Tying in with Wavinator's thoughts on genre (ie. multigenre games), I've noticed that one of the "problems" with the game buying audience is that they don't seem to be as interested in the writing (ie. word-building / character building as seen in character lines, voice acting, character design, level design, level design, plot, story and themes). As they are in the gameplay. If someone says that the world has fantastic characters, level design and general quality, but that the gameplay is only average I don't think that it will interest someone (at the moment) as much as a game with fantastic gameplay but only average writing. Sad but true. Why is this? It is partly because gameplay is what you do, and people rely on 'fresh' gameplay to keep the experience new, and obviously if the gameplay is really bad then it is going to be a hassle and tedious to play to get to the quality. Its like having a pretty frame round a dull painting. However, this may be partially a function of age. As players get older they may become accustomed to the tricks that level designers pull off to keep things new, and start to be more interested in the rest of the experience. Personally, I know that I've been looking for more games where the quality of the characters/world-design/etc pulls me in. Obviously the best of all worlds is to have both top quality gameplay AND excellent "writing" (in all senses of the word.). Note:Genre in games is (at least) two-fold, there is the genre of gameplay and the genre of the setting and plot. EDIT: This isn't to say that quality "writing" is bad, it helps to immerse the player in the world, and drive them on, indeed I doubt that Half-Life would have been as popular if it didn't have the whole "just another day at work" beginning with the interactive microwaves, the "buy you a beer after work", and the likeable? scientists / barneys. If it had been a simpler presentation of the story (ie. you are a space-marine Strogg are attacking), I doubt it would have been as influential. I welcome better writing / character-building / world-building. Another issue is that of, yeah I can see the story.. but WHAT do I actually do in this game? Ie. A matter of communicating the structure (substance?) of the experience. [Edited by - Ketchaval on June 6, 2005 8:15:14 AM]

I agree. I'm the guy who skips all of the cutscenes.

I agree too. Sorry for the redundancy. ;) I think complaining of gameplay taking precedence over story or writing in games is a bit like complaining about not being able to do much except sit and munch popcorn during a movie. Each form of entertainment has its own niche to fill, and while I heartily approve of the cross-breeding that does go on, I think that people know roughly what they want when they choose which form to buy, and the makers of that form need to respect that choice.

Quote:Original post by superpig
I'm there to play, not to look around.

Do you mean that you are there to play not sit passively and watch?
Or do you mean that you aren't that interested in the setting?

I'm in the middle on this topic. Some games provide a good distraction but have little or no story. I like those because I can just have some fun with the controls or the general idea, like Tanks.

My favorites, though, are games with an interesting story. I played games like Freespace and Wing Commander to see what the rest of the story held. Sure, the gameplay was good but I wanted to see the story develop. I play Final Fantasy games to see what kind of wacky story they decided to put in this time. Building up my characters can be fun, but it's just so I don't hit any obstacles later on when I'm trying to advance the plot.

For me, if a new game doesn't have a good, immersive story I'm not buying it. I want a story I can get lost in, with characters I'll care about for my $50.