How important is the storyline?

[Reoh]

I recently tried KOTOR and it has taken a lot for me to get into the game, the previous days I had been playing (for the first time) plants vs zombies and osmos, two very action packed games thin on story that were a lot of fun. KOTOR on the other hand is almost more like watching a movie than playing a game (except you're playing the actor running around, with the occasional fight scene). While I'm interested to find out where it leads, the truth is I was really feeling the pinch of suddenly losing so much action from a game.

[Spectre8]

I recently bought Dragon Age: Origins - and I've got to say, the story is fantastic

It's very well crafted, with excellent voice acting and well played out cut-scenes... but the game is leaving me totally flat. The graphics are solid, the music is great... everything is there - but the actual gameplay just doesn't do it for me.

I guess in this case, for me it's a matter of the story getting in the way of a potentially great game.

Strange, but I compare it to something like Oblivion - and it just pales in comparison (I know of many who will be squirming in their seats just reading that). Oblivion had a solid (epic) story, but let you approach it at your own pace. More than half the fun was buggering off on some random quest tangent, or just running around exploring. It was (for me) the perfect example of the story never getting in the way of a great game.

But it's not the strength of the story, nor the quality of the "game" - but how it's all done. If it's done well, it doesn't really matter where it's strengths lie.

[Reoh]

Originally Posted by Spectre8

But it's not the strength of the story, nor the quality of the "game" - but how it's all done. If it's done well, it doesn't really matter where it's strengths lie.

Thats a pretty good point. Its not enough to just glue story and action in together and hope it works. Each game needs the appropriate amount of story tied in with a comparable amount of action that makes sense for the game. Although each of us I'm sure have our own personal tastes that ebb and flow over time as to our expectations on the level of story/action in any particular game.

[Drac]

Are we talking about story or narrative?

They're both very different things. Story is about the plot, the "what" so to speak. The narrative is the telling of the story, not the content. When you're discussing games I think that's an important distinction to make.

Games can be light on story but all still have narrative elements. For example, in BF2142 your perspective of the battlefield provides a narrative of that battle. Seeing the enemy hold the bridge with a line of tanks is "narrative", but not "story". The story would tell of why the battle was fought and who the victor was, the narrative describing that story is totally different depending on which team you play and how you play the game.

The same story of that 2142 battle can be presented though different types of narratives depending on the kind of game you're playing. Tell that story through a Real Time Strategy game and it's still the same story, but the narrative perspective is radically different and thus the overall story would also feel different.

Something to think on...

[JimMask]

I like to play games with a good story line. I dont want to end up not knowing why I am killing a bunch of people.