From the WTF Files: Kojima says videogames shouldn't try to tell a story

Kresnik

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Kresnik on 26 July 2012

d21lewis said:
I stopped listening to Kojima when he said MGS1 was the last Metal Gear and then made MGS2 which was the last Metal Gear and then made MGS3 which was the last Metal Gear and then made MGS4 which was THE LAST Metal Gear and then made Peacewalker which was "MGS5" and then reported that they were working on MGS5.

I completely understand what you meant but I don't feel like the blame should solely be placed on Kojima. He genuinely seems like he'd be quite happy ditching Metal Gear Solid for a long period of time and working on ZOE/a new IP for the forseeable future. But Konami aren't gonna let him just ditch MGS so easily. There's a lot of fan pressure for him to head the projects as well.

I agree that he probably shouldn't have kept saying "Last Metal Gear" over and over but I do think he did intend some truth in saying it.

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AndrewWK on 26 July 2012

bouzane said:

AndrewWK said:
Guys this is bullshit! The story is what seperates good games from great games.

I could not possibly disagree more strongly. It's a good thing too considering that at least 99.9% of video game story telling is trash

Examples. Only good games of course.

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AndrewWK on 26 July 2012

Cobretti2 said:

AndrewWK said:
Guys this is bullshit! The story is what seperates good games from great games.

yes, but the story doesnt have to be a 40min video.

I never said that.

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bouzane on 26 July 2012

AndrewWK said:

bouzane said:

AndrewWK said:
Guys this is bullshit! The story is what seperates good games from great games.

I could not possibly disagree more strongly. It's a good thing too considering that at least 99.9% of video game story telling is trash

Examples. Only good games of course.

http://www.unikgamer.com/users/bouzane-2993.html

A bit outdated but this pretty much reflects my taste in games. The only games in my top 25 that have much of a focus on story telling are:

Half-Life 2 - simple story, brilliantly told

God of War II - lousy story, absolutely no character development and a non-existent ending; terrible story compared to the original but vastly superior gameplay

Metal Gear Solid - Peace Walker - uninteresting and forgettable story, I don't even remember who I was fighting or why (didn't stop me from getting 100% completion... solo)

Deus Ex - mediocre, forgettable story with some lousy dialog and outright laughable voice acting

Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence - largely undeveloped cast of uninteresting villains, heavy handed story telling with long, obtrusive cut scenes, repetitive dialogue, etc...

Earthbound - charming, clever and original (still not Pulitzer Prize material)

Snatcher - competent story with enough intrigue to keep me playing, probably Kojima's finest work of fiction

I wouldn't bother to read any of these as novelizations except maybe Half-Life 2 (probably not). Video game story telling just isn't that good and it isn't important to me in the slightest. These aren't video graphic novels or movies, they're games. I didn't need engaging stories in my Atari and NES games and I still don't need them today. If I did, gaming wouldn't be my hobby, plain and simple.