‘Predictable’, ‘stale’ and ‘unimaginative’ are all brilliant adjectives that can be used to describe a great many things, but would perhaps be best left to portraying modern video-game storylines. Commonly lacking anything approaching a wealth of imagination or creativity while additionally sporting the bare modicum of effort, these yarns are undoubtedly down at the ‘chicken-scratchings’ level of sophistication when compared to other mediums. And considering how far the rest of the industry has come since it’s origins of playing Pong in the pub, this is simply baffling. It’s more or less the equivalent of cinema frivolously ignoring plot for the whole of thirty years in favour of rehashing endless chase-sequences or staging predictable action romps, after all.
Confusion
This is especially true considering the fact that we’re now poised on the edge of an era promising endless miles of photo-realistic landscape to explore, an ability to hook up and play with someone on the other side of the world or a chance to dabble in 3D motion control to your hearts content. Graphical capabilities far outstrip anything we’ve ever seen before and are improving by the day, while the level of artificial intelligence marches on at an alarming rate. Yet we still can’t nail a damn good story? It’s perfectly reasonable to argue that games should be all about the gameplay - and to a certain extent, I’d agree - but shouldn’t there also be a worthwhile plot driving it to give the piece
direction or to keep us interested over an eight hour, arguably repetitive adventure? Although gaming is a very lively, interactive industry, it wouldn’t be a huge leap of faith to compare it with the silver screen, and there, lack of plot or narrative is frowned upon.Naturally not all developers are like this, but it’s disturbing to see how story is treated as a backbench, low-priority subject on many current titles, especially when multiplayer becomes involved; Modern Warfare 2 being the perfect example. With huge expectations landing on the multiplayer component of the product, it could easily be argued that the single player campaign noticeably suffered with a confusing, at times laughable plot and a stilted mission structure. Perhaps the developers believe that more casual players don’t care about storyline, or that it’s an issue of consequence to the hardcore player? Ironically, this would appear to be far from the truth, simply going by sales or feedback. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Mass Effect, Fallout 3, Heavy Rain; these massively popular titles were made so largely because their tales were so engrossingly gripping and enthralling, not to mention well written and performed. In store I’ve even had wet behind the ears players coming up and revealing how much they enjoyed the latter serial killer romp based on how interesting it was to follow.
Tools
Perhaps it’s just that folks don’t have the ability, though? I once spoke to a university lecturer from Southampton Solent Uni who suggested that there is actually a dearth in writers within the industry, and it’s a gap desperately begging to be filled. While obviously efforts like the above certainly prove the point, an equal amount of others haven’t quite got the hang of it yet, for instance - certain titles don’t start well enough, or are messy in the execution. You may ask, ‘who cares?', but at the end of the day stories are far more important then you might think. In the case of the majority of the above titles, would you have played or loved them so much if the story was bad? Would you have gone through Nathan Drake's adventure if it had been God-awful and acted by stiff studio hands? Would you have kept playing through Heavy Rain had you not cared about what happened next? And story doesn’t always have to be thrust down your throat as many suggest. Like those behind the Bioshock series (famed for FPS intros, data logs and more), the best in the medium look for less conventional means to tell a story so that gameplay isn‘t hampered. It’s not all cutscenes, after all. Here, you have the ability to change or alter a story as you go based on your choices, a la Fable 2 or Dragon Age: Origins. Splinter Cell: Conviction employed a hugely interesting method of storytelling via flashbacks and cutscene projections on the wall, while World at War’s intros were an orgy of beautifully edited patterns, photos, films, facts and narration that not only looked damn good but gave you all you needed to know in as concise and consumable fashion as possible. Storytelling that allows the gameplay to get on with what it does best.
A Sum of its Parts
Though some titles are naturally better story-light (such as Crackdown 2), it doesn’t always have to be one or the other either; though you can get great titles like Heavy Rain or Left 4 Dead 2 that skew onto a particular side of the fence, there are plenty like Bioshock, Alan Wake and Batman: Arkham Asylum that mix the two schools perfectly, allowing both the gameplay and script space to flourish. Isn’t a product a sum of it’s parts? If everything is polished then it stands to reason that the game will end up better for it, largely because there’s even more to enjoy, and it’s a noticeably fuller experience. Emotion make the firefights in Halo more epic, and terrifying. The end sequence of Mass Effect 2 was so much more impact because you knew you didn’t just fight for the galaxy, but your own life and that of your team. Even if you’re a sceptic, I’d be willing to bet that a lot of your favourite moments in gaming arrived courtesy of some twist or a sting in the plot. Who would expect the ending of Modern Warfare, or the massive revelation during Bioshock? Did the ending of Red Dead Redemption not give you goosebumps, and enough ammo to use in water-cooler conversations for weeks? When done correctly, story in games can lead to some fabulous moments that will stick in your head for years, heighten your enjoyment of an already great game and throw up an opportunity for some great gameplay mechanics. If you want the best example then look no further than the train-crash of Uncharted 2, or the tight flashbacks that follow. What an opening! Thus it’s a shame when many pay so little respect to storyline, especially when it can make or break a title in such grandiose fashion, and evidently underpins the success or enjoyment of so many. If story can make a title more emotional, epic, memorable or exciting, surely it’s worth more than a simple nod?
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