"Plot is Highly Overrated" - Discuss

Gambisk

Gambisk

Gambisk

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Interesting article this morning on IGN regarding plot in games.

http://uk.ign.com/articles/2014/03/17/gdc-plot-is-highly-overrated-in-games-says-devs

TLDR Version: Gamers too busy playing games to keep track of complex plots, characters more important.

I have mixed views as some of my favourite games were all about the plot such as the original star wars KOTOR, FF8 and Fallout 3 and the gameplay became repetitive. However I have also thoroughly enjoyed playing through Tomb Raider and Bioshock Infinite that haven't had the greatest of plots but the characters have been engaging. What are your thoughts?
 
While it is true that some games can get awayy with the lack of plot/story/characters with good fun gameplay, that doesn't underestimate the power of a good story though. I think that a good story can make a good game into a great game. A good example of this is KOTOR, average graphics and gameplay but a great story with well fleshed out characters which made you want to keep playing.
 
Depends if you want an interactive movie game or a shoot everything game.
There's very few that do both because as you say not many people, sorry "Children," grasp them so its wasted.
 
I think 'overrated' is the wrong term. 'Largely unnecessary' is probably, sadly, more accurate. Bioshock Infinite had one of the best sci-fi storylines I've experienced in any medium for a long time, but unfortunately I was blinded by trying to get to the next battle and searching through bins for ammo etc. By the time I realised how good/complex the story was it was too late to properly understand it and I had to go online to read the full plot. I like to think I'm fairly intelligent, but this proved that even I sit through games going 'yeah, yeah, yeah, just show me something to point this gun at'.
 
On the odd occasion a good story/plot can make a game - Planescape Torment springs to mind. In the vast majority of cases I find anything but the most basic incentive detracts from the experience. Go kill bad guy is usually plenty. Mario gets it right - Bowser steals princess, get Bowser, rescue princess.
 
As long as I can blow **** up and kill people in a pretty ****ed up manner, then I'm happy.

DR3 was good for this, although I actually quite enjoyed the storyline :p
 
Belmit said:
I think 'overrated' is the wrong term. 'Largely unnecessary' is probably, sadly, more accurate.
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I would probably modify that slightly to "largely unnecessary in some games, depending on the target audience and the rest of the game"

Unfortunately however, that doesn't make a particularly catchy headline.

There are some games where plot is wholly irrelevant, e.g. CoD/BF (since it's basically just a "shoot every terrorist you see" killing fest). Also, survival games e.g. Minecraft... well, there's no place for plot in games like that.

Conversely, that majority of RPGs, e.g. Final Fantasy, Skyrim, Fallout etc. would be very boring and either short, or repetitive games (go here, kill this, upgrade gear/stats, repeat) without the storyline, and in these cases the plot can be the difference between a great game and a mediocre one.
 
Players hardly remember the plots that they play.
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Probably talking about the lowest common denominator CoD players. If a game has a good enough story it is memorable, some of the games they listed in the article have great stories, Fallout 3, Uncharted 2 and The Last Of Us all certainly do and I'm sure people who have finished them could give a summary of the plot.

The thing is the example they gave in the article about people being able to remember all the details about their favourite movie but not their favourite game is a bit flawed in my opinion. A movie is usually between 90-120 minutes on average, most decent story driven games are at least 5 times longer than that.
 
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All of the most enjoyable games I have played have been plot driven. The conclusion of a story is very satisfying for me.

Baldurs Gate Series
Psychonauts
Witcher Series
Mass Effect Series
Bioshock Infinite

That's not to say I don't enjoy games that aren't plot heavy, I just find thost that are the most pleasing.
 
bloodiedathame said:
Heavy Rain would have been a bit crap without a plot...
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Wasn't that much better with it, really. I enjoyed the experience but the story was a bit poor, as were the characters. I'm liking Beyond: Two Souls much more.

I really enjoy a good story and characters in games, and most of my favourite games of late have had both. Bioshock Infinite, The Last Of Us, Spec Ops: The Line and even MGS despite how convoluted it can be.

That said, it doesn't mean the plots need to be complex. I recently played Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons and really enjoyed it. The storyline was fairly simple but executed in such an effective way that it had a profound effect. Same goes for something like Limbo; no storyline to it at all really but you get a sense of what the game is trying to achieve.

Games like CoD, Battlefield etc could easily do without their storylines, but then they're written like they're throwaway scripts for a direct-to-DVD movie anyway so I don't think anyone expects the events in them to stick with the player.
 
I'd rather they just use text to tell a story than movie like cut scenes and voice actors, it would also help youngsters learn to read/spell better.
 
Efour said:
Depends if you want an interactive movie game or a shoot everything game.
There's very few that do both because as you say not many people, sorry "Children," grasp them so its wasted.
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The few that do both are exceptional to the point where they have a cult following years/decades down the line. A certain man with a crowbar springs to mind. Even now I bet people can recall most of the dialogue from the original games.

The other ones are games like The Last of Us and Uncharted series. Only games by certain acclaimed developers seem to do a mix of everything really well.
 
I think a lot of it comes down to genre. The games I've enjoyed playing the most have had epic plotlines, but they are predominantly RPGs of some description with varying degrees of player involvement ranging from Heavy Rain and Mass Effect to Final Fantasy VII and Lost Odyssey. The 'core' Metal Gear Solid series proves (at least for me) that plot can be just as, if not more gripping than complex and engaging game mechanics.

That being said, I've still enjoyed games where plot lines are pretty much irrelevant, non-existent, entirely two-dimensional or utterly forgettable like Ninja Gaiden, Tekken, Doom, Super Meat Boy, Crash Bandicoot, Super Mario and Pokemon.

Plot is entirely subjective to the player and the style of game imo. But I would be very sad to see the concept of an engaging and complex plot vanish from video games entirely in favour of churning out titles that lack any form of artistic depth because then you're often left with tedious, repetitive mechanics and a feeling of 'why am I even doing this?'
 
Am I the only one that fully understood Infinite's story the first time through? The ending has so much more impact when you actually fully understand what's going on :p
 
To add to the earlier post, gone are the days where actual "game" progresses the plot. Think the N64 Zelda series. Link's early entry into 3D and how amazing it was. There was no spoken dialogue, it was text driven but everything came together so well it just worked and kept gamers of any age glued to it.

You don't get games that complex any more sadly.
 
I can't get on IGN at work to read full article but personally plot is dependant on the type of game. Personally games are like movies, a short one can get by on being action packed but with no real story (COD / Pacific Rim). Whereas the longer ones though have to have a good plot otherwise it becomes boring and / or repetitive. (Mass Effect / LOTR).
 
mrk said:
The few that do both are exceptional to the point where they have a cult following years/decades down the line. A certain man with a crowbar springs to mind. Even now I bet people can recall most of the dialogue from the original games.

The other ones are games like The Last of Us and Uncharted series. Only games by certain acclaimed developers seem to do a mix of everything really well.
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Half-life didn't really have a plot in the traditional sense. I mean, it's not a story that's shoved in your face. All the characters talking to you is just setting the scene. What do people do when the scientists are jabbering on? Run around jumping on things, trying to climb on pipes/crates etc. At least, that's what I did. The great games focus on the game mechanics and lead the character through a series of events. The plot is secondary really.

Another example: Dishonoured - great game. Can't remember the story one bit but I do remember the characters, the scenary, the neo gothic architecture. In essence, the visual stuff.
 
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