Gaming Games and Storylines

[BlueYoshi]

[color=teal]It's something that's been on my mind for a while; video games rarely have gripping storylines. I find it interesting because many games do very well in the market, and even though the vast majority of them lack creativity in the storyline department, they're prone to successfully surpassing movies that actually highlight this point. Having said that, it's not often that games based on films accomplish the latter either.

I've noticed that PC-only games usually have decent storylines, which isn't surprising because I've always seen it as a sophisticated system that operates on sophisticated games, but that shouldn't say only sophisticated games can have good stories. Nintendo are popular for making so-called kiddie games under the foundation that the graphics engines are colourful. Sony is a lot more varied, meaning it can't properly be categorised in terms of the games it runs, and the Xbox bares the same relationship to the PC; it's as if Microsoft will only accept those sorts of games, which is a shame really because I feel the Xbox is starting to come around. They need to express it a lot more heavily, even if it shatters their current image (which is a stupid way of looking at it, heh).

I've listed two games that I thought did well to bring the above to work, and definitely made changes to whatever stereotypes people have against the system/s.

[b]The Wind Waker:[/b] Most LoZ games revolve around the premise of saving the kidnapped Princess Zelda from some evil doer, and no matter how cliché that is, players will always abide by that story because it's the centre of LoZ. TWW has a very basic story, but the turns in it are completely unexpected -- you'd have to have played it to know. It was great how[spoiler]Tetra was Zelda all along[/spoiler], and the sequence that followed her revelation was even better and helped the situation even more. Though, because of that it allowed Zelda in general to exceed a brand new image where she stays tough throughout the whole game, compared to the other adventures where she's usually reliant on Link. I always thought the perfect LoZ game would be a combination of OoT and TWW.

[b]Final Fantasy VII:[/b] FF was always about branching out new ways for RPGs to be played with, whether it be graphics, gameplay, new options? anything. FFVII is basic in that sense, but compensates with a fully-fledged story that can't go wrong. It's as if only so much work has been done to make it what it is; the Ancients, Shinra's dictatorship, clones, science. Almost every corner of it links together to form one solid package and reflects real life almost certainly. Even the character's have their own specific roles, rather than the usual 'joining in to help save the world'. Heck, the erroneous characters even have important parts; [spoiler]Vincent to Lucrecia, Lucrecia to Hojo, Hojo to Jenova, Jenova to Sephiroth, Sephiroth to Cloud.[/spoiler] I think it's the most developed story made from when Square was independent.

They're games on separate consoles, yet they achieve the exact same goal. It's hard to imagine seeing them on different consoles, but if that was the case, do you think they'd be better or worse off?[/color]

[Brasil]

I think MGS ranks up there as one of the greatest video game stories. The scope of it is remarkable, really. It encompasses a strong sense of action, honor, strength of the human resolve, and the main character more fights himself than bio-enhanced terrorists. Snake is almost disgusted with himself, the killer, assassin, etc, and I feel his inner conflict is the most important focus of MGS. He is constantly at war with himself, with his history; perhaps MGS borrowed some ideas from Faulkner's Light In August, with the "unable to escape from history" angle. MGS is arguably one of the most poignant games in history. "Choose live, then [i]live[/i]!"

And also, KOTOR. :D The characters are well-written, especially HK-47 and Canderous (hey...is it more fun being bad?), the dialogue is entertaining, and the plot twist near the end of the game is fantastic, albeit a [i]tad[/i] predictable. Carth kind of gives it away early in the game, when you think about it. Really, I view KOTOR's plot as a morality tale, akin to Everyman, I guess. Everyman is about just an average guy caught in the middle of a huge conflict between good and evil, if I remember correctly, and that's what KOTOR is: a seemingly average Joe caught up in this massive war. When "discovering" who you really are, you must make a choice--and I find this choice is very relevant in real life. You must choose if you will continue the life you once led, or embrace the life you now lead. One could say the plot twist is the main character's singular event, the moment of truth that will forever decide the outcome of his or her life.

[BlueYoshi]

[color=teal]I always saw MGS as kind of a soap opera (lol) based on the fact that the mission at hand is only a front so as the characters can dwell more into eachother's personal lives. That's one of the reasons why I liked the Tanker so much in MGS2; as a philanthropist, you have time to concentrate on the mission at hand and do what you were sent in to do, without the gibberish Codec calls.

[b]Kingdom Hearts:[/b] This is an interesting one, I think. Many complained about Disney's involvement because it just didn't seem a fitting match at the time, but in all honesty Square needed them. Square are very imaginative when producing their games -- and having made a large franchise of RPGs supports that -- so you're left to ask yourself, why didn't they just create KH from scratch?

They could've easily made their own characters and landscapes to replace those Disney ones to make KH another repetition to their long blog of games, and you know that they were capable. At the time, I felt the Disney criteria was a naive move to attract a younger audience and introduce them to the genre, but after playing and analysing it, that doesn't appear to be the case. Disney helped the story of KH advance from Square's usual designation to a more medieval and fantasy like game, merging the two together.

There was also a massive array of support characters and bosses who were feasible of having a role in KH because of their adaptability from whatever movie they featured in. In a way, it was almost like a jig-saw puzzle; everything was a match, and with Square's own delight on top, how could KH not get points for originality?[/color]

[Shinmaru]

Personally, I'm not a big fan of Kingdom Hearts, but I guess it does deserve some kudos for incorporating the Disney characters in a slightly unique way lol.

I agree with Bean - I think the story of MGS is really good (even if some of those cutscenes took [i]forever[/i] to end :rolleyes: ). The way that the story is presented, it's more about Snake and his struggles and interactions with the other characters ("good" and "evil" alike) moreso than the actual mission that Snake is on (though the mission is never fully shunted to a backseat role, which was a smart move on Konami's part).

FFVII had a good storyline, but the main problem that I have with it is that so much important stuff is hidden in completely random spots that the game really gives you barely a hint about; it's like you walk into a room with a certain character and boom!You get a flashback sequence. [spoiler]I think the most notable example of this is the whole flashback of Cloud and Zach's backstory that you get if you decide to go back to the basement of the Shin-Ra Mansion with Cloud and Tifa near the end of the game. This flashback is, quite honestly, extremely pivotal to understanding FFVII's story and it's tucked away in a place that you really have no reason to go back to once you ransack it the first time.[/spoiler] To me, that's not really [i]earning[/i] the story, it's more like accidently stumbling upon it. It feels stupid.

EDIT: I've heard James talk about differences in the U.S. and PAL versions of FFVII (most notably in the translation department), so I'm not completely sure if it's the same in all versions, but I'm guessing that it is.

[Semjaza]

[quote name='Shinmaru']Personally, I'm not a big fan of Kingdom Hearts, but I guess it does deserve some kudos for incorporating the Disney characters in a slightly unique way lol.[/quote]

That's possibly the only good thing I can say about the game, if that's even a positive quality. Talk about ruining some of my favorite films.

Anyway, I have to agree, that for the most part, the deepest stories I've come across have been on the PC. RPGs in particular. More care seems to go into those sorts of things on the PC... I've found that many console RPGs with a decent story are often very disjointed and hard to follow for various reasons.

It's hard to really say what games I've felt have had the best overall story. There have been ones I've enjoyed, but very few that I would consider very impressive. I've always been most impressed by Atlus's Shin Megami Tensei series though, and it's various spin-offs.

The ideas presented in those games are beyond any other console game I can think of. They tread ground that many other RPGs apparently don't even want to get into, and they do a great job of it at that. Religious themes in RPGs are still rather frowned down upon it seems, but SMT has been going to insane lengths with that very idea for years and years now.

The only good example I can give that's related to that series in the US would be both of the Persona games that came out here on the Playstation. While the original Persona is rather dated in most respects, the storyline is excellent. Persona 2 improves upon that even more. It's rare for a RPG on a console to take itself seriously with just cause. Many take themselves far more seriously than they should, but that's not the case here.

I've always been into Earthbound as well. It's not the most amazing story. Stop the planet from being destroyed by an evil alien, basically. However, despite basic plotlines, I think it's the manner in which a story is told that can be most important. Earthbound fits this. It's so bizarre and entertaining that I was totally entranced by it.

[BlueYoshi]

[color=teal]Games like Kingdom Hearts tell you how a game like FFCC would have turned out had it been fleshed out a lot more. As it stands, FFCC is just a basic adventure/action RPG with a very diluted storyline that has nothing going for it except for what little recognition it may have with its multiplayer. That's the way I see it. MMORPGs may be shallow in that way too, but they introduce a wider level of interaction because there are usually more players and missions during online play.

Kingdom Hearts was a decent game though, you can't blame its story and trademarks for putting you off because they wholeheartedly could've been a lot worse. I felt that it was a great game that made a nice little change on Square's behalf.

As far as I know, the two PS2 GTA games have mostly been crime-orientated, though they usually twist around at the end to change the setting into some sort of a 'revenge plot'. The bulk of GTA3's missions had you carry out jobs to the extent of an ordinary hitman (a bit beyond belief however), and Vice City had Tommy Vercetti as some sort of a crime lord who created an empire through dodgy deals and businesses in a way akin to Scarface, which brings up another great thing about them; the movie references.[/color]

[James]

[color=#707875]I think that there are several explanations as to why games have not traditionally had storylines as their focus.

One of the reasons that comes to mind is the origin of the console itself. If you go back to the NES days in particular, you'll find that many console games were conversions of arcade-based titles at the time. In many ways, the modern console industry was brought about as a result of the developments in arcades.

And, of course, arcade games are never designed with a particularly strong story in mind; it's always about the raw mechanics, because you're only playing for a few minutes at a time.

I think console games kind of inherited this...and possibly for good reason. One thing that disappoints me is a game with a good story, but awful gameplay. Games are called "games" and not "movies", because they are designed to be interactive and fun. I would really hate to see any game that places story above "fun". If I only wanted a good story, I'd read a novel or watch a movie.

So, obviously, it's fine to have a game like Final Fantasy or Zelda where the story plays a much stronger role. But even in those games, you can see that great attention has still been given to the actual mechanics and "fun factor".

In the case of Final Fantasy X, I enjoyed that game for one reason; the battle system. I really found the story to be awful and I disliked 90% of the voice acting. But it was a [i]fun game[/i], which made it worthwhile for me.

In Zelda, it's similar for me. Generally speaking I prefer the Zelda stories to what I saw in FFX, but there's certainly nothing particularly oustanding about Zelda's storyline. It's nice, but it's there to facilitate the gameplay. In my view, that's probably what game stories should be about.

But this doesn't mean that game stories shouldn't be more complex, or shouldn't feature more movie-like elements. I just feel that, once you've fine-tuned the gameplay to a certain point, you can then focus on beefing up the story.[/color]

[GuyYouMetOnline]

First, I'd like to say that the storyline is probably the least important part of a game. If you want a good story, find a good book or see the right kind of movie (nothing action or comedy, because those almost never have deep stories). Games are supposed to be fun to play, not give you a good story. At least, that's what I think.

However, that doesn't mean that I don't appreciate a good story. Personally, I like Drakengard's. At first, it doesn't seem like much. The Union and the Empire are at war. The Empire is attacking a Union castle where the Lady Furiae resides. Furiae is the Goddess, one of the four Seals that protects the world. Your character, Caim, is Furiae's brother. His parents were killed by an Empire dragon, so he hates both the Empire and dragons. Durring the battle, Caim is mortally wounded. He stumbles upon a mortally wounded dragon that happens to hate humans. The two of them make a pact, healing the both of them and saving their lives, but also binding them. They are a pair, and will never be otherwise until death. Caim loses his voice as a price for the pact.

The story gets better from there, earning the game's Mature rateing without any help needed from the actual game. Some of the things that happen are: [spoiler]There's a mission in which you are forced to battle child conscripts in the Empire's army. There's a man, Inuart, who was engaged to Furiae before she became the Goddess, and who now is unable to have her. He seems sane at the start of the game, but becomes more and more insane as the game progresses, eventually reaching a point where an action he takes could be interpreted as necrophilia(sp?). There's also a part near the fourth and fifth of five endings where giant evil babies show up. Oh, there's also the really weird pre-teen girl who is High Priestess of the Cult of the Watchers, and who, while she was once normal (and sister of Serre, one of Caim's allies), doesn't seem to be entirly human anymore. She scares me.[/spoiler]

There are a couple other games that come to mind, but I'll wait a while and see if anyone else mentions them before I do.

[BlueYoshi]

[quote name='Takuya']First, I'd like to say that the storyline is probably the least important part of a game. If you want a good story, find a good book or see the right kind of movie (nothing action or comedy, because those almost never have deep stories). Games are supposed to be fun to play, not give you a good story. At least, that's what I think.[/quote]

[color=teal]I know what you mean, but in most cases, as James already said, storylines are usually there to inspire the gameplay. I know that Phantom Brave's battle system is going to have something to do with its story one way or another because it puts the main character's fundamental ability to good use.[/color]

[Zidargh]

Square probably took away Caim's voice because they were too tight to expand their budgets to voice acting, lol. I don't know, it's just the whole take-away-the-voice thing is pretty random.

I completely disagree with the point that storylines are the least important element of a game, especially in the genre of RPG's. In my personal opinion, I think they rank as probably one of the highest elements in there. Next to gameplay of course.
I may be on my own in saying so, but I'd rather play a game that I become immersed into than constantly realise I'm just staring at a screen pressing a few buttons here and there.

I personally feel that when a game has a great storyline, that I'm going to have great fun with the game. A good storyline [i]makes[/i] you persevere in the game because you want to see where the 'line' takes you. That is why I probably loved Final Fantasy VII. I was only 9 at the time I played it, so it was easy for me to get involved, and it was my first RPG. I had been looking for a game like this for ages and once I found a game that had a very good storyline that tied together (In my personal opinion) I had a great time. I didn't want it to end, heh.

Now don't get me wrong. I know there are some game genres where storylines do not really matter in most cases, such as drivers for example, but I do feel gameplay and storyline should almost always be linked together so they equal eachother in quality. The main reason being, I am quite nit picky with games.

I just suppose it's what genre we're talking about here.

[natetron46]

i think some games can have action and storyline, usually i find it being fps's
the real life, ww2 games obviously, story is awesome bc its real and the action is always good. one fictional game i really liekd was max payne, its kind of clique story line, but i like it the guys family is dead, and he kills everyone who is responsible (including a few people who arent)

[GuyYouMetOnline]

I'm surprised that nobody's mentioned Metal Gear Solid 2 yet. I've never played it, but I've heard a lot about it. Apparently, the story is really good.

I'd like to mention a different game. Hideo Kojima(Probably butchered the spellling), the man behind MGS2, is also responsible for the excellent Zone of the Enders games. In the first ZOE, Leo Stenbuck, resident of Space Colony Antillia orbiting Jupiter, is running for his life. BAHRAM is attacking the colony, the objective being two Orbital Frames (mechs), Jehuty and Anubis. Leo stumbles upon Jehuty, and finds himself suddenly in the middle of what could be classified as a war. BAHRAM wants Jehuty, and because Jehuty's normal runner (pilot) is dead, Elaina(sp?) contacts Leo and asks him to carry out the mision: get Jehuty across the colony to her ship, the [i]Atlantis[/i] Along the way, he befriends Jehuty's AI, ADA. Oh, a woman named Viola, runner of Orbital Frame Nieth, shows up three seprate times, eventually being killed by Leo (Who hates it when she dies. He whines about death all the time. I don't like him very much). Then BAHRAM's leader, Nohman, arrives. Nohman is piloting Anubis, a frame too powerful for even Jehuty to match. Leo manages to escape to the [i]Atlantis[/i], and the first game ends.

In ZOE2, former BAHRAM soldier Dingo Egret finds Jehuty while mining for the rare mineral Metatron, essential in Orbital Frames, on Calisto, a moon of Jupiter. Now BAHRAM's after him, and he has a personal vendetta against Nohman. Oh, I forgot to mention that he was mortally wounded shortly after discovering Jehuty. The only thing keeping him alive is a life-support system that draws power from Jehuty, meaning that Dingo can't get out of the frame. He needs to find a way to stop Nohman's plans. Along the way, he met several new characters, and a few from the first ZOE, including Leo Stenbuck, who now pilots the frame Vic Viper (the battle against him is one of the parts I enjoyed most). I don't know about Kojima's other games (I've heard people talk about them, but I don't know), but that two ZOE games do indeed have a good plot.

Oh, Zidargh, [i]Drakengard[/i] does have voice acting. All the characters except Caim talk and have voice actors. And if you play through the game, you probably won't think that Caim loseing his voice is so random (anyone who makes a pact pays a price).

[BlueYoshi]

[color=teal]I beat Hitman Contracts today and it hit me how the last level was so similar to the ending of The Professional, except for the fact that [spoiler]Leon dies and 47 lives.[/spoiler] Both characters had the same goal by the end though, which was to [spoiler]assassinate an official one way or another, and they accomplished that.[/spoiler]

For the most part, I think that movies have a massive influence on the development of storylines in games. Just look at Vice City or Max Payne, or even the Zelda games heh. In a way, they sort of provide a form of background on the genre for the game, so you already know what to expect and can get straight down to playing. You'll find that a game with its own type of story will be a lot slower and will take time to develop, unlike the above. FFVII for example.[/color]

[Morpheus]

[quote name='Takuya']First, I'd like to say that the storyline is probably the least important part of a game. If you want a good story, find a good book or see the right kind of movie (nothing action or comedy, because those almost never have deep stories). [/quote]

I see someone hasn't seen Spiderman 2.

But, on topic, I think story strengthens, does nothing to help, or even hurts a game. In final fantasy VII, the story strengthens the game my making you care about what happens. Yet in kingdom hearts, the story backfires by telling you to do things that you don't do([spoiler]find alice comes to mind[/spoiler]) and FF:CC story is just there to move the action along.

So a story can really affect a game.