hmmm. J'ya ever notice that every RPG has the ancient So-and-So race that knew everything and left only ruins behind. Of course they also built a secret, forbidden, too-terrible-to-ever-use doomsday weapon that some modern-day evil wizard will find and start messin' with.

The close friend who turns traitor is my #1. Boooring.

Overall I think that the writing for games is oftentimes to dry. I remember fondly playing "Soulreaver". When Raziel approached the first boss (forgot the name) who was as big as a house he actually threatened the guy with violence. That cracked me up even though it was probably not even meant to be funny. Just established Raziel as a very straightforward and confident character.

I say we do away with insecure little boys in the lead role.

cut scenes. This is the equivalent of freezing the action in a movie, taking out a couple of the characters, and dialogging to the audience their characterization instead of integrating it into the movie like it ought to be. In the same way, game writing ought to reside within the gameplay itself rather than in little snippets that basically say to the gamer "you are too retarded to pick up on these plot elements, so let me lay them out for you". Gamers are just as aware of plot elements as movie goers and book readers, so its time games put story in the game, not outside of it.

Also I can't stand npc's who don't react to action. This is half writing half programming, but it annoys me to no end when I can kill the brother of npc 1, and he sits there running through the same lines as when I met him. The characters in games need to start showing emotional complexity and the effects of social interaction. Game characters are not independent entities with no connections. This above all else reveals to the player that they are in a game. Characters are tied together and should act as such, even when they aren't part of the main plot sequence.

One very hackneyed game plot is humpty dumpty A who can't remember anything because of event B and finds himself in prison C where he must make an escape D and then save the king E. *cough* oblivion *cough*. While the individual parts vary in face value, they nevertheless penetrate a chilling number of games. It would be nice to play the average joe thrown into a bizarre situation for once, instead of these super human upright characters that come straight out of the cookie cutter. Greek tragedy frequently focuses on the flaws of its characters rather than their godliness, and this was thousands of years ago, go figure. Maybe we should take a hint and start having not so heroic characters to play.

Just my thoughts...

Meaning you want dynamic or an absence of story?

Alright, so here is my big list.

Cheap Scares: Quick, jump out and go BOO! things that people think make something scary. It doesn't.

Love Stories in Every Game: If Halo 3 has Master Chief falling in love, I will give up all hope in the humanity of games. Seriously, a love story is NOT necessary. And if its sappy and overdramatic, its even worse.

People who write "LOL" or "OMFG" or any other thing like that into a story/game: You deserve to be shot, and the only reason we don't do that is because its illegal. Pity. I don't need you telling me something is funny or amazing. If it is, I'll make that determination myself.

No Plot Storytelling: Stories that go absolutely nowhere, but act like they have a purpose. See: LOST

Best friend turns enemy: Yeah, and I bet he slept with your girlfriend too. Come on, be reasonable. Sora, kill Rikku. I don't care if you two were friends or if you think there is some good left. He went evil, kill him. Simple.

Stories that are afraid to get their hands dirty: This is the exact reason why Sin City and other movies like it do so well. Let a person or two die, and not just going out easily. Make someone get angry and seek revenge. Get your hands dirty, spill the blood of the innocent if need be, and don't make it "love and lollipops". Which brings me to...

Characters that always do everything right: No one person in this world does everything right. Make a character get jealous, or greedy, or violent...make them go OUT of their norm. Hell, some of the best stories come from things like that. Noone is perfect, so don't allow your characters to be.

Keep the story line known: Ever read something or played a game and then all of a sudden stopped and went "...what the hell...wait, what? What is going on?" and realize there is a huge jump or break in a story and you're completely lost?

I'll post more if I think of them. Note: I went WAY out of character on these because they piss me off alot...

If have to disagree with the LOL thing at one point: it was great in Mario & Luigi 2 (Partners in Time). Two Koopa's suddenly started talking in half-leetspeak. It 'cracked me up', and my grandma looked at my in pure wonder.