I like to think more thought out stories in games is starting to make a come back. We shall see, it's only a few new games focusing on it now, hopefully more to come as the new year looms.
I'm putting together (and hopefully launching within the next couple months) a website that will deal with what I'm right now calling "narrative media," (e.g., games, comics, films, etc.) and this is something that I mull over a lot. You used the word "focus" and I think that's key, because ultimately games are not designed to tell stories. On one hand, games can be tools for players to tell their own stories. On the other hand, games can be vessels for the creators to tell a story. But autonomy is the tension between these two potentials. If the creator is intent on telling a specific story, little control can be given to the player -- but at some point this subverts the purpose of the medium and suggests the story belongs in something other than a game. Conversely, the draw of a game may be its mechanics and player freedom. These are antithetical to structured narrative, which will put off narrative-driven players but will often garner the highest praises from "gamers."
I've tended to see this dynamic, in many ways, as the reason some people prefer, say, The Witcher or Skyrim. That's facile, perhaps, but then as I said it's something I think about a lot.
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*hugs*
