| Mnementh said: I agree that my test will force something out of games that is part of the enjoyment. But this thread is about story/plot, and that is not ported through interactivity. Surely, to judge the game as a whole, you need all parts. But that's not the story. and that's what I'm talking about, the story of no game so far is as good as the stories presented in good movies or books. That doesn't mean games are inferior as a form of art. Poems, paintings or songs are not as good in presenting a story (even games are better at that), but that doesn't make them inferior forms of art. They have different strengths. That the same for games. Storytelling is not the strength of games. But I see some potential to become better at that front too. That's why I was interested in the interview (and felt letdown by the actual content). |
I think a distinction between "story" and "storytelling" needs to be made here. Regardless of medium, a good story needs to be told well, whether that's through good writing, great cinematography or intense interaction. Even the most basic of storylines can become brilliant if they're told well (e.g. the film Gladiator or the game Mass Effect 2).
Your original example of taking a playthrough and comparing it to a fully edited movie doesn't work because the movie is presented in its optimal storytelling form whilst the game has most of its emotional impact removed by the simple fact it's presented passively. It's the same as taking a full 6 hour rough cut of a film, asking the audience to edit it and compare that activity to playing a fully interactive game.
If you want to get down to barebones then the only way I could see of comparing storylines between the mediums would be to take bullet points of each of the main story, character and plot points and do a direct comparison. I actually think you'd find the best of video games hold up pretty well. The likes of Planescape Torment, Deus Ex, Witcher, Uncharted 2, Mass Effect series, The Walking Dead etc. have huge amounts of depth in their plots and/or characters that can rival the best from film and books.
That doesn't mean that there's not room for improvement. I think there's a lot more potential in the medium of video games that has yet to be fully explored.
