I noticed a week or so ago a story on the 1up homepage stating that
David Jaffe had made some controversial statements (well theres a
shocker!!)about stories in video games.Apparently Mr.jaffe stated in his
blog:
"In fact, I've really lost interest in making any kind of game that does not fully and only embrace interactivity in the most purest sense," he vents. "I don't want to tell stories with my games anymore."
"I'm not telling the GOD OF WAR team to change things up or anything. As I said, I love single player games now more than ever. But for the stuff I am directly working on, I am trying to take steps towards more pure game experiences and see what I can do with those," he continues. "So is this a permanent change? I don't know. It feels like it is but I'm just going to have to see."
Apparently this has some video game media outlets and even game creators debating the credibility of stories in video games.
First let me say that I would never want to mislead anyone into thinking that I agree with Mr.Jaffe on anything simply because I think he is a moron.With that said I feel compelled to enlighten everyone on the credibility of a story in a video game and the TRUE reason we play video games.
So to start off let me touch upon the statement about "interactivity in it's most purest sense."By "interactivity" I have to assume he is talking about gameplay.Now we all know how important gameplay is ,without good gameplay there cannot be a good game.Period.But to really emphasize on the importance of gameplay allow me to treat you with a slogan,"a game with good gameplay ,but no story,is still a good game.A game with a good story and bad gameplay is not a good game."Thats it people,there it is in it's simplest form.Allow me to give a few examples:
Halo:Combat Evolved:Great story and great gameplay combine for the one of the greatest games ever.
Ninja Gaiden(Xbox):Awesome gameplay and forgettable story=one my favorite Xbox games ever.
Geometry Wars:Simple ,awesome gameplay with no story at all=one of the most addictive games I've ever played.
ChromeHounds:bad gameplay and bad story=very bad game.
The list of games that fall under any of those categories is exhausting.
The two games I am currently playing are shining examples of the point I am making,Prey and Geometry Wars.Prey shines in both the gameplay and story departments.I can track back alot of Native American hertiage in my family and really like the whole Native American theme.Naysayers will try to say that the developers didn't touch on the Native American side enough or that what was there was somehow insignificant,but I say that they are idiots entitled to their pathetic little opinions.Prey's gameplay has more freshness and originality in it's first level than most games will ever see (or have ever seen...) in a series of games.And I was genuinely delighted by the ending which I felt harkened back to the good 'ol days of sci-fi films.I can't wait for a sequel.
Now Geometry Wars is a whole other situation,here is a game that could very well be mistaken by a nongamer as a spruced up version of Galaga.It has absolutely no story,the enemies are nothing more than a series of shapes (hence the name)and the only thing your playing for is a high score.Yet the game is so incredibly addictive that not only do I spend hours playing it,but I also have to hand over the controller to my 5 yr. old son AND my wife (who utterly bemoans gaming) between games.There's no loading or saving games,no cutscenes or word bubbles,just your ship(if thats even what it is) and the shapes.The controls are so simple that it actually confuses some people at first ,they want to know why all the other buttons don't do anything.I sit at work sometimes thinking of strategies for getting a higher score.
The fact is that if your making a game like Geometry Wars,Galaga,Asteroids ,Guitar Hero,DDR,Lumines,etc.,a story is irrelevant because your game is built soley on gameplay.On the other hand when you do go to adding in a story then it does become a somewhat important factor.If you story is lame but you have good gameplay the people will be more willing to overlook the bad story.But if your story is good and your gameplay isn't then the game will suffer because noone wants to play a game that isn't fun.And that brings me to my point which is that video games are supposed to be "fun" and the only thing that can make a game fun is gameplay.Stories can add to the fun,but they can't make it.
Haon
p.s.Just to throw this out there while I'm thinking about it,but there are games that "break the mold" so to speak,or at least one game anyway,"Shadow of the Colossus".Here is a game that has almost no story(or at least reveals very little of it) or gameplay what so ever and yet I have played through it several times and ranks as one of my all time favorite games.
"In fact, I've really lost interest in making any kind of game that does not fully and only embrace interactivity in the most purest sense," he vents. "I don't want to tell stories with my games anymore."
"I'm not telling the GOD OF WAR team to change things up or anything. As I said, I love single player games now more than ever. But for the stuff I am directly working on, I am trying to take steps towards more pure game experiences and see what I can do with those," he continues. "So is this a permanent change? I don't know. It feels like it is but I'm just going to have to see."
Apparently this has some video game media outlets and even game creators debating the credibility of stories in video games.
First let me say that I would never want to mislead anyone into thinking that I agree with Mr.Jaffe on anything simply because I think he is a moron.With that said I feel compelled to enlighten everyone on the credibility of a story in a video game and the TRUE reason we play video games.
So to start off let me touch upon the statement about "interactivity in it's most purest sense."By "interactivity" I have to assume he is talking about gameplay.Now we all know how important gameplay is ,without good gameplay there cannot be a good game.Period.But to really emphasize on the importance of gameplay allow me to treat you with a slogan,"a game with good gameplay ,but no story,is still a good game.A game with a good story and bad gameplay is not a good game."Thats it people,there it is in it's simplest form.Allow me to give a few examples:
Halo:Combat Evolved:Great story and great gameplay combine for the one of the greatest games ever.
Ninja Gaiden(Xbox):Awesome gameplay and forgettable story=one my favorite Xbox games ever.
Geometry Wars:Simple ,awesome gameplay with no story at all=one of the most addictive games I've ever played.
ChromeHounds:bad gameplay and bad story=very bad game.
The list of games that fall under any of those categories is exhausting.
The two games I am currently playing are shining examples of the point I am making,Prey and Geometry Wars.Prey shines in both the gameplay and story departments.I can track back alot of Native American hertiage in my family and really like the whole Native American theme.Naysayers will try to say that the developers didn't touch on the Native American side enough or that what was there was somehow insignificant,but I say that they are idiots entitled to their pathetic little opinions.Prey's gameplay has more freshness and originality in it's first level than most games will ever see (or have ever seen...) in a series of games.And I was genuinely delighted by the ending which I felt harkened back to the good 'ol days of sci-fi films.I can't wait for a sequel.
Now Geometry Wars is a whole other situation,here is a game that could very well be mistaken by a nongamer as a spruced up version of Galaga.It has absolutely no story,the enemies are nothing more than a series of shapes (hence the name)and the only thing your playing for is a high score.Yet the game is so incredibly addictive that not only do I spend hours playing it,but I also have to hand over the controller to my 5 yr. old son AND my wife (who utterly bemoans gaming) between games.There's no loading or saving games,no cutscenes or word bubbles,just your ship(if thats even what it is) and the shapes.The controls are so simple that it actually confuses some people at first ,they want to know why all the other buttons don't do anything.I sit at work sometimes thinking of strategies for getting a higher score.
The fact is that if your making a game like Geometry Wars,Galaga,Asteroids ,Guitar Hero,DDR,Lumines,etc.,a story is irrelevant because your game is built soley on gameplay.On the other hand when you do go to adding in a story then it does become a somewhat important factor.If you story is lame but you have good gameplay the people will be more willing to overlook the bad story.But if your story is good and your gameplay isn't then the game will suffer because noone wants to play a game that isn't fun.And that brings me to my point which is that video games are supposed to be "fun" and the only thing that can make a game fun is gameplay.Stories can add to the fun,but they can't make it.
Haon
p.s.Just to throw this out there while I'm thinking about it,but there are games that "break the mold" so to speak,or at least one game anyway,"Shadow of the Colossus".Here is a game that has almost no story(or at least reveals very little of it) or gameplay what so ever and yet I have played through it several times and ranks as one of my all time favorite games.
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