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Joy Sticks: _The story still matters in a video game_

The most successful video games have not had the best plots. The best way to change this is to incorporate the writer earlier on in the development process.

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

By Matthew Overstreet

Feb. 9, 2012 12:12 a.m.

Video games have the ability to suck players in and immerse them in a way that no other medium has. In fact, video games have to work harder not to immerse players rather then vice versa. Why is it, then, that so many games manage to fail to immerse players?

The answer lies in the plot of video games. What I’ve been talking about ““ how video games draw players in and put them in the shoes of the protagonist by having them control that protagonist ““ is mostly on a theoretical level. In practice, most games don’t follow through on this.

Simply put, the reason for this is that most games have terrible stories. Even some of the most popular and highly successful games of all time have only mediocre stories ““ look at the “Gears of War” or “Resident Evil” franchises. While it’s true that games with terrific plots are always praised for them, the fact is that most games can get away with a bad plot.

The reason that many games have insufficient narratives lies in the development process. Developers will come up with a loose idea ““ let’s say they want to make a game set in space. Then they decide what kind of game it’s going to be ““ a puzzle game, a first-person shooter or perhaps a massive multiplayer online role-playing game.

After they’ve got that figured out, the developers go about creating enemies or obstacles, fine-tuning gameplay, and working on different levels. About halfway through this process, a professional writer is usually brought in to craft a story. (This can vary depending on the studio and game.)

Now, the writer’s job is not to create the best story ever told but to tie together all of the different components already created in a way that makes sense. Usually, just tying things together isn’t too tough (the designers aren’t going to throw in things that don’t fit the “space-based puzzle game” idea they started out with). But doing so in a way that is both inventive and compelling can be difficult.

I’m not saying that focusing on gameplay and the actual game aspects of a video game are a bad thing. After all, without these things, a game isn’t a game. It’s just a story. No matter how well-written a story it is, it doesn’t need an interactive medium to be told.

Here’s what needs to be done, then, on the developers’ ends: Incorporate the writer earlier on in the process. Have him or her work with the designers as the game is being built so that everything put into the game makes sense. The plot can help decide what aspects of the game are tweaked.

Another big issue is that, if we look at the history of video games, we see that the technology to even incorporate a story into games is a rather recent development. (Think about games such as “Asteroids” or “Pong” or even “Super Mario Bros.” ““ a game with only the loosest of plots.)

Even before it was possible to make a plot-driven game, it had been established that consumers were willing to buy video games as long as they were fun, regardless of whether or not they had a decent story.

Here’s what needs to happen on the consumers’ end: Don’t be satisfied with a mediocre plot. Don’t praise games that have only a decent plot; ask yourself instead if this story really fits the game you’re playing or if it feels more like a justification for the things the game is asking you to do.

Developers have had the technology for long enough now that we should expect more of a game’s plot, and more importantly know how that plot works with and affects the actions and challenges in the game we’re playing. The “Moby Dick” or “The Godfather” of video games can be made soon, but only if we’re willing to push for it. And I don’t know about you, but I am excited to see that.

For more information on this topic, or if you just want to argue that “Gears of War” has a spectacular story, email Overstreet at [email protected]. “Joy Sticks” runs every Thursday.

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Matthew Overstreet
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