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Forums - Sony - Uncharted 2 “the perfect example” of storytelling, says Crysis 2 writer

WereKitten on 14 April 2010
kowenicki said:
I disagree.... corny storytelling is what most video games are and Uncharted is little different.

But who cares? Games in general arent about deep and meaningful storytelling in the main and action games struggle even more.

I wish people wouldnt try and hold games in the same light as books and movies... they just dont compare and they dont need to.

Well, he never said anything about "deep and meaningful storytelling".

He said "really cool narrative" welded to "a really cool shooting game": the point is that Uncharted 2 narratively doesn't take itself seriously at all. Functionally, it helps to keep the momentum of the game, it gives you some likeable characters you can care about, and it builds an entertaining arc for the action pieces to live in. I bet that's what he considers a good option for the narrative that will accompany Crysis 2's shooting. "The Tempest" wouldn't be one.

There's good ways to create tongue-in-cheek, self-conscious pop art. Joss Whedon is an example.



"All you need in life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure." - Mark Twain

"..." - Gordon Freeman

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mibuokami on 14 April 2010
Squilliam said:
Fufinu said:
Squilliam said:
Bah, its a terrible implementation. It was impossible to suspend disbelief, for someone like me the fact you could skip was the only way I could play it a 2nd time through.

So which game story would you rate as being good?

I haven't really seen a game with a great story which has a comparable implementation, however Modern Warfare 2 had fewer flaws in its implementation in any case from what I saw.

I invite you to try and located (and play) a very old W-RPG by the name of Planescape Torment. Storywise (in video game) it was unparrallel and unprecedented for its time and unbeatable even to-date. There is literally no other game that even come close.

I expect to remain the king of the hill for a long time.. if fact, I doubt it would ever gets toppled.

ot: Uncharted's story was cheesy and predictable at best, it was by the standard of a summer action flick that would be popular with the crowd but rip-to-pieces by critic for being a cheap cash-in. It was very well implimented however and the characters pretty much stole the plot.




Fufinu on 14 April 2010
kowenicki said:
btw he doesnt say it is a perfect example of storytelling

he says it is a perfect example of how to wield a really good narrative within a cool game.

perfect storytelling and good narrative with a gaming environ are two very different things.

good old gaming journalists and their artistic license again...

I think that if you pick a given game, shake it and remove the story you end up with ... something that could still possibly be fun (see Mario games), however good storylines go a long way in helping out the development and unfolding of the game (see Metal Gear Solid). Just dropping storytelling out of the equation can be limiting imo.



WereKitten on 14 April 2010

@Kowenicki

As you yourself said in your previous post, it does not make sense to make too strict comparisons: if Uncharted and Halo were movies their narrative would be constructed differently. And maybe they would not have any reason to exist as movies at all - not even for their authors.



"All you need in life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure." - Mark Twain

"..." - Gordon Freeman

Linkasf on 14 April 2010

Yessss Now win back the PS3 boys and let them ride your... never mind :)



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Squilliam on 14 April 2010
Fufinu said:
Squilliam said:
Fufinu said:

So which game story would you rate as being good?

I haven't really seen a game with a great story which has a comparable implementation, however Modern Warfare 2 had fewer flaws in its implementation in any case from what I saw.

I find it interesting that storywise you enjoyed Uncharted 2 more than MW2. I must admit that I haven't played the games, however I am currently going through the first Uncharted and I'm pretty hooked to the story in an Indiana Jones sort of way.

I wouldn't say that suspending disbelief is my main attraction to any game - I loved the story in Deus Ex, also loved Ultima 8 and the narrative in Metal Gear Solid 4. Given that you are critical of Uncharted 2's story I would have expected you to identify games with a good story in stead. Wonder whether a game like Heavy Rain would be attractive to you, or whether you are looking forward for something like Alan Wake.

I definately enjoyed the gameplay of Uncharted 2 more. However the story lost me in the first scene. It was worse than a comic book in the sense that at least Superman has kryptonite to explain why the man of steel can take a hundred bullets without breaking a sweat but can still get badly hurt. The first scene had an otherwise impervious Drake striken with a bullet wound. The game therefore lost me in the first scene and it didn't matter how good/bad the story was it was simply a eyeroll fest to me. The fact that the game was more visually striking made this worse because I expected Nathan Drake to react in a more realistic fashion.

If you wanted a good example of a game which I felt had a good story? Planescape Torment. Ultima 8 was pretty awesome too. Uncharted 2? Not so much.

Edit: @mibuokami Im currently playing Planescape torment as I found a version compatible with the 64 bit version of Windows 7. Im pretty well into it.



Tease.

Fufinu on 14 April 2010
Squilliam said:
Fufinu said:
Squilliam said:
Fufinu said:

So which game story would you rate as being good?

I haven't really seen a game with a great story which has a comparable implementation, however Modern Warfare 2 had fewer flaws in its implementation in any case from what I saw.

I find it interesting that storywise you enjoyed Uncharted 2 more than MW2. I must admit that I haven't played the games, however I am currently going through the first Uncharted and I'm pretty hooked to the story in an Indiana Jones sort of way.

I wouldn't say that suspending disbelief is my main attraction to any game - I loved the story in Deus Ex, also loved Ultima 8 and the narrative in Metal Gear Solid 4. Given that you are critical of Uncharted 2's story I would have expected you to identify games with a good story in stead. Wonder whether a game like Heavy Rain would be attractive to you, or whether you are looking forward for something like Alan Wake.

I definately enjoyed the gameplay of Uncharted 2 more. However the story lost me in the first scene. It was worse than a comic book in the sense that at least Superman has kryptonite to explain why the man of steel can take a hundred bullets without breaking a sweat but can still get badly hurt. The first scene had an otherwise impervious Drake striken with a bullet wound. The game therefore lost me in the first scene and it didn't matter how good/bad the story was it was simply a eyeroll fest to me. The fact that the game was more visually striking made this worse because I expected Nathan Drake to react in a more realistic fashion.

If you wanted a good example of a game which I felt had a good story? Planescape Torment. Ultima 8 was pretty awesome too. Uncharted 2? Not so much.

Edit: @mibuokami Im currently playing Planescape torment as I found a version compatible with the 64 bit version of Windows 7. Im pretty well into it.

I have to agree with your reasoning at this point :)

Will be looking at picking up Uncharted 2 at some point, and will then continue this discussion.



XxXProphecyXxX on 14 April 2010

1 thing is for sure tho Uncharted 2 story is at better than all the games he's been trashing lately.



sbvgc2012 on 14 April 2010

Great game,bad screenshot though.



mibuokami on 14 April 2010
Squilliam said:
Fufinu said:
Squilliam said:
Fufinu said:

So which game story would you rate as being good?

I haven't really seen a game with a great story which has a comparable implementation, however Modern Warfare 2 had fewer flaws in its implementation in any case from what I saw.

I find it interesting that storywise you enjoyed Uncharted 2 more than MW2. I must admit that I haven't played the games, however I am currently going through the first Uncharted and I'm pretty hooked to the story in an Indiana Jones sort of way.

I wouldn't say that suspending disbelief is my main attraction to any game - I loved the story in Deus Ex, also loved Ultima 8 and the narrative in Metal Gear Solid 4. Given that you are critical of Uncharted 2's story I would have expected you to identify games with a good story in stead. Wonder whether a game like Heavy Rain would be attractive to you, or whether you are looking forward for something like Alan Wake.

I definately enjoyed the gameplay of Uncharted 2 more. However the story lost me in the first scene. It was worse than a comic book in the sense that at least Superman has kryptonite to explain why the man of steel can take a hundred bullets without breaking a sweat but can still get badly hurt. The first scene had an otherwise impervious Drake striken with a bullet wound. The game therefore lost me in the first scene and it didn't matter how good/bad the story was it was simply a eyeroll fest to me. The fact that the game was more visually striking made this worse because I expected Nathan Drake to react in a more realistic fashion.

If you wanted a good example of a game which I felt had a good story? Planescape Torment. Ultima 8 was pretty awesome too. Uncharted 2? Not so much.

Edit: @mibuokami Im currently playing Planescape torment as I found a version compatible with the 64 bit version of Windows 7. Im pretty well into it.

How's your impression so far? The game had a lot of bug but I found the story was just so amazing. The amount of character development really made the game special for me.