliffhanger ending. Finally Halo 3 really winds up the story and doesn?t seem rushed and does a real good job at feeling like a final chapter unlike what The Matrix Revolutions did. The only problem with the presentation of the story in Halo games is that they assume that the player know a bit about back story. Many people couldn?t make sense of Halo 3 at times. The ending celebration cinematic could have been more epic. Overall, the story is simply epic.

HALF-LIFE Series
It?s been 9 years since Half-Life and STILL nobody knows much about G-Man, Gordon Freeman himself etc. Half-Life 2 introduced Combine of which Freeman had no idea. Episode One had no story virtually. Episode Two is the real long wanted story teller game in Half-Life universe. Still, where Half-Life games answer 1 question, they raise 100 others. They are still in the process of introducing everything. Episode Two took a series a little forward. Episode Three is definitely going to be something. Still, Half-Life is going to end anytime soon but they take so much time making it.

You will perish.

You put half-life and halo next to each other in a thread about games' stories.

You went on to praise Halo...

... and criticize Half-Life.

The rest of the post I did not bother reading, nor should anyone else.

It does not matter.

You will perish.

 

[Pesmerga]

I don't see how interacting in a story makes it a better story.

 

[Fliko]

You will perish.

You put half-life and halo next to each other in a thread about games' stories.

You went on to praise Halo...

... and criticize Half-Life.

The rest of the post I did not bother reading, nor should anyone else.

It does not matter.

You will perish.

He has a point though, Valve is easily making a shitload more of money instead of if they went with the normal HL2 idea starting on Borealis.

 

[Krynn72]

He has a point though, Valve is easily making a shitload more of money instead of if they went with the normal HL2 idea starting on Borealis.

So? If they still make the games as amazing as they have been then they can milk it for as long as they want, and everyone will be happy.

 

[theotherguy]

StoryTELLING in Video Games
by terminatort850


HALO Trilogy
Disagree. Halo trilogy had a shitty story that was cliched and hardly made any sense. It was a mildly interesting universe to play in, but the story was definitely not a selling factor.

HALF-LIFE Series
That's what makes Half-life so great. They don't force feed the story. They let you figure it out on your own in bits and pieces. Its so intriguing and odd, and the feeling of helplessness so powerful that it makes me want to keep buying the game and learn more of the story.



PORTAL
Agreed. Portal was the perfect model for game design and brilliant storytelling and dark humor.


BIOSHOCK
The game sucked horribly, but I do think that the story had something to it. Too bad they had to interlace the whole thing with people running at you with pipes/guns and other such shitty gameplay.


THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK
Agreed.


GRAND THEFT AUTO
Please. Grand theft Auto was just good satire, nothing more. The characters were in no way compelling.


MAX PAYNE
The original Max Payne was, I think, one of the best told stories in a game.

.....

 

[Jintor]

So? If they still make the games as amazing as they have been then they can milk it for as long as they want, and everyone will be happy.

Turns out games are about having fun, not epic stories.

I hate it but it's the truth.

 

[Qhartb]

I assume the capitalized "TELLING" in the thread's title is a reference to "show, don't tell." Half-life 2's story is mostly shown, with a few parts told. If you restrict the Half-life story to only the parts that are told then yes, there is not much of it there. Definitely much less than Halo or pretty much any other game with cutscenes.

 

[Polaris]

HALO Trilogy
There is no denying that Halo trilogy conveys one of the best sci-fi stories ever created in any medium.

This is heresy!
Please, shoot yourself with Chief's plasma cannon, drown yourself in Mountain Dew or something.

 

[Asknoone]

I don't see how interacting in a story makes it a better story.

It doesn't.

 

[Jintor]

Makes for a better game though.

 

[Pesmerga]

This was actually a pretty large debate on the comments section of a particular RPS column, which can be found here

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/?p=663

arguing that storytelling should be put in the hands of the player, so that the control of the player is never taken away.

Alas, I was on the pro cut-scene side.

 

[Asknoone]

I think I misunderstood what Pes said. When you said interaction I thought you meant like, dictating the route of the storyline. I'm pretty anti-cutscene. There's nothing wrong with keeping your player stationary though; it's for cinematic value. Just so long as he's not being pulled from the world.

 

[Pesmerga]

I wasn't so much pro-cutscene as I was just defending cutscenes from anti-cutscene arguments.

 

[Absinthe]

HALO Trilogy
There is no denying that Halo trilogy conveys one of the best sci-fi stories ever created in any medium.

What the jumping shit?

Look, if people want to like Halo, fine. But this is patently absurd.

 

[TerminatorT850]

HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY, I dont like Halo better than Half-Life. Half-Life is my FAVORITE 1 & ONLY universe of all time. I am just telling how they show u sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo little. No matter what they tell, Halo cant reach Half-Life. Full Stop. This article is not about how one game is better than other. Its about the storyTELLING. Half-Life's story is gr8, no cutscenes are even gr8. but less story is gr8 for 2 or 3 games but not for the whole 4 or 5 games.

 

[Jintor]

But what if Halo's "Epic Story" is mostly worthless crap? I got more emotional range from Episode Two than I did from Halo and Halo 2.

 

[Sparta]

What the jumping shit?

Look, if people want to like Halo, fine. But this is patently absurd.

Yeah i'm with you, and the dozen others who have said this. I'm not big on sci-fi, but from the small amount of it that i've read/seen, saying that Halo's story is one of the most epic sci-fi stories ever told is complete and utter bullshit.

Also, i'd like to point out that i quite like Halo and this isn't the Half-life fanboy in me talking. Its just complete and utter bullshit to say that Halo's story is "undeniably epic". I could go on and write terribly long-winded argument but i can't be ****ed. Others have summed it up already.

 

[Deleted member 56031]

HALO Trilogy
There is no denying that Halo trilogy conveys one of the best sci-fi stories ever created in any medium. Many even consider it better than Star Wars saga. Now each Halo game has such a dense story that they actually make the player feel that they have covered a lot of ground at the end of each game. Halo 1 presents a great beginning to everything and at its end; it feels like it has an end. Halo 2 has a grand story and has every bit as dense story except for its cliffhanger ending. Finally Halo 3 really winds up the story and doesn?t seem rushed and does a real good job at feeling like a final chapter unlike what The Matrix Revolutions did. The only problem with the presentation of the story in Halo games is that they assume that the player know a bit about back story. Many people couldn?t make sense of Halo 3 at times. The ending celebration cinematic could have been more epic. Overall, the story is simply epic.

Resident Evil 4
But along with everything, the European village, the bosses, Leon, Ada Wong, Luis Sera, Las Plagas really presented a compelling which actually immersed the player into the world.

 

[CptStern]

There is no denying that Halo trilogy conveys one of the best sci-fi stories ever created in any medium.

I've read most of the classics and best science fictionever written, from Brave New World to Player Piano, to Fahrenheit 451 to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? ...halo doesnt come anywhere near the worst of these books ...I mean it's like comparing the A-team to Apocolypse now ..I cant for the life of me tell you what Halo is about despite playing all 3 games

truth be told video game story telling doesnt even compare to comic books, and bad comic books at that ..the meduim just isnt overly conducive to traditional story telling ..I mean in the last few years I've played one game that has any sort of semi-memorable story line that I didnt immediately remember or didnt mash a "skip cutscene" key; the witcher, and even that was pretty rudimentary

 

[Acepilotf14]

Overall, taking into account all the books and games, Halo tend to convey a nice story. But, with the games alone in your prespective, epic facepalm. By the way, gr8 is not a word. great is.

 

[Warbie]

truth be told video game story telling doesnt even compare to comic books, and bad comic books at that ..the meduim just isnt overly conducive to traditional story telling ..

Agreed. I don't expect to find a decent story in video games and very few have kept me gripped from start to finish - Planescape being a rare example. I wouldn't rank HL2's story any higher than the average made for tv movie that appears on the sci-fi channel.

Keep them simple with interesting characters and it's all good - the fun part is what we get to do as the player. Cutscene wise - always keep them in game!! fmv for ftl.

 

[<RJMC>]

my opinion

halo: I havent played much halo but I dont find the storyline so "epic"

halflife: I think mystery is part of the storyline, kind of like lost which is supposed to be "misterious"(tough in mi opinion is just trowing ramdon stuff to it so people go "woahh, its awsome cuz I dont get it!" or maybe feels uber intelligent when trying to figure out the storyline)and that make it kind of hard to sa if the storyline is good or not(havent played episode2) but it allways let a feeling of wanting more and total mistery of what will happen next,for example when I played the game I allways wondered how the resonance cascade will be solved and the earth saved,but when I beated the game I felt like "wtf?" asking what happened
also the fact that the storyline progeses while playing and make you feel more involved in it,I heard that scripted events like in halflife may be in resident evil5 cuz the creator say how he liked the storyline progressing directly in gameplay
bet ya all the games that have a similiar story structure are inspired from halflife,after all it was the pioneer on that

gears of wars storyline was crap imo,interesting at first but then while playing you was "what is what was happening?"
I bet you it will be the next halo

chronicles of riddick was surprising,whit it mixed vaiety of gameplay and simple but cool storyline,and the variety of the gameplay that made the game feel unrepetible really made it awsome
also it have a bit of halflife cuz events happens when you advance,not just going in shooting gallery trough corridors like many fps

grand theft auto have a simple storytelling to me,nothing inovative,though is entertained,the 3 was kinda halflife where you character didnt talk and it didnt have a "style" like the others and that made you the one who decide the "style" of the game by what car and such you want
vice city was a litle improvemeent and have a funny storyline too,and I wasnt alive in the 80's but after playing vice city everything of the eighties remind me of vice city
san andreas was the same,nothing exceptional

resident evil 4 was like the previous games,though the storyline wasnt so great

max payne was original whit the comic style or graphic novel or whatever and really helped to give its style

didnt posted on the oter cuz I havent played them

 

[Acepilotf14]

Agreed. I don't expect to find a decent story in video games and very few have kept me gripped from start to finish - Planescape being a rare example. I wouldn't rank HL2's story any higher than the average made for tv movie that appears on the sci-fi channel.

Keep them simple with interesting characters and it's all good - the fun part is what we get to do as the player. Cutscene wise - always keep them in game!! fmv for ftl.

I think it really depends on what kind of game with cut scenes. In a game like Half Life 2, in-game cut scenes are better. But in a game like Mass Effect or Ace Combat 6, the awesomely cool cut scenes are better. Typically, RPG's need cinematic cutscenes, while FPS' should have ingame cuscenes.

 

[Eejit]

StoryTELLING in Video Games
by terminatort850

HALO Trilogy
There is no denying that Halo trilogy conveys one of the best sci-fi stories ever created in any medium.

Oh jesus god no.
Go read some Philip K Dick, Fred Saberhagen, Arthur C Clarke, Iain M Banks, Isaac Asimov, Dan Simmons, Kim Stanley Robinson...

Basically any sci-fi book with a decent author is better than Halo.

 

[Naurgul]

Agreed. I don't expect to find a decent story in video games and very few have kept me gripped from start to finish - Planescape being a rare example. I wouldn't rank HL2's story any higher than the average made for tv movie that appears on the sci-fi channel..

Well, I'd have to agree that Half-Life's story is not anything really exceptional, but it's nice. Actually, I think it's kind of similar to Zelda games in this way: In Zelda games, the story is simplistic and almost non-existent but the execution is what makes it worthwhile.

 

[Absinthe]

Well, I'd have to agree that Half-Life's story is not anything really exceptional, but it's nice. Actually, I think it's kind of similar to Zelda games in this way: In Zelda games, the story is simplistic and almost non-existent but the execution is what makes it worthwhile.

Exactly.

The idea of a unforeseen alien catastrophe is not new. Nor is the idea of alien occupation. These aren't wholly originally concepts. But does that make the story subpar? I don't think so. That's just backdrop, as far as I'm concerned. What matters to me is script, characters, development, and execution. And I think there are games out there that handle these quite well.

At the very least, even if the vast majority of games don't offer much in the storytelling department, I reckon it's only a matter of time until the medium compares well to others.

 

[Warbie]

But is it the story that really draws you in and keeps you going? I'm not bashing story telling in video games, just that I feel it exists to give you a reason to blow shit up.

 

[Asknoone]

Alien invasion has been done time and time again, but simply because the concept isn't original doesn't mean it's average. In terms of dialogue, character development and the world itself the Half-life series is still above and beyond levels few games manage to reach (and that includes other mediums).

Games can easily become an amazing storytelling vehicle, but they are hindered by the limited and narrow minded thinking of the majority of developers themselves. It doesn't just come down to your narrative, it comes down to how you design the game itself. It's still stuck in the methodology of 6-8 years ago.

 

[Absinthe]

But is it the story that really draws you in and keeps you going? I'm not bashing story telling in video games, just that I feel it exists to give you a reason to blow shit up.

I don't see why the two can't be harmonized. I don't think it's fundamentally an either/or matter, even if it often ends up that way today. Granted, a good story is pretty pointless if the game itself isn't up to snuff. But many quality developers put a lot of time, thought, and effort into making their worlds fleshed out, and I think calling story an excuse trivializes all that work. Quite unfairly, I think.

Half-Life 2 is full of extraneous detail and ambiguous loose enthat people can and will miss out on at least on a first playthrough. A lot of it isn't integral to understanding the games' basic plot or universe. And yet Valve made a conscious decision to add it any way, and I think it paid off. I find myself fascinated by its universe and I spend more time discussing the series' mythology than I do playing the games.
Deus Ex is another favorite of mine. The core gameplay was very well done, but what kept me consistently engaged was the constantly unfolding conspiracies and their intricate interweaving. It referenced source material from all over the map, and even offered a few poignant observations. Had I not been riveted by these things, I probably wouldn't have played past Hong Kong.

In other news, I quit World of Warcraft a few months ago due in no small part to grievances I had with its story.

So maybe it's just me, as I perhaps place a disproportionate amount of importance on narrative quality. But there are games I've played through entirely because of their story, and conversely there have been games I've stopped playing after getting fed up. In the end, I think it's entirely possible for a title to have involving gameplay while still having a story of equal (or close to) importance.

 

[Warbie]

Games can easily become an amazing storytelling vehicle, but they are hindered by the limited and narrow minded thinking of the majority of developers themselves. It doesn't just come down to your narrative, it comes down to how you design the game itself. It's still stuck in the methodology of 6-8 years ago.

The tricky part is giving the player choice and still delivering a well crafted story. There's also the fact that, in fps at least, we spend 90% of the time killing things. No decent story can lend itself convincingly to that. I'm all for holding back on the action and giving narrative a chance. Infact, HL2 had me gripped more than any other game I can think of in the first 2 chapters for just this reason - the whole train station sequence, finding the lab, meeting Barney, Alex, the doc etc - it was ****ing awesome. But then it became an action game and I was shooting generic bad guy x for the next 7 hours and the story lost me.

There's certainly potential, but i've yet to play anything that matches a good book.

 

[Asknoone]

I'm not going to get into the gameplay argument (again ), but I think it's a big factor in how to make your game and its narrative stronger.

 

[repiV]

The tricky part is giving the player choice and still delivering a well crafted story. There's also the fact that, in fps at least, we spend 90% of the time killing things. No decent story can lend itself convincingly to that. I'm all for holding back on the action and giving narrative a chance. Infact, HL2 had me gripped more than any other game I can think of in the first 2 chapters for just this reason - the whole train station sequence, finding the lab, meeting Barney, Alex, the doc etc - it was ****ing awesome. But then it became an action game and I was shooting generic bad guy x for the next 7 hours and the story lost me.

Yeah, my favourite part of the game was Black Mesa East.

There's certainly potential, but i've yet to play anything that matches a good book.

What about Deus Ex?

 

[Acepilotf14]

Yeah, my favourite part of the game was Black Mesa East.



What about Deus Ex?

Ace Combat 5? Christ, that had an epic stroyline.

 

[Warbie]

I'm not going to get into the gameplay argument (again ), but I think it's a big factor in how to make your game and its narrative stronger.

I wasn't talking about the gameplay - rather that the amount of action makes it difficult for any narrative to be effective. If you spend most your time running around and shooting stuff then that's the impression you end up left with.

 

[CptStern]

video game developers need to stop thinking of themselves as a dumbed down version of hollywood ..that whole "cinematic cutscenes" is terribly over used ..most look like they were shot for shot copies of film student projects ..or a carbon of Michael Bay..hardly the stuff of cinetography ..I mean can anyone compare any scene in any video game with say the cinematography in Lawrence of Arabia or Apocalypse Now or
On the Waterfront? video games are still in it's infancy, we havent reached the level where story can be compared to literature or even film

that said, I think video games should try to strike out on it's own and forge a new method story telling, they shouldnt have to emulate other types of media ..personally i'd like to be plopped down in a middle of a vast world populated with characters that I can interact with ..allow me to write my own story as I go along .. narrative delivery through cut scenes are passe and need to be slowly elimanted as a story telling device ..they almost always act as a bridge between the action and the plot but is almost always inconsequential

 

[Asknoone]

I wasn't talking about the gameplay - rather that the amount of action makes it difficult for any narrative to be effective. If you spend most your time running around and shooting stuff then that's the impression you end up left with.

I think your point was perfectly valid, and I agree with it. At best there's only a handful of soldiers in Episode 2, and I think this kind of thing is warranted in other games.