Jonathan Blow: "Videogames are terrible for telling stories"

[Mnementh]

Hynad said:

Mnementh said:

Immersion is not the same as storytelling. Games are good in other areas, but storytelling is behind movies and even more behind books, because game developers cannot control the story in the same way a movie director or a book author can, as the player can always decide to do something else as what was intended and breaking the storyline in that. "Oh, the world is threatened by this incredible force, so as the main character in the story I decide to do some fetch quests first to level up before facing that boss."

I don't agree with this. While books and movies are unmatched when it comes to focused storytelling, games have that advantage that their worlds and characters inhabiting them can be more fleshed out and more intricate than in books and movies. Every details of the game can be fleshed out and a carrier for a part of the story. While in movies, everything has to have an impact for the limited time that detail has on screen, and in books, too much details given makes it tedious to read (see Tolkien). The potential is simply not the same. Each medium has their own strength and weaknesses. 

When it comes to video games, there are more and more good stories being told, but in general, it's not the medium that lags behind movies, but the writers and directors.

I talked about storytelling, you talk about world-exploration and character decription. A poem can describe excellent a person / an emotion / a scene in the world. But they don't tell stories. Because these descriptions aren't stories, they are descriptions. That doesn't mean they aren't enjoyable - many persons prefer poems over novels. But that's the point: because they focus onto something else than story. These elements you describe can create a deeper emotional attachment to a character or a world, but they are still not the story. That said: that doesn't mean these elements aren't enjoyable. So you mixing up story with world and character description, although they are something different. I agree, a game offers options for these elements other media doesn't have. But create the most artful storyline by controlling pacing is done best in a book, followed by movies.