specs
07-04-2007, 09:03 AM
This is a half-rant, half-discussion thread about the storytelling in games (or lack thereof). There will probably be spoilers. Use the spoiler tag where necessary, but be aware that some people (me included) are prone to forget that tag exists. So enter at your own risk.
What do you feel about storytelling in video games? Does it matter to you? Does the genre make it matter more/less? Are there storytelling cliches you like or hate?
Yesterday, I finished Astro Boy Omega Factor on the GBA, <cheapplug> the best GBA game ever made and one of Treasure's finest titles, so find it if you don't already own it </cheapplug>. It had a Symphony of the Night-level "story+gameplay plot twist" that I thought was sheer genius:
When you play through the game the first time, you meet characters and people, getting a good sense of the story and whatnot (it isn't based on any one Astro Boy interpretation, BTW). However, as events play out, a calamity descends upon the Earth, destroying all robots on it. But you are given a chance to go back and forth in time, find out what went wrong, and fix it. That's when you have to play the game again, this time unlocking stages for Stage Select.
The second playthrough differs slightly in some stages and greatly in others, and travelling back and forth through stages, gathering hints to find secrets elsewhere, you eventually piece together the mystery and manage to prevent the "normal" game's bad ending, leading to a really cool final stage and final segment. In the second playthrough, Astro already knows the names of major characters, often to that character's surprise, and is replaying the past while remembering that he's on an important mission. Playing the initial training mission again even grants an important clue to unlocking the final stage.
I was absolutely spellbound by how the plot played out as noted in the spoiler box above, just like how I was amazed that the entire SotN castle was designed to still be playable flipped upside-down. Astro Boy ties its big twist better with the story, though, and I'm left with a very favorable impression of Omega Factor because of it.
Moving on, let's look at storyline seperate from gameplay. I liked Gears of War's story very much, even though it really didn't have alot of depth. The dialog is really the meat of it all, and I never got the fealing that I was hearing words that I wouldn't be hearing had I been in that situation. There's apparently a metric ton of storyline material written for Gears and it'll be cool to see how it all pans out in GoW2.
Romance is something handled very differently by alot of games. The most obvious culprit is the RPG, specifically the JRPG. I think it's like mandatory to have a male protagonist and female love interest designed over there before you even work on the game. :rofl: And yet, though I'm a sucker for romance, too much of it in those games is way over the top and not believable.
The Xenogears love story, between Fei Fong Wong and Elly, was believable and well done, though I honestly wish I didn't have to sit through eighty metric tons of slowly scrolling text to get that far in the game. The same applies to Luke and Tear from Tales of the Abyss.
I like sweet little love stories where the guy and the girl have a relationship that fate itself is destined to take away from them.
Games like Illusion of Gaia, Terranigma, and Astro Boy Omega Factor (there it is again) all tug at the heartstrings, coupling people together that ultimately get torn apart from each other because of fate/ancient gods/time paradoxes/etc. In all three cases, they meet agian, but circumstances are not always what they were hoped to be. I guess you could also throw Final Fantasy X/X-2 and Tales of Symphonia in this list, though both ended more happily than they did with melancholy.
Anywho, I think that's a good-sized chunk to start things off. Discuss. Or not. It's all good.
What do you feel about storytelling in video games? Does it matter to you? Does the genre make it matter more/less? Are there storytelling cliches you like or hate?
Yesterday, I finished Astro Boy Omega Factor on the GBA, <cheapplug> the best GBA game ever made and one of Treasure's finest titles, so find it if you don't already own it </cheapplug>. It had a Symphony of the Night-level "story+gameplay plot twist" that I thought was sheer genius:
When you play through the game the first time, you meet characters and people, getting a good sense of the story and whatnot (it isn't based on any one Astro Boy interpretation, BTW). However, as events play out, a calamity descends upon the Earth, destroying all robots on it. But you are given a chance to go back and forth in time, find out what went wrong, and fix it. That's when you have to play the game again, this time unlocking stages for Stage Select.
The second playthrough differs slightly in some stages and greatly in others, and travelling back and forth through stages, gathering hints to find secrets elsewhere, you eventually piece together the mystery and manage to prevent the "normal" game's bad ending, leading to a really cool final stage and final segment. In the second playthrough, Astro already knows the names of major characters, often to that character's surprise, and is replaying the past while remembering that he's on an important mission. Playing the initial training mission again even grants an important clue to unlocking the final stage.
I was absolutely spellbound by how the plot played out as noted in the spoiler box above, just like how I was amazed that the entire SotN castle was designed to still be playable flipped upside-down. Astro Boy ties its big twist better with the story, though, and I'm left with a very favorable impression of Omega Factor because of it.
Moving on, let's look at storyline seperate from gameplay. I liked Gears of War's story very much, even though it really didn't have alot of depth. The dialog is really the meat of it all, and I never got the fealing that I was hearing words that I wouldn't be hearing had I been in that situation. There's apparently a metric ton of storyline material written for Gears and it'll be cool to see how it all pans out in GoW2.
Romance is something handled very differently by alot of games. The most obvious culprit is the RPG, specifically the JRPG. I think it's like mandatory to have a male protagonist and female love interest designed over there before you even work on the game. :rofl: And yet, though I'm a sucker for romance, too much of it in those games is way over the top and not believable.
The Xenogears love story, between Fei Fong Wong and Elly, was believable and well done, though I honestly wish I didn't have to sit through eighty metric tons of slowly scrolling text to get that far in the game. The same applies to Luke and Tear from Tales of the Abyss.
I like sweet little love stories where the guy and the girl have a relationship that fate itself is destined to take away from them.
Games like Illusion of Gaia, Terranigma, and Astro Boy Omega Factor (there it is again) all tug at the heartstrings, coupling people together that ultimately get torn apart from each other because of fate/ancient gods/time paradoxes/etc. In all three cases, they meet agian, but circumstances are not always what they were hoped to be. I guess you could also throw Final Fantasy X/X-2 and Tales of Symphonia in this list, though both ended more happily than they did with melancholy.
Anywho, I think that's a good-sized chunk to start things off. Discuss. Or not. It's all good.