Thread: Video games force their story

Sure, if someone feels ok with paying 60$ just for a speed run or something like that that has no effect on the game what so ever, then be my guest. I'll just call you an idiot.

Enjoy what you want. Most of the time I don't care about the story, and prefer to skip it/ignore it.

Again, I go back to the preface of a book. If I am reading Hamlet, I do not want to suffer through the preamble of someones opinion, I want to read the story of Hamlet, but there is nothing forcing me to read the preface/introduction. It's there for my enjoyment or not.

I restate my opinion that it is just a way to inflate the gametime of the title on the packaging/review. Hamlet may be 400 pages, but what value is that if I have an additional 30 pages I don't care about and have nothing to do with what I bought the story for.

It's great that the makers care, but I (usually) don't.

Edit - IMO, calling someone an idiot for not agreeing with you or what you enjoy, does nothing for your opinion, but does give great insight into your thought process's.

Originally Posted by Warflagon

Edit - IMO, calling someone an idiot for not agreeing with you or what you enjoy, does nothing for your opinion, but does give great insight into your thought process's.

If you buy a book primarily for "reading it faster than anyone" then yes you are an idiot. You wasted your money on a reason that is totally stupid. The same argument goes for games, and even movies if you are stupid enough to try watching it faster than anyone. That is not, and far from, the reason why people make games/movies/books/or any type of entertainment.

As to your point, the author took the time to write the preface to a book to give more information on the characters and the story given. You can not say that that info isn't valid just cause you "don't care to read it". If it truly isn't, then they wouldn't have put it in there in the first place. To them, its like you are skipping 30 pages of the book not just adding "filler".

Originally Posted by Adretheon

As to your point, the author took the time to write the preface to a book to give more information on the characters and the story given. You can not say that that info isn't valid just cause you "don't care to read it". If it truly isn't, then they wouldn't have put it in there in the first place. To them, its like you are skipping 30 pages of the book not just adding "filler".

In fairness not all prefaces give you more information (and sometimes it can be presented within the story instead of prior); First thing coming to mind, since I finished it recently, is Heavy Rain. The Prologue is only there to serve mostly as a tutorial and I don't feel added anything to the character(s) that couldn't be explained (actually it is anyways) later. From what I've play of Oblivion so far, I don't see how the beginning offered a lot of background information that they couldn't of put elsewhere (or cut), though it is slightly harder since the start of the main plot is near the end of the introductory err..."level" (for lack of better words), so it could be argued it is somewhat important.

Basically the difference to me is in a book it is likely to give more information, while in video games it is almost always a tutorial, just some make it give more of a background then others to me (e.g. Fallout 3). It is a lot better then watching a long cut-scene going over everything, as much as I don't mind I think a lot of people would rather play an introductory sequence then watch a long cutscene.

(By the way, I think the start of Heavy Rain is to try to make the player care about what happens in the next chapter, so again debatable, but it did feel like it didn't provide any information that couldn't be brought up later through the story, and is. It set up Ethan has a happy family (2 kids and a wife) and works as an architect (just chapter 1, not 1 & 2))

This is a person that requires no argument or concessions to fairness, opinions, justice or differing views.
This person is right, and the rest of us are idiots.

What more need be said?

Originally Posted by Red_Lizard2

In fairness not all prefaces give you more information (and sometimes it can be presented within the story instead of prior); First thing coming to mind, since I finished it recently, is Heavy Rain. The Prologue is only there to serve mostly as a tutorial and I don't feel added anything to the character(s) that couldn't be explained (actually it is anyways) later. From what I've play of Oblivion so far, I don't see how the beginning offered a lot of background information that they couldn't of put elsewhere (or cut), though it is slightly harder since the start of the main plot is near the end of the introductory err..."level" (for lack of better words), so it could be argued it is somewhat important.

There are some that of course aren't needed. I've played my fair share of games where the "intro was fluff"(most of which were games with shitty stories). However, I believe some stories need that cause if it was placed in the game itself would you get enough out of it to actually find it necessary. As to your example for Heavy Rain, like you said, that may be a bad example just cause the way the game is played(it was more so showing you how the game play was like than to get you to "feel" something for the character), but I get what you're saying and yes you're right. I would have rather watched a video about the preface of Heavy Rain than played it. It was a neat concept, but I didn't get anything out of it other than how to play it.

Look at Spec Ops: The Line, however. If you haven't played it yet I highly recommend it. It's the best story telling I've ever seen in a game. It used the gameplay as extra story. You'd find intel and it painted a picture that you couldn't painted with just a video. Some games don't allow that, for instance Ocarina of Time. There wasn't a good place in the game to tell enough of the back story to just mold it into the game play. Was the story needed? No, but it did make the game feel a lot more full. It made it more alive, and gave the player something more than they normally would.

Originally Posted by Warflagon

This is a person that requires no argument or concessions to fairness, opinions, justice or differing views.
This person is right, and the rest of us are idiots.

What more need be said?

I never called any of you idiots, but if you think that low of me from one post then you should just ignore everything I have to say. And if you'd actually bring up a valid argument then maybe I would argue it, like I just did.

Originally Posted by Adretheon

Sure, if someone feels ok with paying 60$ just for a speed run or something like that that has no effect on the game what so ever, then be my guest. I'll just call you an idiot.

In reference to speed runs.

I rest my case.

That was a general you and a specific you. Notice how I said "if someone".

Skyrim- yeah, there's a dragon, I'm a prisoner and there is a (typical) secrete door in the dungeon. Further shock; only I, a poor, illiterate prisoner is the only hope for the high and mighty.....ugh, whatever, can i play now? Maybe i'm getting this one confused with the other elder scroll, but didn't/don't care.

You sir, can drop dead. The intro isn't worth a second watch, thats why you can make a save point right at character selection. Run through Halgon and the cave and your off.