The main points a lot of gamers are trying to get across is that Gameplay is the most important factor of a game. Gameplay includes the combat, any sort of inventory management, puzzles etc. A lot of games have, lately, put an intense focus on the gameplay alone while allowing the story side to fall behind a little. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, to most people. The gameplay is what holds up the game while you aren’t experiencing story elements of dialogue with other characters, as most would say. However-- I’ll talk about this a bit later-- I feel that story and gameplay are so closely intertwined that one cannot survive without the other.
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In Mass Effect, 1 and 2, you will start missions with some story, dialogue and a chance to find out more about where you really are. This is construed as being just story elements to most. However, I find that this is as much apart of gameplay as it is filling in the background - story -. In games, for the most part RPGs, you will be given a mission/quest and will tasked with finishing it. You get bits and pieces of story here and there and eventually you’ll figure out everything that is going on with the world -- story -- through gameplay. The story adds to the importance of combat. Why are you fighting? Why are even where you are tackling this giant ogre thing that has eaten fifty people? Because there is a story behind it. Sure, you might get some XP and items sprinkled in the deal but you go there because you HEARD about it from somebody and thought… hmmm… this is a big bad ogre and he’s bound to have some treasure, blah, blah, blah.
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One of my favorite games that I always seem to compare other games to is Morrowind. It’s an open world RPG/adventure with a massive amount of story and side quests. The gameplay, fighting, finding new items, new spells and gaining levels, is all deeply related to the amount of story you unfold and uncover. The gameplay, by itself, is rather repetitive actually and is kind of boring. You press the Right Trigger and get a vertical chop, or a horizontal slash or a stab mixed with some magic and swordplay. After awhile, everyone gets bored of running around slaying beasts in random caverns and collecting loot if that’s all there is to it. However, almost everything in that game has relation to the world around it through story. The background of a magical item. The Daedric and Dweomer artifacts that you uncover are all related to the story. Uncovering the background of the ancient beings is what might compel you go search for answers. It’s terribly exciting to find a new artifact and bring it to some collector and then get a bit of info about what it might have been used for. You always want to go back and look for more.
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Mass Effect 1 had you taking on a mission, getting a quick brief on what’s going on, and then you go and solve the problem through, for the most part, gameplay -- combat --. Without the story behind that quest you would not only not even know the place existed, you’d just be walking around shooting random hoodlums who decided to take over a planet for no reason at all. The story pushes you forward and makes you want to learn more, through which you deal with the combat section of the game.
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Story is very important… very important. But without gameplay, without anything other than just dialogue or cut scenes you’re watching a movie, not playing a game. Yes, I know that it’s very entertaining to talk to your companions and glean every last bit of their lives out of them. Eventually, you’ve had enough talking and you just want to get on with the killing of the beasties. The ENTIRE time you are fighting in games, mostly, you are furthering the story. By killing these guys you angered this group and now they want to take you down. You fight them and this happens. You make these guys here of you through your actions. It’s all related. Saying any one aspect of a game is the MOST important is ridiculous and untrue.
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Without a story you are simply just doing things with no reason or purpose. That gets boring real fast. No amount of intense situations can hold your attention forever if it’s just one intense situation after. You’re pinned down by snipers. Seen it once you’ve seen it a thousand times. If all you ever did was get pinned down by snipers with no advancement in plot you’d hate the game. It’d boring as hell, quite frankly. All you would do is move from encounter to encounter with no reprisal or relief or explanation for why there is so many god ---- snipers in the first place.
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However, without that sniper, without that enemy army, you’ve got no reason to even be where you are and thus you don’t have a solid gaming experience. You could walk through the forest forever and talk to your pals about the war, as soldiers IN the war, but then never take part of it. That’s boring too.
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There is also another part of both of these. Character development. This part of story and gameplay is never really mentioned. It’s what ties the two together in most story driven games. It’s why people do what they do. Characters drive the story forward and affect both the story and the gameplay. In Grand Theft Auto 4 you’re killing people… a lot. Pretty much all of the time. But the insane cast of characters and personality put into the game is what makes it stand out. Brucie, the crazy shark testosterone freak. Packie, the ridiculous drunken Irishman and his hot sister. Michelle, who is actually Karen, and her betrayal. If you’re just running around jacking people’s cars you’re going to get bored really fast. But if you’re running around on a mission with your pals, who have their own unique personalities and conversations with you AS you are assaulting that gang territory you’ve got a good gaming experience.
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In Final Fantasy, most recently 13, characters drive the game forward. They make the game standout more than if the characters just ran through the place for no reason getting into random battles all the time. They develop and feel real. They are their own person, but they are melded by the gameplay and thus change the story. Hope wants to become stronger to face his anger and desperation through constant fights. Lightning, AKA Claire, is running away from her feelings and thoughts by clouding herself in anger and by fighting constantly. These characters are changed drastically through the course of the story. Lightning becomes a stronger person, not just physically, but as a human being, not a weapon. She learns to care for others and gains new friends. She’s never been the type to make friends. She had no purpose after she lost her sister. All her dreams revolved around her. Hope, wanting vengeance, realizes through Lightning that fighting won’t solve everything. But then there’s about 64 REDICULOUSLY hard missions, mainly towards the end, that make for juicy gameplay. There’s even a bit of story behind of them too.
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Are you understanding now? These elements of gaming are not at all completely stand alone. They may have different purposes, emotions and feelings and thoughts, but when you put them together they are what make the game whole. As I said before, no one element can survive long without the other. Gears of War, while it does have a rather shallow story with bland characters, the gameplay is great. I got bored REALLY fast. There will be blood… almost all story driven with nothing ever really happening. Fell asleep. Avatar the Movie, Action, good characters, good story and visuals. Good movie. Mass Effect 1, good story (fairly straight forward but beautifully told), fun gameplay that felt unique, and characters that felt real.
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That’s my two cents on this issue. What do you guys think? And don’t be afraid discuss this thoroughly with myself and others. I know this is a heated debate so try not to go to insulting.
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Example: You only play online shooters = You’re dumb. No. None of that. It isn’t true.
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Example: You only like story and characters and not gameplay? = You think you’re better than everyone through your elitist tendencies. You’re actually dumb. No. None of that. It isn’t true.
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Discuss.
Edit: The stupid paragraphs morphed into Paragraph Prime. One big wall of text.
Edit 2: Someone mentioned multiplayer games. That reminded me that, yes, a game can exist without a story. But it ties into: games without a story might be fun for awhile, but the fun wont last forever and wont be remembered as fondly as the game that had that shocking ending or that emotional talk between the two main characters. The lack of story also puts off a lot of people. I know gamers who hate FPS games because they were made for multiplayer/ gameplay only. I like shooters on occasion (Battlefield being the best imo. good tactical gameplay with great online) These games might have a story but they are rarely as developed or sophisticated as games that were made with a story in mind.
**My post isn't so much about one being better than the other, just that the two should be intertwined to make each other part matter. Reasons for why you're doing what you're doing.
Modifié par Rendar666, 02 mai 2010 - 01:30 .
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