Storytelling in video games.

Sonic Angel Knight

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First I know this may seem long but there was much to mention and didn't know how to keep it short. I'll use spoilers to hide some lengthy stuff so you don't have to complain as much. This is probably a difficult topic to discuss, so pardon me if I seem like having trouble explaining some aspects. Changes may occur to improve the post if considered.

Sometime ago, I started thinking about the stories of the many games I have played or seen. It has become a very relevant part of today's media, worthy enough to be praised as artistic, creative or even award winning comparable to movies or tv show praise. Stories in games are always something people are willing to discuss, even if some don't make sense to most people right away. But the thing I wanted to talk about is how some games present the story, and since it's a game, the player has the important role of the whole thing.

Guess I should start at the early days of playing games, the ones where a story was hardly considered. The simple games. These type of games were short overall with no real plot other than something like "Save the damsel in distress from the villain," aka Super Mario Bros. Basically to give the player an objective. That was all the driving force of the game. Seems simple right, how could that be good? But those times, the manual was used to give greater detail of the story, characters, and the world. The game was more focus on the gameplay, giving the player the entertainment from the experiences of their hardships of completing the goal. This was how most early games was designed. Being fun just from playing it. Many games had simple and easy to follow stories, but already mentioned, that was the point, the focus was fun on gameplay.

The gameplay still is main driving force of entertainment for players. But with the advancements of programming and hardware to do more made room for improvements on storytelling. Games had more detail to stories because that was one of the ways to provide more entertainment. It gave people more to think about, consider, talk to others about and share thoughts and speculations as well. Ask questions and wonder more about plans or secrets deep meanings of the games. Why else is discussing the time line of events of such games like Legend of Zelda, Castlevania, Metal Gear Solid, or Kingdom Hearts so popular?

While it could be embarrassing to some people to admit that they don't know the proper events of these games, there could be many reasons why. Some are told out of order. The third numbered Metal Gear Solid game is a prequel, the story takes place at a event earlier than the last two did while the fourth numbered one continues from the second. Then the fifth numbered one takes place in between the very first game ever made and after the Playstation Portable Peace Walker Game. This means following the titles released in the sequential order will be telling a story that is all over the place, and don't get me started on "Non canon game" stuff. That's just the beginning of hard to follow stories.

Sometimes story plays a role on gameplay. Similar to how Shantae and the Pirate's Curse has you playing without using her transformation genie magic cause she lost it in the previous game, you now play using the rival character's items. Metal Gear Solid 3 was set to be the start of the series so that they can change how the game commonly was in the previous ones. Seem like a better idea leaving more open ended design. No simple stuff like nanomachines to explain how "magic" or the complex science in the game works, you use realistic stuff like survival viewer to keep from being hungry, nurse wounds, change camouflage for better disguise, and such than just giving the excuse of "nanomachines" It's the 1960's so we are using stuff people really had back then.

One of the ways some games tell stories are featured in some modern ground breaking titles, and I give it that nickname cause of the obvious reasons. These games are made to break away from what is common at the time. When you start the game, you are given a simple overview of your current objective. It could be summed up as "get rid of the evil in the world" and be on your way. That's it. Players could question many things from the kind of world this is or what kind of people you deal with. Once you start playing the game, you start to get answers, they come in very vague or small context, sometimes a lot. Or my personal unlikable way, you better find the answers yourself.

In a way, the last one I mentioned is the reason why I say groundbreaking, or more common people call it the opposite of mainstream. A game where you basically find the answers you are looking for if you want to over the common way of following the plot as it unfolds. JRPG games usually tell a story and as the player, your role is to follow it. Enter a town, there is a problem, solve the problem, gain new info on the villain and continue seeking them. But then ones that don't follow that have you playing both a hero who is looking for clues as to events that has previously happened as you begin your adventure. Many people enjoy the idea of being somewhat a detective at their own leisure to understand the story.

But some of the things I don't like about it is how very intricate it could be making it feel like a priority when it's not. If it's your first time, you won't really know what to think until you find out in the end. Sometimes is very complex to piece together, depending on how vague the context or story is, how many games that are in the sequel, how often they don't follow a conventional order base on release, it could look like a police corkboard trying to find a criminal. Don't even get me started on plot twist and such.

Last but not least is how some could be cryptic, involving riddles, only people who would think as such could solve while someone who doesn't would be blinded to it. Just finding a clue could mean doing something counter intuitive to common sense. This all adds layer of depth to discussion among peers. Sometimes you would feel stupid for playing the many games for a plot and missing important details, that can best be summarized in a short youtube video that saves you time and headache over. Also expenses since the need to play them comes with buying the proper system and game which also can be costly.

Shenmue is hardly what I would consider a game because it focuses more on the story. But I will still acknowledge it as a game cause that's how it's marketed. The gameplay has you trying to figure out where the killer of your character's father is and why. It's a revenge tale. So you have to talk to many people, ask questions and discover new info that helps. There is fighting that only happens as you advance in the story, and during some cutscenes, there is quick timed events similar to dragon's lair game. The thing I don't enjoy about the game is how boring it is. The pacing is slow since all characters and even events run on a time cycle. It's groundbreaking again cause many games don't do that. But you have to wait for specific days and times to do much which could put people to sleep.

Compared to the Yakuza games where is not slow paced or boring, because I don't have to wait around for timed events to happen, I decide when I want to continue the story. There is also more ways to stay entertained with the plethora of mini games if you need a break from the story. Shenmue does have mini games but besides the Sega arcade games, not many that would hold my interest. I'm sure the game has a captivating story that would reward your patience but I can't handle it. Is too much for me.

Sometimes I don't play games for the story at all. Legend of Zelda games was one series I only play strictly for the gameplay. It was fun using the unique tools and tease your brain on how to solve the many puzzles various places provide. It became fun to do them in creative ways due to the unique tools you have. It's a game that helps you think a bit differently but also satisfying when you do, because it's constructed in a way to be fun. I admit I never played all of them or if I did, didn't finish them all. (Those two Nes ones will never be finished without a guide, no where near the quality of the others) Still the reason why I didn't care for the story was uninteresting.

But then something happened. Legend of Zelda, Breath of the Wild. The groundbreaking game of the series I would say. One of the things that got my attention was that there is now voice overs, something that could have been done sooner but just wasn't. In my mind, I was thinking, "wow, voiced characters, I might want to pay attention to the story now." But that was before I knew the game had only FIVE voiced characters, and that most of them was about 3 minute cutscenes, while the rest if not more of the plot that matters is told only in text. It also has that thing I mentioned earlier, about how the player must find clues leading to more story that is more about the past leading up to the present. I did finish it, but I was disappointed. I did enjoy the characters when they talked, but the rest of the story put me to sleep.

This all seem like a complaint, but I really just wanted to showcase some ways stories are told in video games. Bottom line, Story and games do work with each other while some outshine each other. Like I mentioned how Shenmue is all about the story, because I don't find much entertainment between it, or it's the complete opposite with Zelda games. But it's all opinions how each player thinks about it. Because it's become increasingly relevant with more pressure to exceed what is already been done, new expectations are made and hopefully gets met. Make new stories more interesting, likable, all without being too repetitive. So I ask some of you what you think about this. Does the plot how story telling in your games effect your experiences with games?
 

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