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theprof00 on 09 February 2010
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The Ghost of RubangB said:
theprof00 said:
I just want to point out that all games have a story or cut-scenes. It's just that the presentation is different.
When you're watching a boss die in Super Metroid or reading text boxes in Mario Galaxy, it is the same as us watching laughing octopus die in mgs4, or having dialogue spoken to us in a scene rather than reading it.
The movie games may take a little bit longer, but you can always skip a cutscene anyway. I really don't understand all the bitching that occurs over games with video production.

Whoa whoa whoa.

Some of the best games of all time have NO story whatsoever.  Space Invaders.  Pac-Man.  Tetris.  SimCity.  Wii Sports.

 

Super Metroid has minimal story, but is very cinematic.  It feels and plays like a movie at parts, but there's not much of a story there.  Some films and some books are all about mood and feelings and not actual events and twists and decisions.  Like Eraserhead or Catcher in the Rye for that matter.  Some games pull that off very well without shoving hours of story down your throat.  Could be Super Metroid, could be Out of This World, could be Shadow of the Colossus, could be No More Heroes 2 (the game is full of cutscenes but they don't tell a story at all).

My problem is when a game uses cutscenes to just tell me what's going on, instead of showing me what's going on, or letting me play what's going on.  If I wanted to hear a monologue explaining everything I'd listen to a book on tape or watch a really good classic James Bond film.

 

It's not a crime to like both at all, and I'm not saying it is.  But it's a crime to say that ALL games need a story.  That leads to the path that says MGS4 is the best game of all time and Wii Sports is the worst game of all time, and that's madness.

all of those games you listed have uncontrollable cinematic parts. In pac-man you have level introductions, death animation. Tetris has the rocket ship, simcity has the picture and explanation showing up when certain things happen etc etc.

The difference is the level of production. You can always skip cutscenes too, so it's not like it's such a big deal. I'm not saying all games need a story. I'm saying there is always a certain level of uncontrollable gameplay which is used to illustrate what is happening with your character or some story element.