About telling a story...

[dtewi]

Khuutra said:

dtewi said:

Is it even possible to weave story and gameplay perfectly?

This question isn't completely pertinent, but can you actually have a game where the story happens alongside with gameplay? Like as you're fighting some stupid, boss story is happening.

I don't think any game has done that so I'll say this:

A game littered with small cutscenes does not do a better job of telling a story than a game with long cutscenes.

Although I don't know how Deus Ex and Half-Life and Planescape tell stories. But in games like Mass Effect and Elder Scrolls, the gameplay may help mold the story, but that does not equate to it having a better story.

Shadow of the Colossus does more or less what you describe, wherein the gameplay itself is the primary mode of storytelling - though segments are punctuated with cutscenes, those are there primarily so you can take a breath. The same is true of ICO.

The storytelling in some games - like BioWare and Black Isle/Obsidian games - is centered around interactive conversations, which is another way of integrating storytelling into gameplay itself.

The same is actually true of Super Mario Bros., where outside of five-second breather cutscenes at the end of each world, the primary mode of storytelling comes in the areas you play.

Super Mario Bros? Story during gameplay?

I just went out to eat 20 minutes ago Khuutra. If I laugh too much I might throw up.

So what's your opinion on how best to tell a story?