Are video games better without stories? (Gaming)

by General Battuta, Thursday, April 27, 2017, 13:15 (2768 days ago) @ Schooly D

The article wants stories that could only be told as games. That's a great criterion! Let's check 'em out

SMAC (your reactions to the game's pervasive fiction and semiscripted story drive your decisions about how humanity evolves)

Deus Ex (the player's ability to explore and alter the environment also alters the presentation of the story and its themes)

FreeSpace 2 (the player's narrative position deprivileges their role in the story, forcing them to view the story from 'below', like a bug)

Homeworld (the player's omniscient viewpoint positions them as God charged with the survival of the exiles, complicit in every death)

CODBLOPS2 (the story branches in reaction to your performance without actively signposting key branchpoints: reaction is naturalistic)

Alpha Protocol (as above but less polished but wayyy more ambitious)

Spec Ops: The Line (the player's 'coerced complicity' requires them to be a player, not a reader: the game forces them to make a terrible choice because they are present in a terrible situation, and the situation overrides personal agency: the only Right act is to never enter the situation)

I dunno, that's off the top of my head: none of these games would be better without stories.

Hang on a second I've got one more

Halo (the linear, scripted narrative works with the game's levels, art design, music, animation, and AI to create a unified context for the core gameplay, adding motive and resonance to basic beats like shooting an Elite or landing on Halo)