Kojima: Games shouldn’t try to tell stories

[Deleted_171835]

“It’s very difficult to implement a storyline into an interactive game,” he said. “I actually think we shouldn’t do that. I am not trying to tell a story.”

Kojima said how it’s more important that a player empathizes with a character in a given situation. It’s about allowing the player to feel, rather than showering them with plot points.


“You are inside a story, an environment, and acting as a certain character,” he said. “And what that character is feeling inside that environment is what I want the players to feel as they play the game. Within that environment I want the players to not only have a fun and exhilarating experience, but also think about many different things. That’s my concept.”

http://beefjack.com/...o-tell-stories/

What's Kojima smoking?

 

[tatripp]

I think (although I may be wrong) that he is trying to keep video games apart from movies. He wants the player to be in the action instead of an observer. Or maybe he is smoking something

 

[GameWinner]

That "The Office" GIF is my reaction right now.

 

[SuzieJoeBob]

Question for this unintelligent man: how does one feel empathy if there isn't any plot to go by? That is the equivalent of telling someone to be emotionally impacted by Angry Birds or Minecraft.

 

[chavosaur]

Idk about yall, but when a game has a storyline that pretty much makes it like a movie, its pretty badass. My case in point, Arkham City.

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[emigre]

Kojima is just trolling...again.

 

[Joe88]

now I know why no one can understand the mgs story line

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

...What? I just...what??

 

[EZ-Megaman]

Rather than saying that games shouldn't tell stories, I think that he's trying to say that he's more skilled at creating fun games instead of good stories.

 

[SuzieJoeBob]

I just told my mother this, and she said "How the **** does this man expect to get anywhere in life? His comment annoys ME, and I'm not even one of the people he is trying to sell his product to!"

 

[DragorianSword]

Rather than saying that games shouldn't tell stories, I think that he's trying to say that he's more skilled at creating fun games instead of good stories.

Yeah that's more or less what I got out of it too.
He's saying the game doesn't need a very ellaborate plot as long as through the gameplay you get the feeling that you are the character and experience exactly what he is experiencing.
For example in a horror game, you're in a dark room with eerie lighting and creepy music and you kinda feel the fear that the person you're playing must be experiencing.

 

[DS1]

Well, once again some BS website posts a 'hurr hurr, look at this hypocrite!!' soundbite as news. I don't have time to find the interview that this came from right now, but I think some people here would be interested in the actual project: http://criticalpathproject.com/
Seems to be some stuff in there that will inspire even more genius comments. Looks like Beefjack and Kotaku have a few field days ahead of them!

 

[Clarky]

probably trolling, although it wouldn't suprise me if he is saying he uses similar concept to Miymoto where he tries to build a game first then build a story around it, like how the first Metal Gear had to be a stealth title because the MSX wouldn't handle as much action as he wanted and how Metal Gear Solid 3 became what it did because Konjima was fed up of using indoor locations and corridors

 

[Zarcon]

Question for this unintelligent man: how does one feel empathy if there isn't any plot to go by? That is the equivalent of telling someone to be emotionally impacted by Angry Birds or Minecraft.

You can't empathize with anyone in real life?
You know, since real life isn't a story.

Not having a story doesn't mean a lack of direction or emotional connection.
It's the difference between a story and a narrative.
You can have a great story and a bad narrative or a bad/no story and a great narrative.

You can watch a war documentary and feel empathy, anger, all sorts of emotions right?
But documentaries don't have a story. They don't have a plot.
They do tend to have great narratives though. They link events together with a central theme.

In terms of games it'd be like having a more immersive experience. A horror game doesn't need a plot for you to share the feelings of fear and anxiety. You don't need a story to empathize with a character suffering horrible things.

 

[[M]artin]

I love ya to death Kojima but, please, shut up.

 

[DiscostewSM]

Maybe he's talking more about the mix of story telling in the interactive portions. That, imo, restricts what can be interacted when the sequence is more or less scripted, and doesn't offer much in terms of being interactive, as you have to follow the script.

I'm just trying to guess what he meant.

 

[Rydian]

I agree with his point, I just don't think he worded it correctly. His point is about the distinction between having a story the player feels like they're in, and having a story separate from the player.

Empathy is a lot more more powerful than sympathy.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FpigqfcvlM&feature=player_detailpage#t=733s[/youtube]
(12:33)
This segment has information on the subject, getting a player to think and feel things for themselves, not being told the character they're playing should be feeling a certain way.

Getting a player to look at a character's plight being told to them and think "oh, that's sad", is one thing, but getting a player to actually feel for a character, understand what they're going through, and be affected by it... that's more memorable for the player. The player cares about the story more, about the characters more, about the game. I've played games where "OH GOD THE WORLD IS ENDING" and I'm just "meh, I'll beat the game eventually" because I don't really care, but then I've played games where I really feel some sort of connection to the story and I have an urge to finish it or complete certain sidequests.

 

[Qtis]

A good story makes up for bad mechanics in most cases. Good mechanics don't make up for a bad story. Otherwise CoD would be the number one game around the world with RPG fans.

 

[haflore]

I kinda see what he's saying though... If you look at the original MGS, the story was essentially: "Evil bad guy terrorists have access to a mobile nuke launcher. Kill them.Stop them from using it to hold the world hostage."
The impact came from the way that story was presented and the relationships of the characters involved in it.

 

[Issac]

and dear mr. kojima, tell me again what you wanted to be when you started your career, and what metal gear was in your eyes..

[hint: he wanted to be a film maker, and metal gear was the substitute for the movies he wanted to make, and to be able to tell a story]