Feature: Trimming the Fat -- Why Are So Many Games Losing the Plot?

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Feature: Trimming the Fat -- Why Are So Many Games Losing the Plot?

Post by Steve Farrelly @ 12:26pm 04/02/13 | 16 Comments

With a host of writing credits under him and a future that looks bright in feature-film, television and more, AusGamers regular, Nathan "nachosjustice" Lawrence offered his expertise and insight into storytelling in games, specifically on where they succeed and fail.

Moreover, he cites specific and memorable examples of what's holding our industry back and what will set it free. He also expands upon the negatives with insight into how our interactive medium, a unique storytelling platform by default, can capitalise on user-input for the ultimate in narrative and storytelling potential.

Click here for his full in-depth feature.

ausgamers feautres storytelling game narrative bioshock far cry 3 assassin's creed 3 half-life 2

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eski
Posted 02:35pm 04/2/13

loving the features you guys have been doing lately

keep 'em coming!

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ZeeDoktor
Posted 02:45pm 04/2/13

^ I second that.

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Bah
Posted 05:29pm 04/2/13

One series that consistently gets it right when it comes to juggling multiple characters and an ever-advancing, punchy plot is Call of Duty.

You lost me there, i barely knew or cared when i switched characters in cod, at least in AC3 the characters were somewhat different and not just military guy #1 and #2.

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Steve Farrelly
Posted 05:38pm 04/2/13

That's the point of that argument though -- the drive to get to the goal and get the job done is handled well because you care less about the characters -- they're honestly just vessels through which to blow stuff up. Not every game should follow this formula, but what Nate is saying is that the team knows what the game is and doesn't hunker down in heavy or unnecessary character development to have their game progress.

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nachosjustice
Posted 06:11pm 04/2/13

What Steve said. I'm not trying to argue that the characterisation is fantastic, but for that style of game--equivalent to your average big-budget Michael Bay film--it really works.

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Whoop
Posted 06:59pm 04/2/13

but what Nate is saying is that the team knows what the game is and doesn't hunker down in heavy or unnecessary character development to have their game progress.

Lies. What about that whole bit in Modern Warfare 2 where they went through all the character buildup, telling you who this bad guy was and how you need to infiltrate his gang, then had you walk through an airport killing civilians, only to be shot at the end. Why the hell bother telling us any info at all about anything and getting us to do the airport thing? Why not just have a cutscene with a "news report" of an airport massacre? Why? Because the devs wanted to be edgy, that's why.

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deadlyf
Posted 07:14pm 04/2/13

I never really got into Bioshock, I really felt no narrative motivation to complete the game especially after the opening sequence where it's all,

"OMFG I was just in a plane crash, now here is something completely unrelated - go save some guy on the radio in an underwater city. Even though you don't know why you are here or who you are or anything else, finding your way to and saving this asshole should clearly be your top priority."

I guess for me it didn't give me the motivation required to want to learn more about the story. Many games fail at establishing your characters place within the world from the beginning and while some people enjoy the slow burn of unraveling your characters role within the story, for me knowing my characters role is a key part of my motivation to see how the story unfolds.

I think games and TV are worlds apart when it comes to how the narrative is told. With TV they don't need to rely on player interaction and therefor player motivation. Sure you can create motivation through game play, if it's entertaining people will continue to play but that doesn't mean that they will necessarily complete the story portion of the game. Take for example GTA, hugely entertaining game play yet how many people felt a narrative motivation to complete the story rather than just steal cars and race around the streets?

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paveway
Posted 07:30pm 04/2/13

no mention of the quality diablo 3 story telling technique :\

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Enska
Posted 10:00pm 04/2/13

uhhh, Marston does see and spend slight amounts of time with his family in RDR in the late parts of the game. Do you mean you don't see much of his family at the start?
I'm confused, you don't see a lot of important characters in games until the latter parts.

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fpot
Posted 10:02pm 04/2/13

What the fuck? No mention about how great New Vegas is? Well I arggggggbaggggtssshhh

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Steve Farrelly
Posted 10:37pm 04/2/13

Enska, it's that you do see his family, whereas before you saw them it was a reason to do the things you did in thought and character drive alone. But by being near them and playing a solid hour or so in their lives it destroys the mystique and that drive, somewhat (given how much of a whiney git Jack turns out to be anyway, especially after all you did for him). So Nate is saying that the intro (for me, not so much), and the lengthy end were unwarrented -- they could have been cut and the game would have been better for it

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Enska
Posted 10:46pm 04/2/13

What? Put this shit on Gamasutra ffs. cryptic bullshit.

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Steve Farrelly
Posted 11:20pm 04/2/13

Basically the idea of his family was more motivation than actually seeing them physically. So when you finally did and the game didn't finish, all of that motivation fell flat.

Clear enough?

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DK
Posted 11:29pm 04/2/13

I love the way the half life games told their story. Never was in your face and obvious like most movies/games are today

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Bah
Posted 11:31pm 04/2/13

the drive to get to the goal and get the job done is handled well because you care less about the characters

So i dont care about the characters or story, i just know shit is about to go down? Well i see what you're saying and you have a point, quite a few games I will play in short bursts until about half way in and by that time the story has me and ill power through to the end.

But i still think COD games have stupid, confusing, non-sensical storylines since they have had to keep one upping what COD4 did, and using them to make a point about story telling is silly.

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Viper119
Posted 11:50pm 04/2/13

Good read, very interesting.

I've just started playing Dishonoured and am totes blown away, it's incredible! Very reminiscent of Thief and Deus Ex - you guys think it would be up there as a good example?

For me, the most compelling games from a narrative and all-round great experience have been Deus Ex, Deux Ex: HR, Thief series, Half-Life series. The first Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Haven't played the rest) was gripping, when the British SAS captain dude died at the end!

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