Immersion and Linear Progression

by Xenos , Shores of Time, Friday, July 26, 2013, 08:58 (4140 days ago) @ Cody Miller
edited by Xenos, Friday, July 26, 2013, 09:09

It's like I link people to a very good i(n fact one of the best) articles about video games and stories, that puts the fundamental problem in a very simple, concise way, and nobody seems to read it. I wonder why.

I actually have read it, and I think it's a great read. It brings up a lot of good points about why game design needs to focus on gameplay more than anything else. However, I do think that it at best ignores the concept of great story telling through cutscenes and at worst implies that story telling through cutscenes is bad.

Cutscenes work (when done well) because they can create moments that you just can't experience in the type of game you're playing. This should be about the only time (in my opinion) you should have cutscenes. Now, a lot of games (especially AAA games) use cutscenes too much. Why am I watching the player-character fight a group of bad guys instead of doing it myself?

I think completely separating any medium from another medium usually leads to less creativity instead of more. All mediums do (and should) rip off and build off of all other mediums. Last of Us to me is a great example of this. It is an incredibly cinematic experience, it steals a lot from movies, but it is a solid, enjoyable, and moving game that would not be nearly as good if it was just a movie.

(This is meant to be a tangent, not related to the current discussion going on)