Do you care about the story in a game?


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Keeping in mind that the objective of the videogames is having fun, the most essential part of them are the interactions between your avatar and the world that surrounds it.

The story is entirely optional, although it can be as important (and sometimes even more) as said interactions, which in my opinion can lead to big mistakes, such as interrupting the gameplay to tell a story during several minutes. Or even when the game levels seem like some sort of repetive glue between the videos instead of being the main experience of the game.

The plot may be important, but don't forget the rest ;)

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Story is an important thing in a game for me. I like to know why things are happening. I like reading back-stories and other things that expand the universe of whatever game/film/series that I'm interested in.

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I was at my college induction this week (I'm doing a games development course) and they kept hammering it into our heads that the story in a game is the most vital part.

I've never really thought about it but it made me realise how much I don't care about story in a game. I can't remember the last time I came out of a game thinking "Wow I loved that game... the story was so good". For me, it's the gameplay that matters over everything else. I go through almost every game I play, having no clue what the hell is going on, just loving the game mechanics/physics/animations etc.

Is this weird? Am I the only one who doesn't give a hoot about the story in a game?

Hypothetical:

Two games running the same engine, same mechanics, all other things being equal better back story and storyline development will win the day.

Having said that the genre determines much more more importance story has. RPG absolutely has to have good story for me to be interested at all. Even hack and slach RPG like Diablo are better. Think of the way the story developed in Diablo one and two. Yeah? Lord of the Rings Online versus Age of Conan. I much prefer LotRO to Aoc because you play the stories through-out LotRO, whereas in AoC you lose the great storyline after the Tortage story is over. If AoC had that sort of story though-out it would be a great game. But it doesn't so even though it has great mechanics and beautiful graphics it can't keep my attention anywhere near as long as LotRO.

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Surprising no one has mentioned InFamous v Prototype comparisons yet. "Hawkeye666" hypothetical comparison reminded me of it.

No you're not alone, I only recently completed it, but after 2 years almost of reading everyone's glowing reviews I was very confused what the fuss was over.

Call of Duty will always be one man army / faceless hero with team mates I don't give a damn about. Breach and clear gameplay, but it does it so well compared to everyone else which is why I enjoy it. It's not as bad as Battlefield, but the game is all about multiplayer experiences.

COD 4 was not good 'coz you played it after reading 2 years of reviews,Well thats was the problem,what did you expect, Jesus Himself? Real funny.

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Story is very important. It's what makes the gaming experience better than movies. Rather than watching a story, you actually lead and live it.

I totally agree.

A good plot and good gameplay aren't mutually exclusive. The best game has to attain both.

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I was at my college induction this week (I'm doing a games development course) and they kept hammering it into our heads that the story in a game is the most vital part.

I've never really thought about it but it made me realise how much I don't care about story in a game. I can't remember the last time I came out of a game thinking "Wow I loved that game... the story was so good". For me, it's the gameplay that matters over everything else. I go through almost every game I play, having no clue what the hell is going on, just loving the game mechanics/physics/animations etc.

Is this weird? Am I the only one who doesn't give a hoot about the story in a game?

If you want to code games then you do not need to worry about the story one little bit. It would be interesting to know the contents of your course. If it is just a broad look at the devlopment process then story is an important aspect.

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I totally agree.

A good plot and good gameplay aren't mutually exclusive. The best game has to attain both.

True. Indigo Prophecy (aka Fahrenheit) has a great story, but the gameplay is horrible.

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Games certainly work better IMO with a great storyline (in single player terms anyway, not so important for multiplayer games). All of the best games like Bioshock, HL1, HL2 Series, Halo series all have an excellent storyline that backs them up, and for me is what sets them apart from more mediocre games.

Exactly...

Bioware RPGs had the best story lines. I still love the story in Planescape Torment. Its scale and depth its just brilliant.

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COD 4 was not good 'coz you played it after reading 2 years of reviews,Well thats was the problem,what did you expect, Jesus Himself? Real funny.

No, he just looked at all the positive reviews it got, and was expecting something better than he actually got.

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