twesterm said:
So why do you think games can't tell as good as a story as books or movies? They have access to everything both of those have. Going back to Fable II, that ending touched me much more than many books have just because of how it was done and the things I did and didn't do. If I look at something like Final Fantasy VI, I was very attached to those characters by the end of the game and had a connection to each of them because of the strong character development. |
Twesterm, the best games have barely got close to the most average books or films. That's just a fact.
As for why, well, there's a few major obstacles
1) first and foremost most games (perhaps rightly) put the gameplay over narrative and meaning. Look at the comments from the Epic camp around Gears 2 for example - they made it clear that while they were going to try and add more story they wouldn't for a second try and bend the gameplay to fit the narrative; any bending would have to go the other way
2) right now most games are simply copying existing approaches from books and films, and often not to well at that.
3) the killer point for me - talent. I have no doubt many people involved in making games are talented, but clearly few are talented in quite the same way as the best scriptwriters, novelists, poets, etc. - i.e. they understand code, they understand gameplay (hopefully) but they no more understand narrative and themes than anyone else who reads books or watches films. Even studios with in-house writers (like Valve) don't exactly have Shakespeare sitting at a desk working for them (sorry Mr Laidlaw, you do a good job overall!)
Could a videogame rival a truly excellent book or film? Perhaps, but right now the answer on current examples is no, not really. I accept you might get a connection to the characters, particularly in an RGP where you build them up over time - but in all honesty isn't that connection a lot closer to a favourite Tops Card or a toy you've invested a lot of time in, or a favourite comic book character vs the emotional connection of the best books and films? I think so for the most part.
Fable 2 had some nice moments, although overall the best 4 games I can think of with interesting themes and emotional depth are Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Grim Fandango and Silent Hill 2. I'm sure there are more. Deus Ex also showed a promise, but they messed up the franchise something awful with Invisible War.
Try to be reasonable... its easier than you think...